Marriage
The Sacrament of Marriage is "the matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life." Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of "the wedding-feast of the Lamb."
Congratulations! We rejoice with you on your upcoming marriage, and that together, you have decided to begin a lifetime journey of love. The church recognizes your marriage as a sacrament that is meant to express your faith in God and your love for each other. Because you are seeking to marry in the Catholic Church, we invite you to enter fully into this process of marriage preparation, which incorporates the wisdom of Christian teaching and the reality of God's grace.
If you are engaged and would like to receive the Sacrament of Marriage, please contact the Parish Office (815-589-3542), at least six months prior to your wedding date, for information on the preparation for this sacrament.
Biblical Background to Marriage
Most of society would view marriage as something humanity made up as a matter of practicality. Nobody can really give a date, but would assume it was practical in the caveman days. However, the Bible gives us a very different history.
The very first chapter of the Bible, in the book of Genesis, chapter one, we see the creation of humanity. Genesis states, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them and God said to them, 'be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it..."' (Gen 1:27-28). God not just saying that each men and also women are in God's image. He was saying that the both of them in Marriage fully reveals the image and likeness of God, especially in creation. By being "fruitful and multiply[ing]", the husband and wife cooperate with God in the creation of new human life. These new human lives are not like that of plants or animals, but are destined to become children of God. A child always bears the likeness of their parents, so this part of human history, long before the time of Jesus, is a sign of humanities calling to be children of God.
But at this time, the realization of this has not yet come to pass. Yet God does bless them for this task. This blessing is in the multiplying. In other words, it is in having children. The having of the children is of the nature of humanity and God gave both man and woman to each other as part of their participation in creation. So marriage was always part of God's plan from the time He created them. It is part of the nature of humanity. The Church recognizes the natural form of marriage that is outside of the Church on this basis.
However, Jesus gave us a higher form of marriage that Catholics are obliged to take. This is the sacramental form of marriage. This is most expressed in Ephesians, chapter five, verses 21 though 32. The amazing part of our understanding of Sacramental Marriage comes to the forefront at verse 25. It states, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her..." This means that husbands are to love their wives with the same sacrificial love that Jesus loved us with. Books have been written about this part of marriage alone. But then, if you stop and think about what is said here, marriage is a living out of God's love within the context of the domestic Church, the family unit. Marriage is be be an experience of the very love of God. So the love between husband and wife are not to be mere human love, but the very love of God. It is to be an experience of the Divine. This is the sacredness of Marriage.
Since God's love for us is enduring, the marriage bond between the couple is also to be enduring. It was said so in the beginning that they become "one flesh" (Gen 2:24) just as God is one; in his image (Gen 1:27). This is a bond of love as "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8). Love is what defines sacramental marriage and therefore the very existence of God defines marriage. It so happens that He teaches us who He is, but it is not His teaching the defines love or marriage. It is His existence that defines love and marriage.
In verse 32, Paul writes, "this is a great mystery". If marriage is to be an emulation of who God is and His love for us, then marriage itself is a mystery. It would be a glorious mystery, in God's plan, to glorify His name and to be a means by which all people may come to know Him by the love you have for one another. Marriage and family are irreplaceable in God's plan to spread His love throughout the world.
If married Love is sacrificial, the Sacrament of Marriage would be a sacrament of service. It is not the sacrament where you are just concerned about what you receive, but a sacrament of self-gift. It is a constant day in and day out giving of yourself in love for your spouse and children. This daily self sacrifice then becomes a source of fulfillment in your daily lives. God already loves us, so our fulfillment is when we love in return by loving our spouses and children. And when you have grown old together, your very life becomes a sacrifice of Praise to God. It would be a day where your love would be complete.