Day 222: Matrimonial Consent

The consent consists in a "human act by which the partners mutually give themselves to each other": "I take you to be my wife" - "I take you to be my husband."126 This consent that binds the spouses to each other finds its fulfillment in the two "becoming one flesh." CCC 1627

Today's reading from the Catechism is about that crucial element necessary for a valid marriage: the free consent of both man and woman to be wed. The Catechism Compendium summarizes ably the Church's teaching on this:

Matrimonial consent is given when a man and a woman manifest the will to give themselves to each other irrevocably in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love. Since consent constitutes Matrimony, it is indispensable and irreplaceable. For a valid marriage, the consent must have as its object true Matrimony, and be a human act which is conscious and free and not determined by duress or coercion. (#344)

While the Catechism itself doesn't address it in this section, the Catechism Companion, Vol II, does. It states that "marriage is impossible between two people of the same sex" (p. 208). I presume this will be discussed in more detail within the Catechism later on, but in this text it notes that "a couple must be able to enter into the sexual embrace," which same-sex couples are unable to do with each other. Sure, they can have a form of "sexual embrace," but presumably the Catechism will speak later about how it is not a natural one or one able to procreate. More on that later.

The only other item the Catechism really addresses in this section is annulment. If reasons can be shown why a valid marriage wasn't contracted, it may be annulled, with the couple able to freely marry later on. However, if it cannot be shown, then the marriage remains valid and the couple are still bound to one another (CCC 1628-29).

Finally, the Catechism Companion recommends this video with Fr. Mike Schmitz on marriage: