The Seal of the Holy Spirit

 The Sacrament of Confirmation

In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the
promised Holy Spirit;
Ephesians 1, 13

In Catholic teaching, a sacrament is a visible sign that points to an invisible reality. As a means of divine grace, a sacrament constitutes an event in the life of a Christian from the point of initiation into the faith that is both physical and spiritual. The Sacrament of Baptism, for instance, is physical in that blessed water is used on the recipient by either pouring water on their heads or immersing them in water. This sacrament is spiritual in that the water washes the soul and cleanses it from the stain of original sin by the operation of the Holy Spirit. In effect, the soul is sanctified and healed by divine grace, and the believer is restored to standing just before God and regenerated from being a child of Adam to being an adopted child of God. A sacrament presupposes the faith of the recipient. A sacrament nourishes and strengthens the soul and allows the recipient to express their faith by joining their words with the sacramental elements.

According to the Catholic Dictionary, a sacrament is “a sensible sign, instituted by Jesus Christ, by which invisible grace and inward sanctification are communicated to the soul. The essential elements of a sacrament of the New Law are institution by Christ the God-man during his visible stay on earth and a sensibly perceptible rite that confers the supernatural grace it symbolizes. In a broad sense, every external sign of an internal divine blessing is a sacrament. And in this sense, there were already sacraments in the Old Law, such as circumcision. But, as the Council of Trent defined, these ancient rites differed essentially from the sacraments of the New Law; they did not really contain the grace they signified, nor was the fullness of grace yet available through visible channels merited and established by the Savior.” A sacrament derives its efficacy ex opere operato, by which we mean it is effective independently from the merits of the minister and the recipient. Its effect is produced by the Holy Spirit's operation through the ritual act's formula.

In the Catholic faith, a sacrament is administered in a symbolic rite that allows a person to connect with God. It is an outward sign of an objective inward reality instituted by Christ to channel his grace. The sacramental symbols or elements translate physical realities into spiritual realities, thereby joining the physical world with the spiritual world, just as the human person is a composite of body and soul. In the physical world, we are drawn to God, who is Spirit, and connected to Him as His children through the medium of a sacrament. By receiving a sacrament, we ascend from the physical to the spiritual reality while connecting the two as we continue living in this world to attain eternal life with God through His grace.

There are seven sacraments in the Catholic Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, the Eucharist, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Matrimony, and Holy Orders. The seven sacraments “touch all the stages and important moments in the Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing, and mission to the Christian’s life of faith.” Therefore, there is “a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of supernatural life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1210). These seven sacraments are categorized into three groups: the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist), the sacraments of healing (Penance or Reconciliation, the Anointing of the Sick), and the sacraments of service (Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders). All seven sacraments are God-given gifts given to us out of love.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
Acts 1, 8

In this article, we will examine the Sacrament of Confirmation that essentially confers the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord (See Isaiah 11:1-2). As with all the sacraments, the recipient of the Sacrament of Confirmation must first be baptized and be at least seven years old. Normally, Catholic children are confirmed between the ages of ten and twelve, having reached greater intellectual and moral maturity.

The Sacrament of Baptism or Initiation is completed by the Sacrament of Confirmation since the Christian is “enriched and strengthened” by the Holy Spirit when they are confirmed and “bound more closely to the Church as members of Christ’s mystical body” (CCC, 1285). The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit aid the faithful in fulfilling their baptismal commitments.

Moreover, grace is added to grace to enable the believer to continue to grow in holiness and strive for divine perfection as a partaker of the divine life in the hope of inheriting eternal life with God. The baptized Samarians received the fullness of the Holy Spirit when the elders confirmed them (Acts 8:14-17). They received this sacrament that was instituted by Christ to further strengthen them in their faith as adults. Catholics believe Jesus instituted the sacrament or the rite of Confirmation when he promised to send another counselor to empower his disciples to bear witness (Jn 14:16; 15:26; 16:13; Acts 2:1-4). Through the waters of baptism, we become disciples and followers of Christ. Whether we are baptized as infants, adolescents, or adults, we are always in spiritual formation and growth.

Baptism is a call to discipleship. This call to discipleship and obedience is a call to subjugate our lives to the teachings of Christ and the Word of God. Being baptized expresses the desire to be immersed in the word and will of God. Seeking God’s will for us is a natural derivative of baptism, and this involves being willing to enter into a life of service to God and others by performing corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Without the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, we couldn’t possibly live up to our baptismal commitments in the steadfastness of faith and thereby be rewarded with the gift of eternal life (2 Cor 5:1-10; Eph 1:13-14; 4:30).

I believe it is Paul who gives instructions about the “laying on of hands” concerning the Sacrament of Confirmation and having reached the age of maturity (Heb 6: 2). Indeed, he laid hands on the baptized Ephesians to seal them with the Holy Spirit so that they should receive His gifts to be faithful disciples and followers of Christ (Acts 19:5-6). “There are different kinds of gifts. But they are all given to believers by the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve. But they all come from the same Lord. There are different ways the Spirit works. But the same God is working in all these ways and in all people. The Holy Spirit is specially given to each of us. That is for the good of all” (1 Cor 12:4-7).

Paul continues by enumerating what the special gifts of the Holy Spirit are for those who have been confirmed by the laying on of hands. “To some people, the Spirit gives a message of wisdom. To others, the same Spirit gives a message of knowledge. To others, the same Spirit gives faith. To others, that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. To others, he gives the power to do miracles. To others, he gives the ability to prophesy. To others, he gives the ability to tell the spirits apart. To others, he allows them to speak different languages they had not known before. To others, he gives them the ability to explain what was said in those languages. All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives gifts to each person, just as he decides” (1 Cor 12:8-11). Jesus himself declares that his heavenly Father has set His seal on him (Jn 6:27). In turn, Jesus sets his seal on the Apostles and all his disciples in the initiatory sacraments of Baptism and afterward Confirmation (Rev 14:1).

The anointing with oil in the rite of Confirmation signifies and imprints a spiritual seal. “Anointing, in Biblical and other ancient symbolism, is rich in meaning: oil is a sign of abundance and joy; it cleanses (anointing before and after a bath) and limbers (the anointing of athletes and wrestlers); oil is a sign of healing since it is soothing to bruises and wounds; and it makes radiant with beauty, health, and strength.” Moreover, “anointing with oil has all these meanings in the sacramental life. The pre-baptismal anointing with the oil of catechumens signifies cleansing and strengthening; the anointing of the sick expresses healing and comfort. The post-baptismal anointing with sacred chrism in Confirmation and ordination is the sign of consecration. By Confirmation, Christians, that is, those who are anointed, share more completely in the mission of Jesus Christ and the fullness of the Holy Spirit with which he is filled so that their lives may give off “the aroma of Christ” (cf. 2 Cor 2:15) (CCC, 1294).

By this anointing with oil, those confirmed receive the ”mark” or the “seal” of the Holy Spirit. A seal is a sign or mark of “personal authority.” We who have been baptized and confirmed have the authority to evangelize or give witness to the faith by our words and actions because we bear the seal of the Holy Spirit. The seal of the Holy Spirit also signifies that we are God’s possession and must hold our allegiance to Christ. In other words, we are divine property and servants of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ who must live our lives in keeping with his laws and serve others in love just as our Lord came into this world to serve humanity in love through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy (Mk 10:42-45; Jn 13:14; 15:12; Rom 15:14; Gal 5:13; 6:2; Eph 4:32; 5:21; 1 Thess 5:11; Heb 6:10; Phil 2:7; 1 Jn 4:7; 1 Pet 2:21; 2 Pet 4:10, etc.).

Paul tells us: “It is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has commissioned us; he has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor 1:21-22). Thus, the seal of the Holy Spirit marks our belonging to Christ and, through him, our Father in heaven. The common priesthood of all believers is joined with the ministerial priesthood of the ordained clergy. Our enrollment in his service is a lifetime with the divine protection of the Holy Spirit (1 Pet 1:5). So, we who have been baptized and confirmed mustn’t “grieve the Holy Spirit” but remain faithful in our life of service to God and neighbor (Eph 4:30).

The celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation is preceded by the consecration of the sacred chrism, which, in a sense, is still part of the administration of the sacrament. Chrism is the holy oil through which the sacrament is conferred. In the Roman Catholic rite, a bishop anoints the head of the confirmand with the chrism, including laying on hands. The anointment signifies the full bestowment of grace on the recipient. As the bishop stretches his hand over each confirmand, he invokes the Holy Spirit upon them for His special outpouring of gifts. The sacred chrism symbolizes the inner healing and strength needed to be genuine followers of Christ.

Thus, the Sacrament of Confirmation is important because it allows the baptized believer to confirm their baptismal promises and enables them to fully live up to their baptismal commitments in charity and grace. The bishop invokes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in these words:

“All-powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed your
sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life. Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their
helper and guide. Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment
and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in
your presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord.”

The sign of peace that concludes the sacramental rite signifies and demonstrates ecclesial communion with the bishop and with all the faithful.

Hence, the effect of the Sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which was once granted to the apostles and the disciples in the upper room on Pentecost. Confirmation brings a deepening of grace by rooting us more deeply “in the divine filiation,” uniting us “more firmly in Christ,” increasing “the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us,” rendering our “bond with the Church more perfect,” and giving us “a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.”

Not unlike Baptism, which it completes, the sacrament is given only once. This is because it also imprints an indelible spiritual mark on the soul (the character), which is “the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness.” (CCC, 1303) A candidate for Confirmation who has attained the age of reason must profess the faith, be in the state of grace, have the intention of receiving the sacrament, and be prepared to assume the role of disciple and witness to Christ, both within the ecclesial community and in temporal affairs.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,
so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15, 13

Early Sacred Tradition

“And about your laughing at me and calling me “Christian,” you know not what you are saying.
First, because that which is anointed is sweet and serviceable, and far from contemptible. For
what ship can be serviceable and seaworthy unless it be first caulked [anointed]? Or what castle
or house is beautiful and serviceable when it has not been anointed? And what man, when he
enters into this life or into the gymnasium, is not anointed with oil? And what work has either
ornament or beauty unless it be anointed and burnished? Then the air and all that is under
heaven is in a certain sort anointed by light and spirit; and are you unwilling to be anointed with
the oil of God? Wherefore we are called Christians on this account because we are anointed with
the oil of God.”
St. Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus, I:12
(A.D. 181)

“‘And she said to her maids, Bring me oil.’ For faith and love prepare oil and unguents to those
who are washed. But what were these unguents, but the commandments of the holy Word? And
what was the oil, but the power of the Holy Spirit, with which believers are anointed as with
ointment after the layer of washing? All these things were figuratively represented in the blessed
Susannah, for our sakes, that we who now believe on God might not regard the things that are
done now in the Church as strange but believe them all to have been set forth in figure by the
patriarchs of old, as the apostle also says: ‘Now these things happened unto them for ensamples:
and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the world are come.’”
St. Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel, 6;18
(A.D. 204)

“It is also necessary that he should be anointed who is baptized; so that, having
received the chrism, that is, the anointing, he may be anointed of God, and have
in him the grace of Christ. Further, it is the Eucharist whence the baptized are
anointed with the oil sanctified on the altar. But he cannot sanctify the creature
of oil, who has neither an altar nor a church; whence also there can be no
spiritual anointing among heretics, since it is manifest that the oil cannot be
sanctified nor the Eucharist celebrated at all among them. But we ought to know
and remember that it is written, ‘Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head,’
which the Holy Spirit before forewarned in the Psalms, lest anyone going out of
the way and wandering from the path of truth should be anointed by heretics
and adversaries of Christ.”
St. Cyprian of Carthage, To Januarius, Epistle 70/69:2
(A.D. 255)

“‘And your floors shall be filled with wheat, and the presses shall overflow
equally with wine and oil.’… This has been fulfilled mystically by Christ, who gave
to the people whom He had redeemed, that is, to His Church, wheat and wine and
oil in a mystic manner…the oil is the sweet unguent with which those who are
baptized are signed, being clothed in the armaments of the Holy Spirit.”
St. Ephraim of Syria, On Joel 2:24
(ante A.D. 373)

“And then remember that you received the seal of the Spirit; the spirit of wisdom
and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge
and godliness, and the spirit of holy fear, and preserved what you received. God
the Father sealed you, Christ the Lord strengthened you, and gave the earnest
of the Spirit in your heart, as you have learned in the lesson from the Apostle.”
St. Ambrose, On the Mysteries, 7:42
(A.D. 391)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate
to help you and be with you forever.
John 14, 16

Pax vobiscum

The Word of God

 The Deposit of Faith

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word
of God which you heard from us,you accepted it not as the word of men but
as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
1 Thessalonians 2, 13

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth,
the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him
with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1, 13

Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me,
in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth that has
been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
2 Timothy 1, 13-14

Sacred Tradition is the unwritten word of God and thus is a source of divine revelation from which even sacred Scripture (the written word of God) proceeds (Lk 1:1-4). By unwritten or verbally unspoken, we mean all the divine mysteries that are revealed or declared by the Holy Spirit to the Church in the passage of time (Jn 16:12-13). It’s because Tradition or God’s unwritten word is infallible that Scripture, God’s written word, is infallible since both sources of divine revelation originate from the Holy Spirit under the Spirit’s guidance (Tradition) or by the Spirit’s inspiration (Scripture). And since the written word proceeds from the initial unwritten word, Scripture must be interpreted in light of Tradition. The former medium serves as an objective norm or confirmation of the latter. Thus, these two mediums of divine revelation comprise two sides of the same coin, and so they mustn’t be divorced from each other or placed in opposition to each other. This isn’t an either/or proposition.

Tradition literally means “handing on” referring to the passing down of God’s revealed word from the beginning under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, Tradition means all divine revelation from the dawn of human history to the end of the apostolic age from one generation of believers to the next which is safeguarded by the Church (the Rule of Faith) until Christ returns in glory (Mt 28:20). Jesus assures his apostles, “And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (Jn 14:16). The Greek noun for the English word “forever” is αἰῶνα (aiōna). Jesus, then, is telling his disciples that the Holy Spirit or Paraclete will come to them to “always” abide in his Church throughout the entire Messianic age, viz., from the time of Christ’s ascension into heaven and Pentecost to his glorious return at the end of this age.

Further, Tradition may also be said to contain all that is materially presented in Scripture, either explicitly or implicitly. It’s because Scripture isn’t always explicit that, as a sole rule of faith, it is formally insufficient. And so, Tradition often reveals or exposes what is explicitly lacking in Scripture but is there nonetheless as a representation of the verbally unspoken word: the declaration of the Holy Spirit to the Church. The written word and the unwritten word of God mutually support each other in a complementary way, originating from the same divine Author and guarantor of the truth.

Since the beginning, the one, visible, hierarchical Church founded by Christ himself on Peter the rock and the Apostles in a physical line of succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders has understood that Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are bound closely together and correspond with one another towards the same goal in a mutual relationship and that these two mediums of divine revelation flow from the same source, viz. the Holy Spirit. The Church, therefore, has never drawn its certainty about the revealed divine truths from only sacred Scripture. The apostles believed that their preaching was guided by the Holy Spirit, who protects the Church from error (Acts 15:27-28). And it was Paul who wrote that the Church – not Scripture – is “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15).

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions
we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
2 Thessalonians 2, 15

Referring to how Christian tradition was handed on, the Vatican ll states: “It was done by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from His way of life and His works, or whether they had learned it from the prompting of the Holy Spirit” (Constitution on Divine Revelation, ll, 7). God was faithful in transmitting the written word, as was evident by the Church’s infallible ruling of which Biblical books and Epistles belonged to the canon of Scripture. Thus, God must also be faithful to His Church in the transmission of His unwritten word declared by the Holy Spirit and preached (spoken) by the apostles and their anointed successors, which manifests in greater fullness what has been revealed by God and committed to writing for communities acquainted with the oral tradition.

According to John Cardinal Henry Newman, Scripture and Tradition aren’t two separate “sources” of divine revelation but rather two “modes” of transmitting the same deposit of faith. In his words: “Totum in scriptura, totum in traditione.” (“All is in Scripture; all is in Tradition.”). These two mediums point towards and embrace each other as constituting together in a single expression the word of God. If Paul had committed everything he preached to his letters, he would have written ‘by word of mouth and by letter.’

Hence, the entire body of Christ – the bishops to the laity – has an anointing that originates from the Holy Spirit (1 Jn 2:20, 27). Being members of one mystical body with Christ as the head, they cannot be deceived as our Lord promised his apostles. This feature of the Church is shown in the supernatural appreciation of the faith (sensus fidei) by all the faithful when they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals. And by this appreciation of the faith, aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth, the entire people of God’s household, guided by the Magisterium and obeying it, receive not the mere word of men but truly the word of God declared by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:13); the faith delivered once for all (cf. Lumen Gentium, 12).

“What the body of the Church, together with its pastors, agreed in holding as of faith, is part of revelation since the Church is filled and assisted by the Holy Spirit and cannot be wrong on a matter of faith. This has always been the conviction of the Catholic Church both eastern and western” (Yves Congar, Tradition and Traditions: New York: Macmillan,1966). Isaiah’s prophecy points to the infallible and supernatural Church that Christ has founded on Peter the rock and the Apostles: “And a path and a way shall be there, and it shall be called the holy way: the unclean shall not pass over it, and this shall be unto you a straight way so that fools shall not err therein” (Isa 35:8; cf. Acts 9:2; 22:4; 24:14,22).

The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart:
that is, the word of faith, which we preach.
Romans 10, 8

On Pentecost, the Church was established as a single and visible historical reality with the descent of the Holy Spirit. It was only then that an unfolding revelation first received by the apostles could be transmitted to future generations under the promised guidance of the Paraclete. The divine truth in all its manifestations and growing fullness has carried with it ever since the seal of the Holy Spirit, whose sanctifying presence guarantees the purity of faith in the Church – the “unblemished” body of Christ. Thus, the seed that has been planted by the apostles must be abided by and sustained through an increase of knowledge and understanding of the Divine mysteries through the inspiration and assistance of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8-9). The truth in all its fullness does not exist outside the Catholic Church, where there is neither Scripture nor Tradition on account of these two mediums of divine revelation in the deposit of faith having been divorced from each other.

In the words of the 5th-century monk Vincent of Lerins: “We must hold what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all.” Tradition has been described as timeless, although situated in temporal reality. It is an ongoing memory of the whole Church (the one timeless mystical body of Christ) whose principal aim isn’t to restore the past but to better understand it in the present and recollect it in a greater light of faith beyond the limits of time. This memory consists not only of words, written or spoken, but also of how they have been assimilated and expressed liturgically by all the faithful through the centuries and passed on.

Tradition, therefore, is a continual living experience or memory that is relived and renewed over time but adversely unaffected by it without any adulteration of a divine truth presented as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Doctrines have developed over time by having to weather controversial storms through the passing on of Tradition, with Scripture serving as the objective norm of the faith. The written word of God has served to aid the Church in acquiring a deeper and fuller understanding of that which is declared by the Holy Spirit in the sanctifying light of faith concerning the mighty deeds of God in salvation history and the dispensation of His manifold grace.

Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common
salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend
earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.
Jude 1, 3

Thus, Tradition is the work of God through which He continues to reveal in greater measure to His Church what has been revealed and worded in the Scriptures. Hidden implications and ramifications in the inspired sacred writings come to light through the handing down of Tradition. The Church’s fundamental doctrines have developed over time with deep reflection and pondering of the heart under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The word of God isn’t altered or fabricated but rather better understood in time through timeless Tradition with the guarantee of the promised Paraclete. The deposit of faith was planted by the apostles in the form of a seed from which one and the same flower has continued to grow and blossom from one mysterious aspect to another. The definition of an article of faith resembles an entire work of mosaic art pieced together one tile at a time.

The apostle called the Church a “mystery,” which meant that, as the kingdom of God in our midst, it could not be understood by reason alone (Eph 5:32). The power to “bind and loose” or interpret divine revelation and define dogma lies with the Universal Magisterium of the world’s bishops in union with the Vicar of Christ. God’s infinite wisdom, which is revealed through His unwritten and written word, is a hidden mystery for all ages that can be made known more fully and with absolute certainty over the passage of time only through the magisterial teaching authority of the one true Church founded by Christ on Peter and the Apostles (Mat 16:15-18; Eph 3:9-10). The Three Pillars of Faith are Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium. Neither pillar can support the one true faith on its own. Nor can the one true faith be infallibly preserved and transmitted if one of the pillars is removed. The Holy Spirit operates in all three pillars combined since the divine truth isn’t relativistic. Nor is it interminably open for debate.

Early Sacred Tradition

“Since, therefore, the tradition from the apostles does thus exist in the Church, and is
permanent among us, let us revert to the Scriptural proof furnished by those apostles who
did also write the Gospel, in which they recorded the doctrine regarding God, pointing out
that our Lord Jesus Christ is the truth, and that no lie is in Him.”
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3,5,1
(inter A.D. 180-189)

“But in learning the Faith and in professing it, acquire and keep that only,
which is now delivered to thee by the Church, and which has been built up
strongly out of all the Scriptures … Take heed then, brethren, and hold fast the
traditions ye now receive.”
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 5:12
(A.D. 350)

“But beyond these Scriptural sayings, let us look at the very tradition,
teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which
the Lord gave, the apostles preached, and the Fathers kept.”
St. Athanasius, Four Letters to Serapion of Thumius 1:28
(A.D. 360)

“I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth;
for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak,
and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
John 16, 12-13

Pax vobiscum

They Shall Be One Flesh

 The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said: This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Genesis 2, 21-24

The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her
husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the
same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.
1 Corinthians 7, 3-4

In the Catholic faith, Holy Matrimony is one of the two sacraments of service along with Holy Orders. Marriage is both a sacrament and a vocation. God is the author of marriage in the order of creation. “The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1603). By vocation, the Catholic Church means a call to persons to accomplish a task preordained by God in the economy of salvation. Archbishop J. Francis Stafford says, “The highest joy in life for a Christian is searching out, discovering, and pursuing the purpose for which God called him into existence. The idea of vocation implies and demands a larger design to life.”

The mutual love between spouses mirrors God's “absolute and unfailing love” for humanity. This love that God blesses “is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation” (CCC, 1604). Thus, marriage as a divine vocation or service ordered by the will of God requires unity and fruitfulness. Spouses are called to grow daily in their communion through constant fidelity to their marriage vow of complete mutual self-giving. Marriage is created by God, so the spouses are called to a perpetual, faithful, and fruitful union directed toward the well-being of the spouses and their offspring. The dissolution of a marriage thwarts God’s purpose for it.

Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife,
as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is
subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her,
having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in
all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. For
this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh.
Ephesians 5, 22-27, 31

In a sacramental marriage, God’s love becomes present to the spouses in their total union and flows through them to their family and community. The couple reveals something of God's unconditional love through their permanent, faithful, and exclusive giving to each other, symbolized in their conjugal relations and being fruitful. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony involves their entire life as they journey together through the better and the worse of marriage and become more equipped to give to and receive from each other. Their life becomes sacramental to the extent that the spouses cooperate with God’s action in their life and perceive themselves as living “in Christ” and Christ living and acting in them in how they relate to and treat each other. Conjugal love involves a totality in which all the person's characteristics enter. It aims to achieve a deeply personal unity that extends beyond union in one flesh to the formation of one heart, mind, and soul. This Christ-centered love demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual self-giving and sacrifice and is open to fertility. A marriage that is no longer sacramental is a failed marriage.

Holy Matrimony is a sacrament of service. As such a sacrament, a husband and wife's devotion to each other (and thereby to Christ) must mirror Christ’s love and service to the Church. Through marriage, a couple is bound to help build each other and their offspring up in faith, serve each other and the Church, and be faithful to each other until death. In Catholic teaching, six character traits of faithfulness should also be applied to marriage: commitment, love, longsuffering, patience, endurance, and steadfastness.

Marriage is an exclusive lifetime partnership, so marriage must possess these characteristics to be sacramental and successful. A sacramental marriage is vocational, and the spouses in this bond are called to discipleship. Thus, “Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another’s burdens, to ‘be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ,’ [Eph 5:21] and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love. In the joys of their love and family life, he gives them here on earth a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb” (CCC, 1642). The love of the spouses should mirror the love that Christ has for his Church and the love we all should have for each other in our discipleship, “ requires of its very nature, the unity, and indissolubility of the spouses’ community of persons, which embraces their entire life: “so they are no longer two, but one flesh.” They “are called to grow continually in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving. This human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by communion in Jesus Christ, given through the sacrament of Matrimony” (CCC, 1644).

“By its very nature, conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This is the consequence of their gift to each other. Love seeks to be definitive; it cannot be an arrangement “until further notice.” The “intimate union of marriage, as a mutual giving of two persons, and the good of the children, demand total fidelity from the spouses and require an unbreakable union between them” (CCC, 1646). “The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of matrimony, the spouses can represent and witness this fidelity. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning” (CCC 1647).

The Old Testament addresses the fidelity and perpetuity of marriage and likens Yahweh’s covenant with Israel to that between husband and wife. God created man and woman out of love and commanded them to imitate His love in their relations with each other. Man and woman were created for each other: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him. … The two of them become one body.” (Gen 2:18, 24). Catholic teaching holds that all the sacraments bestow grace on those who receive them with the proper disposition. Grace describes how God shares His divine life with us and gives us the help we need to live as followers of Christ. In marriage, the grace of this sacrament brings to the spouses the particular help they need to be faithful to each other and good parents. It also helps a couple serve others beyond their immediate family and show the community that a loving and lasting marriage is desirable and possible if centered in Christ.

The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is thus a covenant of love. Being married isn’t just about having a “soul mate” or being with somebody for the sake of practical convenience. Marriage isn’t a business arrangement or even a legal contract. A marriage cannot be healthy or indissoluble in practice unless it is a covenant of unconditional love, despite one’s partner’s imperfections, state of health, or financial contributions. Marriage does not lie within the criteria of a contract but rather that of a covenant. A fundamental difference between a contract and a covenant is that a contract is divided between two human parties and agreed upon as a matter of honor and personal security. Legal proceedings are in place to enforce such private agreements. Each party is more concerned about its own private interests. Unconditional love, fidelity, and self-sacrifice aren’t part of the criteria for signing a legal contract.

“The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself. From their covenant arises “an institution, confirmed by the divine law. . . even in the eyes of society.” The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God’s covenant with man: “Authentic married love is caught up into divine love” (CCC, 1639). “Thus, the marriage bond has been established by God so that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God’s fidelity. The Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom” (CCC, 1640). “” The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded to man and wife in mutual and unreserved affection” (CCC, 1645).

Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as his heavenly Father willed it from the beginning. Permission given by Moses to divorce one’s wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts. But the union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it: “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” (cf. Mt 19:3-10). “By restoring the original order of creation disturbed by sin, he gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God. By following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses, spouses will be able to “receive” the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ. This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ’s cross, the source of all Christian life” (CCC, 1615).

The exchange of consent between the spouses makes the marriage valid. If consent is lacking because of coercion or circumstantial pressure, no marriage can thereby be annulled by the Church. Consent must be canonically expressed between two persons capable of giving it. By their free, mutual consent, the couple forms the marriage covenant. It is on this covenant they build a life-long bond. While the sacrament is received at one moment in real-time, sacramental grace continues to flow and be received throughout the married couple’s lives. The offering of themselves to each other is a gift of grace. Grace is added upon grace as they continue to grow in conjugal love and bear the fruits of their marriage.

Thus, marital consent is a free human act that isn’t based on individual self-interest in which the man and the woman offer themselves to each other as gifts of grace. The consent by which the spouses mutually give to each other and receive is sealed by God. The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God’s covenant with human beings. The four characteristics of a marriage blessed by God through the administration of the sacrament are freedom of consent, the totality of giving oneself to the other, faithfulness, and fruitfulness. All these characteristics are grounded on and reinforced by the greatest theological Christian virtue: unconditional love from which flow kindness, gentleness, humility, patience, forbearance, honesty, compassion, mercy, and understanding.

Sacred Scripture confirms Catholic tradition and the sacramental nature of matrimony. We see that, from the beginning, man and woman are joined together by God and become one body as husband and wife (Gen 2:20-24). A human body cannot be divided or dismembered and still be animated with life. A husband and wife share a single soul in one body in the order of God’s creation. God speaks through His prophet and declares, ““For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Mal 2:16).

Indeed, Jesus makes it clear that God joins the husband and wife together according to His will. What God joins together must not be dissolved (Mt 19:6). Our Lord actually says that whoever divorces and remarries another commits adultery (Mt 19:9; Mk 10:11-12; Lk 16:18). This is an offense against the natural law that has been established by God. Paul reiterates Jesus’ teaching that sacramental marriage followed by a divorce and remarriage is adultery. The apostle writes: ‘Thus a married woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress’ (Rom 7:2-3; cf. 1 Cor 7:10-11).

The Lord permits divorce only for porneia (πορνεία ). This Greek noun often refers to unlawful sexual intercourse and non-sacramental unions such as between siblings and other close family members (incest). The Lord does not permit divorce for adultery (mocha / μοιχεία), such as in the case of an extra-marital affair. We should note that in unlawful cases, a marriage (between a father and his daughter, for instance) never existed in the first place, so the Lord is not permitting divorce but declaring a dissolution of an unlawful union by annulling it as a non-existent marriage.

But to the married, I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife is not to leave her husband (but
if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband, and that the husband is
not to divorce his wife.
1 Corinthians 7, 10-11

Finally, Paul says that the sacramental union of husband and wife is the image of Christ and the Church. A husband and wife are inseparable as much as Christ the Bridegroom and His Bride the Church are (Eph 5:22-32). A civil divorce cannot dissolve a sacramental marriage between two baptized Christians. However, we have what the Catholic Church calls the “Pauline privilege.” If two unbaptized people marry, and afterward, one of the spouses is baptized, the Christian is free to remarry if the unbaptized spouse decides to end the marriage. This is because the marriage between two unbaptized people is non-sacramental (1 Cor 7:12-15).

The marital union of man and woman reflects Christ’s union with the Church at the heavenly marriage supper (Rev 19:9). Those who get married in the Church must first be baptized and understand this divine mystery. Just as Christ and the Church have become one flesh through the sacrament of Holy Eucharist, and the union brings forth spiritual life for God’s children, a man, and a woman become one flesh, and their union brings forth physical life for the Church. This marital union is sacramental and thus indissoluble.

Hence, Holy Matrimony is one of the two sacraments of service. It is sacramental in that the mutual love between spouses mirrors God's absolute and unfailing love for humanity and Christ for his bride, the Church. A husband and wife's devotion to each other must mirror Christ’s love and service to the Church. In a sacramental marriage, God’s love becomes present to the spouses in their total union and flows through them to their family and community.

By its very vocational nature, marriage is ordered for the good of the couple and for the generation and education of children. Conjugal love involves a totality in which all the person's characteristics enter. It aims to achieve a deeply personal unity that extends beyond union in one flesh to the formation of one heart, mind, and soul. Conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. The Old Testament addresses the fidelity and perpetuity of marriage and likens Yahweh’s covenant with Israel to that between husband and wife. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is thus a covenant of love. The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another makes the marriage valid and is sealed by God Himself. By following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses, spouses (disciples of Christ) will be able to receive the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ.

Early Sacred Tradition

“Flee wicked arts; but all the more discourse regarding them. Speak to my sisters, that they love
in our Lord, and that their husbands be sufficient for them in the flesh and spirit. Then, again,
charge my brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they love their wives, as our Lord
His Church. If any man is able in power to continue in purity, to the honor of the flesh of our
Lord, let him continue so without boasting; if he boasts, he is undone; if he becomes known
apart from the bishop, he has destroyed himself. It is becoming, therefore, to men and women
who marry, that they marry with the counsel of the bishop, that the marriage may be in our
Lord, and not in lust. Let everything, therefore, be done for the honor of God.”
St. Ignatius of Antioch, To Polycarp, 5
(A.D. 110)

“Now that the Scripture counsels marriage, and allows no release from the union, is expressly
contained in the law, ‘Thou shalt not put away thy wife, except for the cause of fornication;’
and it regards as fornication, the marriage of those separated while the other is alive. Not to
deck and adorn herself beyond what is becoming, renders a wife free of calumnious suspicion
while she devotes herself assiduously to prayers and supplications; avoiding frequent
departures from the house, and shutting herself up as far as possible from the view of all not
related to her, and deeming housekeeping of more consequence than impertinent trifling. ‘He
that taketh a woman that has been put away,’ it is said, ‘committeth adultery; and if one puts
away his wife, he makes her an adulteress,’ that is, compels her to commit adultery. And not
only is he who puts her away guilty of this, but he who takes her, by giving to the woman the
opportunity of sinning; for did he not take her, she would return to her husband.”
St. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, 2:24
(A.D. 202)

“‘What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.’ See a teacher’s wisdom. I
mean, that being asked, Is it lawful? He did not at once say, It is not lawful, lest they should be
disturbed and put in disorder, but before the decision by His argument He rendered this
manifest, showing that it is itself too the commandment of His Father, and that not in
opposition to Moses did He enjoin these things, but in full agreement with him. But mark Him
arguing strongly not from the creation only, but also from His command. For He said not that
He made one man and one woman only, but that He also gave this command that the one man
should be joined to the one woman. But if it had been His will that he should put this one away,
and bring in another, when He had made one man, He would have formed many Women. But
now both by the manner of the creation, and by the manner of lawgiving, He showed that one
man must dwell with one woman continually, and never break off from her.”
St. John Chrysostom, On Matthew 62:1
(A.D. 370)

“There is hardly anything more deadly than being married to one who is a stranger to the faith,
where the passions of lust and dissension and the evils of sacrilege are inflamed. Since the
marriage ceremony ought to be sanctified by the priestly veiling and blessing, how can that be
called a marriage ceremony where there is no agreement in faith?”
St. Ambrose, To Vigilius, Letter 19:7
(A.D. 385)

“Therefore the good of marriage throughout all nations and all men stands in the occasion of
begetting, and faith of chastity: but, so far as pertains unto the People of God, also in the
sanctity of the Sacrament, by reason of which it is unlawful for one who leaves her husband,
even when she has been put away, to be married to another, so long as her husband lives, no
not even for the sake of bearing children: and, whereas this is the alone cause, wherefore
marriage takes place, not even where that very thing, wherefore it takes place, follows not, is
the marriage bond loosed, save by the death of the husband or wife.”
St. Augustine, On the Good of Marriage, 24:32
(A.D. 401)

“Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and
female… Have you not read, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and
be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one’? So they are no longer two but one.
What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Matthew 19, 4-6

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