Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. In the 14th century, Pope John XXII instituted the celebration as a feast for the entire Church. After the liturgical reforms of Vatican II, the celebration became a solemnity.

The Most Holy Trinity is an eternal exchange of life-giving love. Throughout history, God has shown humanity His selfless love. Christ has revealed the Father’s love in the power of the Holy Spirit. He has shown us the inner life of the Holy Trinity: a communion of persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Church is also a community of persons that shares in God’s Trinitarian life and love.[1]

Marriage is a metaphor for God’s self-giving love. It is also a participation in it. Like all sacraments, Matrimony draws husbands and wives more deeply into the Trinitarian life of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit” (CCC, 2205).

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In the Catholic Church, the month of February is dedicated to the Holy Family. This special devotion honors the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as the model of virtue for all Christian households. The family is foundational for Christian life.

Nothing truly can be more salutary or efficacious for Christian families to meditate upon than the example of this Holy Family, which embraces the perfection and completeness of all domestic virtues. Pope Leo XIII

The family is a school of virtue for both parents and children. In family, we find God who is all loving through the love the spouses have for each other and for their children. The family is where love is freely given sacrificially for the good of another. During the International Year of the Family (1994), Saint John Paul II wrote: “The family is indeed more than any other social reality, the place where an individual can exist ‘for himself’ through the sincere gift of self. This is why it remains a social institution that neither can nor should be replaced: it is the ‘sanctuary of life.’”[1]

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How many couples fully understand God’s plan for marriage when they say “I do?”

At Calling Couples to Christ Marriage Apostolate, one of our greatest desires is to help couples understand what constitutes a sacramental marriage in the Catholic Church.

Unfortunately, many couples have little or no understanding of the vows they make to each other on their wedding day. These are not mere words but have deep spiritual meaning.

So, what constitutes a sacramental marriage in the Catholic Church? According to the Code of Canon Law:[1]

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