Life and Love. Terry Polakovic

Pius XI echoed the words of Leo XIII in dealing with the issues of unity and indissolubility of marriage. When Our Lord said: ‘“Now they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder,’ (Matt 19:6), He was reserving for God alone the power [to dissolve] a marriage, which is a sacrament and has also been perfected by marital intercourse.”⁹⁵ We know from the Church’s teaching that marriage cannot be dissolved by any human being. Consequently, Catholics know that they are with their partners until death, which is motivation enough to do the best they can to make their marriage succeed.

      The third precept of marriage is that it is a sacrament, which means it is a source of divine grace. When the spouses utter their marriage vows before a priest or deacon, they are, in fact, ministering the sacrament to each other. In doing so, they are bestowing Christ’s sanctifying grace on one another.⁹⁶

      In a sacramental marriage, the spouses are also given special gifts to navigate the ups and downs of life, which might otherwise seem impossible. As the pope expressed it:

      By the very fact, therefore, that the faithful with sincere mind give such consent, they open up for themselves a treasure of sacramental grace from which they draw supernatural power for the fulfilling of their rights and duties faithfully, holily, perseveringly even unto death. Hence this sacrament not only increases sanctifying grace … but also adds particular gifts, dispositions, seeds of grace, by elevating and perfecting the natural powers. By these gifts the parties are assisted not only in understanding, but in knowing intimately, in adhering to firmly, in willing effectively, and in successfully putting into practice, those things which pertain to the marriage state.⁹⁷

       What Are the Threats to Marriage?

      To preserve marriage, it is important to recognize clearly those things that are detrimental to Christian marriage. First among Pope Pius’s concerns were various cultural issues in his time, all of which are still far too familiar to us. The pope was particularly scandalized by the entertainment industry with its salacious anti-marriage propaganda, as seen in books, plays, movies, newspapers, and even in the popular songs of the day.

      Moreover, he was troubled that so many people (Catholic and non-Catholic) deny that God is the author of marriage, believing that it is simply another human institution. Other major obstacles to healthy, holy marriages were selfishness, cohabitation, and the humiliation of one spouse by the other. As the pope pointed out, none of this is rooted in mutual love.