We hear our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ speak about Holy Matrimony in our Gospel reading. He says, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?” Here he is quoting from Moses and the Book of Genesis, chapter 2. He is affirming that the Almighty God made human beings, and in making human beings, He made them male and female. And Christ is affirming that when they are joined, “They are no longer two but one flesh.” Just as Christians are joined together with Christ in one Body, the Church, which is Christ’s Body, so as a man and woman joined together in Holy Matrimony are joined together with Christ in one holy and sacred body. And that holy and sacred Body is their shared body of husband and wife, joined together by God, in Christ. And in such a way that no one can put asunder what God has accomplished in the husband and wife.
God makes this happen. He gives this tremendous gift which is the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. God gives this gift so that the husband and wife joined together in one flesh become a gift – that the husband and wife become God’s gift to the world around them. That they become a source of heavenly blessing. That they become a channel of heavenly peace. God’s gift to us that through Him their life together is a sign of Christ’s love to this sinful and broken world.
This points towards why for this liturgy, for this ceremony, the term Holy Matrimony is used. Holy Matrimony is not simply a synonym for marriage, although it is common to treat the two as interchangeable. But the terms are not interchangeable. Marriage, to be real, legal, and official, does not require a church, and does not require a priest. It can be done anywhere, whether in a forest or before a judge, and anywhere else. Marriage, itself, certainly does not require the location of the sacred space of a church, it does not require a Priest in Holy Orders, it does not require a liturgy which is sacramental, apostolic, and historic. And yet when the marriage ceremony is conducted in a sacred church space, and officiated by a Priest in Holy Orders, using a liturgy that is sacramental, apostolic, and historic, it becomes Holy Matrimony.
I met with Hannah and Thomas starting all the way back in February of this year. Our meetings were for the necessary preparation for their wedding and specifically the meetings were for sacramental preparation: preparation not merely to be married, but to be married sacramentally. “Holy Matrimony” points to that. But the term “Holy Matrimony” itself points to a profound reality, a profound obligation, and a profound gift. As the three of us discussed, “Holy Matrimony” etymologically means “the state of holy motherhood.” Of course, “the state of holy motherhood” is a much less beautiful name of what we are doing here than “Holy Matrimony.” Yet the longer, technical name starts to reveal the true meaning of this holy and beautiful gathering to celebrate the marriage before God of these two holy and beautiful people.
What they is meant by “the state of holy motherhood.” Two things, primarily. Firstly, the man and woman submit to the will of God with respect to the procreation of children, and if they are blessed by one or more children, to raise such children in the knowledge and love of the Lord. But “holy motherhood” also has a deeper spiritual meaning, beyond the biological meaning. The deeper spiritual meaning is that they promise to raise up spiritual children. Both men and women do this, and a man and woman married are given tremendous grace so as to truly be a sign, actually a sacrament, of Christ’s love to this sinful and broken world. And in being this sign, God’s love pours into them and through them to the world, that the people they meet, know, and love feel Christ’s love and are drawn to Christ through them, such that the man and woman joined in Holy Matrimony become spiritual parents, because their home and life together becomes a haven of God’s blessing and peace. Indeed, that their home become a domestic church, a sacred space of compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, and patience, as we hear from Saint Paul.
None of this is possible without God. But with God, nothing is impossible. A man and woman joined in Holy Matrimony is a living illustration, and living painting, a living symphony of God’s love, God’s peace, and God’s blessing. This is why the covenant of marriage represents the spiritual unity between Christ and His Church, as Saint Paul teaches in Ephesians 5.32. And this is why God blesses Holy Matrimony and the husband and wife, to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Fruitful and multiply, yes with the procreation of children if it is God’s will; but even more so, fruitful and multiply the blessing of God in the world, the peace of God in the world, and love of God in the world. Thomas and Hannah, I and everyone here at this Nuptial Mass, and many others who are not, know this of you both already. Our support for you both today is clear, joyous, and offered in one accord. We are confident in your holy union, we are inspired by your love and maturity, and we pray today and all days that by the Holy Ghost, you both become one in heart and soul, that you live in the faith and peace of Christ, and that you obtain those eternal joys prepared for all who love Our Lord, even our Saviour Jesus Christ, and love Him who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
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