In Christian marriage, Jesus invites us to be generous and to give ourselves to our spouses as he gives himself to us in the Eucharist. The following are some of the similarities between the Eucharist and Marriage.
- The Eucharist is a sacrament through which Christ gives himself totally to us. Marriage is a sacrament in which the spouses give themselves totally to each other.
- The Eucharist is a sacrament of communion and intimacy. In the Mass Jesus shares himself with us, he makes himself vulnerable to us, and through our reception of him we grow in communion and intimacy with him. Marriage is also a sacrament of communion and intimacy. Through the spouses’ mutual sharing of their lives—dreams, feelings, thoughts, material possessions, finances, and bodies—they make themselves vulnerable to each other; when such gift is respected and accepted, they grow in union and intimacy.
- The Eucharist is a sacrament of nourishment. In the Mass Christ gives us his Word and his Body and Blood, and he nourishes us spiritually. In marriage the spouses’ kind words and generous acts of love, however small, feed their affection for each other, nourish their marriage, and strengthen their union.
- The Eucharist is a sacrament of thanksgiving. During the Mass, moved by the Holy Spirit and in union with Christ, we give thanks to the Father for all of his blessings. Similarly, Marriage is a school of gratitude. Successful husbands and wives are grateful for the gift that God has given them in their spouses. They express such gratitude through words and actions and in a special way through sexual intercourse.
- The Eucharist is a life-giving and life-sustaining sacrament. Through the gift of his Word and his Body and Blood, Jesus shares his divine life with us and sustains it in the Church. In Marriage the loving words and actions of husband and wife are life-giving. In their mutual self-giving of their bodies to each other as an act of love, they enliven their relationship and, with God’s help, bring new life into the world.
How the Sacramental Graces of the Eucharist Help Married Couples
In the Eucharist, Catholic married couples meet the one who is the source of their marriage, God himself. The Mass is an intimate moment with Jesus, who is truly present and who has the power to transform us. By actively participating in the Mass, married couples grow in union with God and one another as husband and wife.
By participating in the Eucharist, spouses enter the mystery of God’s self-giving love, which draws them to communion with himself and invites them to live in communion with each other, their families, and their whole community. From that encounter couples leave the Mass strengthened in their faith, feeling closer to one another and reaffirmed in their vocation to marriage.
A survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate found that persons who attend Mass regularly are less likely to divorce and are more satisfied in their marriage than those who do not attend Mass regularly.3 These findings are consistent with the 2016 report by the Institute for Family Studies that 78 percent of spouses who regularly attend church together are “very” or “extremely” happy in their relationships. We encourage you to practice your faith and make it a habit to attend Mass at least every Sunday. In a June 2014 Angelus address, Pope Francis explained why attending Mass makes a difference in our lives: “The presence of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit acts in us, shaping our hearts, communicating interior attitudes to us that translate into behaviors according to the Gospel.”
This excerpt from The Joined by Grace Couple’s Book is reprinted with permission of Ave Maria Press.
John Bosio is a former marriage and family therapist, director of religious education, and diocesan family life coordinator. He and his wife, Teri, wrote Joined by Grace, a marriage preparation program from Ave Maria Press.
