Marriage
One topic I have found myself discussing a lot recently is marriage. Marriage is one of the seven sacraments, but it is actually the only one to predate (in a sense) the ministry of Jesus. It goes all the way back to the beginning, when in Gen. 2:24 we are told: “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.” But in John 2, at the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ changing of water into wine is meant to signify his taking marriage (something already present and good in itself) and changes it into something new and of the highest quality, a sacrament.
Marriage being a sacrament means that, in living out the married life faithfully and according to God’s design, the husband and wife become sources of grace for one another. They actually sanctify each other by living out the married life. But for marriage to be a sacrament, it must be celebrated within the context and rites of the Church, just like the others. This means that Catholics must be married “in the Church.” This saying, “married in the Church,” is not simply referring to the building but according to the Rite of Marriage. Just as it is a problem for a Catholic to take bread and wine and try to change it into the Eucharist by some formula other than the Mass, so too with marriage. If you are a Catholic and got married “outside of the Church,” I would strongly encourage you to speak to your priest.
Along with that, as with many of the other sacraments, there is also a period of preparation before entering into marriage. This preparation involves four steps. It is required by the Church because, quite frankly, it works. Studies have shown that the famous divorce rate (50%) applies mostly to those who go into marriage with no preparation at all. For those who do any kind of marriage prep, the rate drops by 10%. For those who do a Catholic marriage prep and put the lessons learned into practice, it drops all the way to the single digits. If you are Catholic and engaged, or are talking about getting married, I would encourage you to talk with your priest about getting married in the Church.