Valentine's Day fills our feeds with roses, chocolates, and romantic comedies. But for Christians seeking a deeper understanding of love and marriage, there's a resource far richer than any Hallmark card: the Catechism's teaching on the sacrament of matrimony. This Valentine's, consider setting aside the commercialism and diving into what the Church actually teaches about the covenant of marriage.
Marriage as Sacrament, Not Contract
The world treats marriage as a contract—a legal agreement between two parties that can be dissolved when conditions change. The Catechism presents something radically different: marriage is a sacrament, a visible sign of invisible grace, modeled on the relationship between Christ and His Church.
Saint Paul described this mystery: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25). This is not a call to mere romantic affection—it is a call to sacrificial, total, life-giving love. The kind of love that stays when feelings fade, that forgives when wounds are deep, that gives when there's nothing left to give.
The Purposes of Marriage
According to the Catechism, marriage exists for two inseparable purposes: the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children. These purposes are not in competition—they are complementary expressions of the same love.
The good of the spouses means that marriage is designed to help each partner grow in holiness. Your spouse is not merely your companion—they are your path to sanctity. As the book of Ecclesiastes wisely observes: "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
The Properties of Marriage: Unity and Indissolubility
The Catechism teaches that marriage has two essential properties: unity (faithfulness to one spouse) and indissolubility (permanence until death). These are not restrictions—they are the conditions that make true love possible.
Jesus himself affirmed this teaching: "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate" (Mark 10:9). In a culture of disposability, where even relationships are treated as upgradeable, the Church's insistence on permanence is countercultural—and profoundly hopeful. It says: your love is worth fighting for.
Love as Decision, Not Feeling
Perhaps the Catechism's most challenging teaching for modern couples is this: love is not primarily a feeling. It is an act of the will. Feelings of attraction and romance are beautiful gifts, but they are not the foundation of marriage—commitment is.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud" (1 Corinthians 13:4). Notice that every quality Paul lists is a choice, not an emotion. Patience is chosen. Kindness is chosen. Humility is chosen. This is the love that sustains marriages through decades—not butterflies, but daily decisions to choose the other person.
The Domestic Church
One of the most beautiful concepts in the Catechism is the idea of the family as "the domestic church." The home is where faith is first learned, where prayer is first practiced, where children first encounter the love of God through the love of their parents.
"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). Every family dinner, every bedtime prayer, every moment of forgiveness between spouses is an act of evangelization.
For Those Who Are Single
The Catechism's teaching on marriage is not only for married couples. For those who are single and hoping for marriage, it offers a vision of what to look for—and what to become. Rather than searching for the perfect partner, focus on becoming the kind of person who can love sacrificially, faithfully, and permanently.
And for those called to the single life or religious life, the Catechism reminds us that all love finds its source and fulfillment in God: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God" (1 John 4:7).
This Valentine's Challenge
Instead of (or in addition to) flowers and dinner, consider reading the Catechism's section on marriage together with your spouse or loved one. Discuss what resonates, what challenges, and what inspires. Let this Valentine's Day be not just a celebration of romance but a renewal of covenant love—the kind of love that truly lasts.
Comentarios