Marriage in the Catholic Church, also called matrimony, is the "covenant by which a man and a

woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its
nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring", and which "has
been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptised."[1] Catholic
matrimonial law, based on Roman law regarding its focus on marriage as a free mutual agreement
or contract, became the basis for the marriage law of all European countries, at least up to
the Reformation.[

Catholic Church view of the importance of marriage [edit]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "The intimate community of life and love which
constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own
proper laws. . . . God himself is the author of marriage. The vocation to marriage is written in the very
nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely
human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in
different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes. These differences should not cause us to
forget its common and permanent characteristics. Although the dignity of this institution is not
transparent everywhere with the same clarity, some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union
exists in all cultures. The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society
is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life."[3]
It also says: "The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. She
sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth
marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ's presence. In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught
the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning
permission given by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts. The
matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it 'what therefore
God has joined together, let no man put asunder'. This unequivocal insistence on the indissolubility
of the marriage bond may have left some perplexed and could seem to be a demand impossible to
realize. However, Jesus has not placed on spouses a burden impossible to bear, or too heavy heavier than the Law of Moses. By coming to restore the original order of creation disturbed by sin,
he himself gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God."

When the Catholic Church teaches that marriage between two baptized
persons is a sacrament, it is saying that the couples relationship
expresses in a unique way the unbreakable bond of love between Christ
and his people. Like the other six sacraments of the Church, marriage is
a sign or symbol which reveals the Lord Jesus and through which his
divine life and love are communicated. All seven sacraments were
instituted by Christ and were entrusted to the Church to be celebrated in
faith within and for the community of believers. The rituals and prayers
by which a sacrament is celebrated serve to express visibly what God is
doing invisibly.
In a sacramental marriage, Gods love becomes present to the spouses
in their total union and also flows through them to their family and
community. By their permanent, faithful and exclusive giving to each

other, symbolized in sexual intercourse, the couple reveals something of

Gods unconditional love. The sacrament of Christian marriage involves
their entire life as they journey together through the ups and downs of
marriage and become more able to give to and receive from each other.
Their life becomes sacramental to the extent that the couple cooperates
with Gods action in their life and sees themselves as living in Christ
and Christ living and acting in their relationship, attitudes and actions.
Catholic teaching holds that sacraments bring grace to those who
receive them with the proper disposition. Grace is a way of describing
how God shares the divine life with us and gives us the help we need to
live as followers of Christ. In marriage, the grace of this sacrament
brings to the spouses the particular help they need to be faithful and to
be good parents. It also helps a couple to serve others beyond their
immediate family and to show the community that a loving and lasting
marriage is both desirable and possible.

Civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. [1] Such a
marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or entirely secular

Definition: A civil marriage is one where the marriage ceremony has a government or
civil official perform the ceremony.
A civil marriage is a wedding that takes place without any religious affiliation and meets
the legal requirements of the locale.
Some countries require that a couple have their first marriage ceremony be a civil
ceremony in a public location and that the ceremony is open to the public. The couples
can then be married in a church and have a religious ceremony performed by a member
of the clergy.

What are the differences between contemporary civil

marriage and biblical marriage, and how do Christian
reconcile the difference?

Most Christian believe that people shouldn't have sex without marriage. The differences
would lead to a lot of issues for people with that kind of opinion. Do they believe that God
require contemporary civil marriage? Do they believe that engaging in contemporary civil
marriage somehow fulfill what they believe as God's requirement to get married first before
sex. Do they believe that somehow contemporary civil marriage is effectively biblical
marriage? How do they reconcile?

The Catholic definition is really quite simple: marriage is a sacrament performed by the
couple. Unless there's a special dispensation made by the Bishop, the ceremony must be
held within a Catholic Church. A priest or deacon will preside over the ceremony, but the
Sacrament is actually being created by the couple.
The difference between a sacramental and civil concept of marriage is dramatic, but not
mutually exclusive in practice. The values and responsibilities are generally the same, the
difference being mainly that a sacrament is not reducible to a contractual
relationship. It's a spiritual bond. There's a sincere belief that God has a role within the
marriage and family life as whole. While a Catholic couple can divorce, the validity of their
marriage can only be removed by an annulment. The Church recognizes that sometimes
marriages do not work out and the couple must separate, but it does not believe that the
sacrament can be removed--rather it can only be declared invalid if evidence is provided
that either spouse failed to enter the marriage in good faith (i.e. due to conduct before, not
after the marriage vows).
If you were previously married outside the church, you can have your
marriage convalidated by the church. The exact requirements for convalidation vary
depending on circumstance, but the basic premise is that both partners agree to live by
Catholic values, raise children within the faith and are then blessed by a priest or deacon.
Note: a previous dissolved marriage outside of the church does not need to be annulled for a

current marriage to either be convalidated or allowed to occur within the church. The prior
marriage is not recognized by the church. Only sacramental marriages are considered
indissoluble.
..
The form of marriage changes somewhat throughout the Bible. For example, Moses allows
divorce, but Jesus forbids it. Contemporary civil marriage varies depending on the country,
and in the US, on the state. So the answer will depend heavily on which marriage you
choose.
In any case, the major difference is that civil marriage is a legal form, and so specifies legal
aspects such as joint property and inheritance, power of attorney, alimony, etc. These are
not biblically required, though they are not generally at odds with a biblical marriage. A
biblical marriage, however, is a lifelong commitment to partnership, sexual exclusivity, love,
respect and sacrifice. These are not required for a civil marriage. Per Jesus' command,
biblical marriage is also indissoluble except by death or perhaps in cases of adultery. Civil
marriage is relatively easy to dissolve in most places.
Most couples I know (Christian or Jewish) have chosen to have both a civil marriage and a
religious one. The civil marriage is paperwork, filed in private, of legal importance but
relatively little consequence overall. The actual wedding is a religious one, friends and
family present, presided over by a priest / rabbi / pastor. The essence of that ceremony is
the vows (and in the Jewish case, signing a religious contract called a Ketubah as well). And
the marriage is not the wedding, but the lifelong relationship that follows it.