Matrimony

The sacrament by which a man and woman are joined in a covenant that images Christ's love for the Church.

What it is. In Matrimony, a baptized man and woman give themselves to each other in a permanent, faithful, life-giving covenant. The spouses are the ministers of the sacrament; the Church witnesses and blesses what they confer on one another. Christ raises their natural union into a sign of His own union with the Church: a bond He sanctifies and strengthens with grace.

Why celebrate it. Marriage is not merely a contract or a milestone but a vocation and a channel of grace. The couple's love becomes a living image of the faithful, self-giving, fruitful love of Christ for His Church. The sacrament gives them the grace to love each other as Christ loves — through joy and hardship alike — and orders their life toward the good of one another, their children, and the wider communion. To celebrate a wedding is to celebrate a love made stronger than the couple could make it on their own, because God has joined it to His own.