Adult Faith Formation, May 1 -- Introduction to Series on Marriage (Father Ryan Erlenbush, Series on Marriage, Part 1 of 6)

Objectives of Session 1, Introduction to Marriage

1) To recognize that marriage is a natural institution as well as a sacrament

2) To see that even outside of the Church, marriage falls under certain principles of natural law

3) To appreciate that all marriage (even non-sacramental marriage) must be freely chosen, permanent, exclusive, and open to life

4) To recognize that the Church accepts the natural marriages of non-baptized persons

5) To recognize that two baptized persons cannot enter into a merely natural marriage, but only a sacramental marriage

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Adult Faith Formation:

Marriage, In Scripture and in the Church

Session 1 – Introduction to marriage

I. Introduction to the course: We will consider marriage both according to natural law and divine revelation. After discussing the history of the Sacrament of Matrimony, we will answer various objections to marriage common in the modern world.

II. Outline of the Sessions:

1. May 1 – Introduction to marriage, in nature and in the Church

2. May 8 – Marriage and family life

[May 15 – NO SESSION]

3. May 22 – Marriage in Scripture, both the Old Testament and the New

4. May 29 – Matrimonial Consent and Indissolubility

5. June 5 – Celibacy and Marriage

6. June 12 – Modern objections to the Church’s teaching, Review

III. The occasion for this course: 50^th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae

A. Overview of the way the encyclical came together: Minority Report

B. Influence of the encyclical letter on the Church

C. Contemporary controversy in Rome over the encyclical

IV. Marriage – Matrimony: matris, Becoming a mother

V. Marriage as a “natural sacrament” – marriage in the order of nature

A. Non-sacramental marriage is still true marriage

B. The natural order of marriage and the sacrament

C. Even natural marriage is not made by man or the state

VI. Marriage in the Church

A. Two baptized persons cannot enter into a merely natural marriage

B. Christ elevated marriage to a sacrament

C. Marriage as a sacrament is a sign

VII. Fundamentals about the nature of marriage

A. Open to life

B. Permanent

C. Exclusive