EFFECTS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC TRADITION UPON ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE AND BEHAVIOR
'The love of a man and a woman is made holy in the sacrament of marriage and becomes the mirror of your everlasting love.'
Marriage is a sacrament by which two people are united in love and become one.
A sacrament is the outward sign of something sacred. For many Christians, the sacraments as signs of the blessing of God, lie at the heart of worship.
For many people, marriage is simply a civil ceremony, a legal step confirming the union of a man and a woman. But most Christians believe that it is a sacrament, which conveys God's blessing onto the newly wedded couple.
In 1984 in Britain there were 396,000 marriages and over half of these took place in a Register Office, which shows a decline in the amount of couples that opt for the more traditional marriage. Why do people marry?
The main reasons for marriage are as follows:
*to commit yourself to the person you love for a lifetime
*to bring up children in a secure and loving home
*to control and direct the sex instinct
*for friendship and companionship through life
In the gospel of Mark Jesus gives an explanation about the meaning and purpose of marriage, '..........And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.'(Mk 10:7-8), '........So they are no longer two but one. Man must not separate, then, what God has joined together.'(Mk 10:8-9)
The Catholic Church follows this teaching in Marks Gospel. Only death can end a marriage in the eyes of a church. If a couple have been married in a Church and get a divorce from the state, the Church teaches that they are still married in the eyes of God.
The vows carried out during a marriage are almost like a rulebook that tells the couple how they should treat each other and respect each other according to the words of God.
&apo...