woman only, and that unto the death of either of them; and He proposed, therefore, His spiritual union with the Church as an example to married people (Ephes. v.).
'Moses, by reason of the hardness of your heart, permitted you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, and shall marry another, committeth adultery; and he that shall marry her that is put away committeth adultery' (Matt. xix. 8, 9, and Luke xvi. 18; Mark x. 11, 12).
4. Can, then, the bond of Marriage never be dissolved?
Spiritual Superiors can, indeed, for important reasons, allow a husband and wife to live separated from each other; but, nevertheless, they continue married people, and neither of them can validly contract a second marriage whilst the other party is living,
'To them that are married, not I, but the Lord commandeth that the wife depart not from her husband. And if she depart, that she remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And let not the husband put away his wife' (1 Cor. vii. 10, 11). The bond of Christian marriage cannot be dissolved by the civil law, because the civil authority cannot interfere with the Sacrament, and cannot put asunder what God has joined.
5. How do we know that Matrimony is a Sacrament?
1. St. Paul teaches so, who calls Matrimony in the Church 'a great Sacrament'1 (Ephes. v. 32);
2. The Church has at all times believed and taught so, as is evident, not only from the Holy Fathers, but also from the fact that those Sects who in the first ages separated themselves from us agree in holding this doctrine.
1 St. Paul teaches that husbands and wives should be united with each other, as Christ and His Church are united. Now, the union that subsists between Christ and His Church is supernatural and replete with graces; consequently, Matrimony is a sign to which invisible grace is attached, and, therefore, a Sacrament.
6. What, then, is Matrimony in the Church of Christ?
Matrimony is a Sacrament by which two single persons, man and woman, are married to each other, and
