SCL 9 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

MARRIAGE AS A CONTRACT

The Family Code of the Philippines

describe marriage as:
o Permanent union between man and
woman
Permanent cannot set a span
of time to be married or when to
dissolve the bond
Between a man and a woman
mainly because of procreation
and establishment of family
o In accordance with the law
o Foundation of the family and an
inviolable social institution
o Not subject to stipulation of the
spouses
Cannot make decisions by
themselves; always limited by
law
By nature, it is ought to be governed
by some laws and regulations.
The obligations arising from marriage
do not come from the parties, but are
the creations of law.
Marriage must always be seen in
reference to God
Pope Pius XIs Castii Conubii:
o The nature of matrimony is
entirely independent of the free will
of man, so that if one has
contracted matrimony, he is
thereby subject to its divinely
constituted purpose and essential
properties.
o This free consent is limited only to
the question of whether to marry
and whom to marry. Beyond that,
the spouses are no longer free to
tamper with its innate
purposes and properties.
Signifies permanence and demands
more than a casual relationship
Consent
o Marks the beginning of the marital
relationship; makes the marriage
o Only mature, capable human
beings can make such an act
because it flows from the faculty
exclusively and inherently in man:
the faculty of the will responsible
for free choices and decisions, and
especially on this occasion, the free
decision of getting into marriage.
o Not under constraint and not
stopped by the natural or
ecclesiastical law
o Personally given by the man and
woman marrying and never by any
person in behalf
Obstacles which could render persons
incapable of free consent:

Affecting a persons capacity to

make decisions (mental capacity):
Lack of sufficient use of reason
Amensia cases
Serious lack of judgmental
discretion concerning the right
and duties of marriage; which
are to be mutually offered and
accepted
Childish
judgments (Mamas
Boy/Daddys Girl)
Serious psychic anomaly or
condition that makes persons
incapable of fulfilling the
essential obligations in marriage
Psychological incapacity
(personality defect)
Ignorance
Failure to accept
that marriage is a) a
relationship for life; b) involves
engagement in sexual intimacy;
and c) procreating and
establishing a family
Error
Wrong judgment
concerning the person; may be
considered fraud if done
intentionally and lead to legal
separation
Error of Quality Accidental;
Qualities attached to the
person
o Error to health
o Error to wealth
o Error to reputation
NOTE: Marriage is not voidable
because it is the fault of the
person giving the consent
Error of Persons
Substantial; Marrying the
wrong person
o Examples: identical twins,
transsexuals, persons
with HIV
NOTE: Marriage is void because
of lack of consent
o Affecting the exercise of a persons
freedom
Force or Coercion
use of
physical force
Example: Arranged
Marriages
Marriage is voidable
Grave Fear
intimidating
and threatening the other party
to get married; marriage is
invalid
Simulation
bends the
reality of marriage; getting
married for another purpose
Example: marrying for
inheritance and foreign
citizenship
o Affecting external manifestations
Psychological Incapacity
Types of marriages according to the
o

o Family Code: Valid, Void, Voidable

o Canon Law: Valid, Void
Void vs. Voidable
o Void no marriage from the
beginning
o Voidable marriage is valid until
proven otherwise

MARRIAGE AS A COVENANT: ENDS

Love is the soul of marriage. Marriage

is a special kind of friendship
A love-covenant, that focuses on
persons, immediately brings into
highlight the biblical dimension of
marriage
The ends of marriage:
o The good of the spouses
Personal Dimension (Love with
each other)
o The good of the children
Respect for life (sexual act open
to life until adulthood)
Traditionally, the good of the spouse is
the primary end. But in modern times,
there is no primary end. Both are
equally important.
Over prioritizing good of spouse:
o No more procreation, refuse to bear
children
Contraceptive use
Romance
> Natural consequence of
sexual intimacy
o Sense of selfishness and egoism
Over prioritizing good of children:
o No more intimacy because of too
much priority on children
o Must have children by hook or by
crook
No more intimacy between
spouses because of presence of
a third party
surrogacy, in
vitro fertilization, artificial
insemination
o Puts a bar on morality and the
personal dimension of marriage

MARRIAGE AS A COVENANT: ESSENTIAL

PROPERTIES
Unity or Exclusiveness: Enriched
by the Spouses Faithfulness
o The marital relationship of only a
husband and a wife excludes a
third party or any form of polygamy
o Fidelity or faithfulness
manifested in the total self-giving
of the spouses
The marital union does not only
seek to exclude others from the
relationship but also to unite the
couple in a more interpersonal
intimacy
o Marriage attempts to mirror the
covenant between God and His

people unwavering
faithfulness, expressed through
His enduring patience and
forgiveness; continuous
invitation for couples to respond
in the same way
o It is difficult but not impossible
to be faithful for it cannot be
denied that man has the capacity
to transcend his own human
limitations
o Fidelity a means for husband
and wife to continue growing in
their life
Human weaknesses potential
challenges to be conquered
Involves the following;
Concerned awareness of the
partners for each other
Complete and unreserved
giving of the partners to
each other (physically,
emotionally, mentally,
spiritually)
When one succumbs to human
weakness, forgiveness should
easily flow from an injured
heart the opening up of ones
heart and hand to help the
repentant beloved to rise up
from his or her failings
Indissolubility or Permanence:
Enriched by the Spouses
Struggles for Lastingness
o From the very beginning of the
Church, Christians already believed
in marital indissolubility
o Considered as a moral requirement
o An ontological reality by nature
Ontological - relating to or
based upon being or existence
o Implies that couples cannot
dissolve the marriage bond
o Faith is needed to see the reason
for its indissolubility: that it is a
covenant and a sacrament
o In accepting divorce and
remarriage, all the relationship
values of love, patience,
forgiveness and reconciliation
become unimportant and not
necessary
o Couples need to be constantly
vigilant not to give in to human
weaknesses
o Conjugal love requires permanence
and demands lastingness
o Couples need to make as their
lifetime project to bring to fullness
their love and life together
o Journey together as one under the
ever faithful guidance of the God of
the covenant which could make
their marriage last
Openness to Fertility: Enriched by
Fruitfulness in the Married Life

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THE PROCREATIVE GOOD OF

MARRIAGE
The biological dimension of the
procreative good of marriage: the
physical capacity of husband
and wife to have children
through their sexual union
The sexual union takes place while
observing the laws of the
generative processes and the
natural laws and rhythm of fertility
Acts are open for fertility when
nothing is done to interfere
with the biological rhythm
On infertile days: the conjugal act,
by its intimate structure which is
naturally designed for procreation,
still signifies potential fecundity
Fecundity similar to fertility
Has a rich procreative
significance because through it
they accept their union as a call
to life in collaboration with the
Creator
Use of contraceptives = an
attack against God
Fruitfulness of conjugal love
extends to the fruits of the
moral, spiritual and
supernatural life that parents
hand on to their children;
continuous upbringing
First fruit of marriage: growth of
the partners as persons
Even when spouses are childless,
their married life could still be
fruitful: marriage could bring
forth deep charity, hospitality
and willing sacrifice

of our lives
Exchange of
property goods
and services
Terminable by the
consent of the
parties
Enjoins
compliance:
stroke of ink or a
nod of head
Violation has
penal
consequences
affecting only
parts of our live:
financially,
emotionally,
physically or
socially

CONTRACT
A promise
Use own name to
seal the
agreement
Legal instrument
used to document
what two parties
plan to do
Can be breached
& remedies at law
will fill the gap
Legalistic & selfserving limit
liability or profit to
self
Transactional:
simple exchange
of values
Conditional (If)
Pertains only to
portions or parts

COVENANT
Solemn oath
exchanged
between the
parties (has a
sacred duty
Seal agreement
with Gods name
God sets the
terms and make
the offer
Hebrew berit: a
shackle or
chain
Goals and desires
of the person
becomes ones
own
Transformational:
addition of values
Relational and
values the

MARRIAGE AS A SACRAMENT

CONTRACT VS. COVENANT

interests of the
other person
Unconditional
Affects our entire
life
Calls for the
exchange of
persons
Not terminable
Requires
obedience: move
entire heart and
body
Violation means
total separation
from source of
life: loss of life
itself

Christ raised marriage to a

sacrament, making it essentially
different from marriage as a natural
institution
o 3 stages when marriage became a
sacrament:
Consecrated and sanctified the
wedding at Cana
The essential properties were
reiterated by Christ in His
meeting with the Pharisees
After resurrection Provided
marriage with the graces
necessary to meet its demands
As a sign and symbol
o Giving each others selves fully
physically, their entire beings
o Christ is the primordial sign or
sacrament of God the Father
because through Him we get in
touch with the Father
o Marriage provides a natural symbol
because it does not only speak of
the basic aspects of human
existence: life and love, but
because it also makes man and
woman experience its deepest
mysteries
o THE SIGN-ELEMENT OF MARRIAGE:
the couples mutual gift and
acceptance of each other which
takes place in a rite or external
ceremony
o The consent in the giving and
accepting of each other is
considered as very essential for the
validity of the sacrament they
desire to belong to each other in
a manner that Christ wills to
give Himself to the Church in a
loving and undying union
As a sign of the Saving Presence
of Christ

Being Married in the Lord

through this sacrament the
husband and wife stand as a
reminder of the presence of Christ
o Christ is indispensable in their
relationship
o Marriage ought to mirror the
sacrificial and faithful loverelationship of Christ with His
Church
o Their marriage in the Lord is, thus,
not merely a sign for them, but
also an efficacious sign of His
saving love to each of them, their
offspring and their family
community
o There is no valid marriage for
baptized Christians but the
sacrament of matrimony
o Baptized people enter into
marriage
entrance into a new
dimension of their relationship with
Christ and the Church
o Jesus Christ
restored marriage
to its original status and made it a
channel of saving grace for the
husband and wife
o Couples receive from Christ saving
grace through the bond which
comes from their marriage
covenant
As a Saving Grace
o Willingness to achieve a communal
goal
o By the grace from the sacrament,
the bond between husband and
wife is further strengthened, and
the indissolubility of marriage
receives a new and deeper
meaning
o 13th century valid marriage
covenant, consummated by
sexual intercourse is absolutely
indissoluble by any earthly power
o A ratified, non-consummated
marriage may be dissolved by the
Pope for a just reason, upon the
request of one or both parties
o Catholic marriage
Civil Divorce
nd
Civil Marriage = 2 marriage is in
conflict with Gods law and is
therefore invalid
o Indissolubility a saving grace
because it gives assurance that
their relationship stays no matter
what
o MATRIMONIAL GRACE
bestowed on the husband and wife
to enable them to live a life
together; perfects the spouses
love for each other
o Sacrament of Matrimony save the
couple when they are on the verge
of breaking up
by giving a
place in their relationship for Christ
o

o
o
o

o
o
o
o
o

who would provide them with the

necessary help
Husband/wife extend a hand to
the spouse to rise from his/her
failings
growing together in in
grace and love
Saving grace because it builds,
strengthens, and constantly
transforms their relationship
Sacrament of Marriage is an
outward sign that confers and inner
grace
TRUTHS OF SACRAMENTAL
MARRIAGE:
Means of sanctification of
husband and wife
Source of grace needed to live
married life well
Vehicle of salvation for husband
and wife
Christian life together makes
marriage a sacrament
Love of God is revealed through the
married couples love for one
another
Couples become revelation and
grace for each other
Married couples and their families
are also sacraments to the world
Family lifestyle can reveal the
Gospel values of simplicity,
generosity, hospitality, service,
mercy and justice

MARRIAGE AS A CELEBRATION

Source of joy and happiness Wedding

Ceremony
Deacons, Priests and Bishops can
officiate marriage
Church requires that the spouses-to-be
submit to the standard rite which calls
for a set liturgical form, otherwise
marriage is invalid
marks the
solemn entry of the spouses into a
binding commitment before God and
the Christian community
Husband and wife are ministers of
Christs grace. Presence of the
Churchs minister and principal
sponsors
marriage is an ecclesial
reality
Takes place during the Mass to
emphasize the connection of
sacraments; spouses should seal
their consent to give themselves to
each other by uniting it to the
offering of Christ and by receiving
the Eucharist
Spouses proclaim their praise and
gratitude to God for calling them to
share their life and love together
Couple acknowledges the presence of
Christ who pledges to always be
involved in their life, with their faith

and hope that their love will mirror the

love that Christ has for His Church
A renewal of the covenant made on
their wedding day, at some regular
time, will certainly strengthen their
bonding
Two ways to renew their
covenant:
o At the table where they share the
sacred meal role of the holy
Eucharist in their life
o In the marital act of sexual
intercourse a renewal of the
covenant that they made with each
other
It is only within marriage that sex can
integrate its interrelated values the
love that it expresses, the life that it
generates, the pleasure that it gives
and the symbolism that it explores
Sexual intercourse an opportunity for
the spouses to express their
commitment, and eventually grow in
their love for one another

MARRIAGE AS A VOCATION

This is the fundamental context for

living out Christian Discipleship
A call by God to come to a closer
union with Him and with His Church
a way of holiness for those called to
enter married life
Both a gift and a mission
o Gift
A source of joy, blessings,
gratitude and grace for the
husband and wife
Marriages have contributions to
the society that goes beyond it

being a gift (Couples for Christ:

Gawad Kalinga)
o Mission
A source of challenges the
couple has to face with hope
and determined hearts
Actions are better options for
evangelization
Teaching children to be
better persons: Actions >
Words
Marriage is a call to parenthood
o The success of parenthood is no
longer in the quantity of children
but by their quality
o Parenting as a road to Calvary
parental love is often accompanied
by much suffering
The groom and bride ministers of the
sacrament
o Administer the sacrament to each
other
o Channels of grace to each other all
their life
o Instruments of salvation for each
other (being married in the Lord)
It is growing together that couples
would know that they are effectively
responding to that call
Marriage is an on-going event, a
journey that the husband and wife
take together, which will only make
sense when they orient their life to
that of the Lord who calls them
There is bliss in marriage but there is
also suffering that calls for sacrificial
love; involves carrying of the cross
spouses can be crosses to each other