Wedding (Casamento) or Matrimony)

Theognoto

The wisdom, many times secular, that cames from the pages of the Sacred Book – if appropriately interpreted its reading – is a source of precious teachings. Besides the fundamental message of the existence of a God that creates everything and of the logical inference of His majestic Power, and also of His loving and permanent activity, we can verify the notable Perfection of the Supreme Artist.

Not only the excellence of what was created but the purpose of the Creative Act and the ordinate maintenance of all the things, still reveal - with sufficiency – aspects of cause and effect in the divine work. Looking at this, seeing the prodigious fecundity of the alive species and its progressive evolution, the less subtle minds can be frightened. Not rarely they are taken of perplexity and doubts.

Let us get the attention for this point of view, fundamental in the compound plan of the Creation: the larger objective of getting the Supreme Goal. In fact, everything is ordered for the attainment of the final objective that we can summarise in the binomial – God / Man. Defined the human being, by the Creator, like His most valuable work ( conjectured in His “atemporarity” – timeless behaviour - like His own image and likeness), she represents the summit of the divine work. Everything more seems to us to rotate in turn of that goal traced for the man. Even the reproductive activity, common to all the animals, it reaches – in the “rational being” – a transcendent dimension.

In the bisexual species the union of the reproductive couple (transitory or permanent in the temporary context), it is characterised by the joining of the generating pair. To this fact, framed by the rituals and own apparatuses of each species, we called commonly, in Portuguese, “acasalamento” (coupling). Of the same root it came to us the term “casamento” to mean the union (stable) of a man and a woman. Such procedure, quite satisfactory in the material plan, results incomplete and defective for the human being.

As the Creation (and all the Divine doing) is an Act of Love, to the most important of that creative activity,God reserved a wider expression of that Love (Charitas) that define the Holy Trinity. The natural reproductive act will be lifted now to a transcendent dignity of “love”, for the “blow of the Life” (the “ruach” of the old children of Sem) The continuous evolution of the created things goes, in a progressive and orderly way, seeking the completion of the model that was established.

We reach, then, an important point of transition. The simple activity “acasaladora” not more it is enough to the new situation that appeared. Although persisting as material base doesn’t assure, however, the achievement of the foreseen objective. It is necessary, now, to transpose it to a higher level. It will be assigned to a more complete union, where the material support will be led in a conjugation of acts and values, spiritual, emotional, freely chosen, to a condition that surpass the simple “animal behaviour”.

In our society, every day more and more moved away of the divine and extremely bestialized, the basic concept of family is losing this transcendent vision. The term “CASAMENTO” (Marriage, Wedding – already exposed above), here we define – etymologically – as “ the maintenance of the procreatory couple, because the suffix “mento” implicates continuity of action.. Nowadays, this word brings a connotation strongly sexual; done soften by certain social and economical criteria that ties the “couple” (will it still be a couple?) relationship to a conventional act of personal interests.

On this explained facts, up to now, we will tray to show that the Christian focus in the practise of the “coexistence” – common to a couple – holds something larger and more sublime.

(To be continued in the module II).

Wedding or Matrimony (II)

Theognoto

We deepen, now, the proposed theme. For a Catholic Christian couple a man's union with a woman is already going besides the merely material. In fact, in the divine plan of the Creation, the human beings are lifted to a condition that surpasses the biological character of our animal configuration.

When creating the human being, God made him man and woman. And, in the destination that He foresaw, He considered that "was not good that Adam stayed alone". Wanting to give him company - it is read in the poetic report of the Genesis - God saw that only the woman was suitable him in dignity. Flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones. To the alive men's mother it would be destined a mission ratified "ab initio" in the expression: "grow and multiply".

It was, so, instituted the primeval Sacrament (proto sacrament); whose larger significance Christ would came to exalt in the plenty known legal controversies with the masters of Israel. And sacrament, yes, for being sensitive and effective sign of the Grace (as teaches the Mother Church). Tangible for the senses (when of the union of the hands and the exchange of the symbolic rings), and effective for the presence of the Lord among those that surrender, voluntarily, for the donation of live and love.

As teaches the Theologian (Saint Thomas of Aquinas) the mater of this sacrament consists of the union - mutually spoilt - of the engaged couple and the form of this same sacrament is characterized in the "yes" of them. The priest, presiding the ceremony and the presence of the Christian assembly, they only affirm the "placet" of the Church.

Now, this union that Jesus wants indissoluble - when He affirms that, starting from then, man and woman will be only "one flesh" - it doesn't only extend to the reproductive sexual character, but it immerses in the plan of the Grace. In fact, not only for DNA common to the descendants, but above all for the indissolubility of the matrimonial link, the spouses should live an "unity" of social and religious behavior. The word "conjuges" (partners) itself, in its etymological Latin root. express the reality of mutual dependence. Because that this "yoke" (as that arresting two oxen in a same plow), it translates the need of an integrated action of the participants in the same love act.

This real union of a couple is completed in their children that are called now to integrate the only body of the family. And they stay like this until each one, assuming the own vocation, choose the destiny that assists their desires. It is this integration the touchstone that will serve as base for a well organized society having in the family its fundamental cell.

We see, of this way, that the concept purely human and social of "casamento" (marriage) is incomplete when defining the compound context of a divine-human relationship among husbands. The mere social contract, fallible and limited, it should give place to a stable union, loaded of transcendent values. Indeed the sacramental character of the "Matrimony" it gives to the husbands rights and responsibilities above what is demanded by the men's law.

The Teaching of the Church affirms us that the purpose of the "Matrimony" can be summarized in two complementary aspects: a) to procreate children not only for the human society but, with priority, for the Church (vassals of Eternal Kingdom); b) to allow the welfare of the matrimonial relationship guaranteeing the couple's psychosomatic satisfaction aiming at to lead the husbands to the sanctity. For such goal, the sexual incentive inserted in this context will be the foundation of a pure love "Eros" exalted in the "Charitas Dei".

(To be continued in the module III)