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 I TREATISE ON MATRIMONY, 
 
 ACCOUDIXG TO THE 
 
 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE 
 
 OP THE 
 
 CATHOLIC CHURCH 
 
 BY RT. REY'D DOCTOR AMAT, 
 
 BISnOI" OF MONTERETi CALIFORNIA. 
 
 CI 
 
 cl. 
 
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 51 
 
 c 
 
 c 
 
 ^1 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY MICHAEL FLOOD, 428 KEARNY ST. 
 
 Towne & Bacon, I'riiitcrs, 53ti Clay Street. 
 
 1864. 
 
 "f A/\ A^. A/\ ATI A A A A A A A7^ nyi rtrv ATv A /A n n .--vr. A/\ /I A rtn A/\ A /^ "^
 
 EX LIBRIS 
 
 ROBERT ERNEST COWAN
 
 TREATISE ON MATRIMONY, 
 
 ACCORDING TO THE 
 
 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE 
 
 or TES 
 
 CATHOLIC CHUKCH 
 
 BY ET. EEY'D DOCTOR AilAT, 
 
 BISHOP OF MONTEBET, CALIFORNIA. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY MICHAEL FLOOD, 428 KEARNY ST. 
 
 Towne & Bacon, Printers, 536 Clay Street. 
 
 1864.
 
 \osi 
 
 TREATISE ON MATRIMONY. 
 
 
 
 \c Matrimony, one of the institutions of God himself 
 r" from the beginning of the world, for the preservation 
 . of the human race, created after his own imasje and 
 "/ likeness, was to bear the stamp of the divine goodness, 
 which the Supreme Architect had impressed on all his 
 ^ works; "and God saw all the things that he had made, 
 ^ and they were very good." (Gen. c. 15, v. 31) ; and. 
 ^ being designed, as we learn from the great Apostle, to 
 «s symbolize that admirable union which was to be effect- 
 52 ed in the fullness of time, by the infinite charity of God, 
 -^ of the divine and human nature in the Person of the 
 Eternal "Word, incarnate; and of the Eternal "Word 
 incarnate, Jesus Christ, with all the members of the 
 human race, engrafted in Him by the grace of regene- 
 ration, namely the Church ; it was necessary that it 
 should have also the stamp of unity and perpetuity, 
 grounded on charity and love, superior even to that 
 which man owes to his progenitors : " For this cause, 
 thus speaks the above cited Apostle (Eph. c. 5, vv. 31, 
 32), shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall 
 cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh : 
 This is a great sacrament ; but I speak in Christ and 
 in the Church." Hence Matrimony, from the very be- 
 gmning of creation, was a sacred sign, although not a 
 
 29i0iiH
 
 sacrament, a dignity which was reserved for the time of 
 the Christian Dispensation ; it was a sacred sign of the 
 most sacred and admirable union of Jesus Clirist with 
 his Church, and of the grace wliich was to be conferred 
 by Christian marriage under the new dispensation. As 
 the ancient sacrifices had no virtue of their own, but 
 through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which they prom- 
 ised and of which they were a figure ; they were as " a 
 shadow of the good things to come" (Heb. c. 10, v. 1), 
 as St. Paul says, so also matrimony amongst our fore- 
 fathers was a figure of the Christian marriage, and of 
 the grace which was to be annexed to the same by our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, in order that those engaged in the 
 matrimonial state, under the perfect law of the gospel, 
 which is a law of charity, might more fully represent 
 the union of Christ with the Church, and raise up their 
 children in the love and fear of God, and obedience to 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Hence, matrimony can be considered under two dif- 
 ferent aspects : as a contract, and as a sacrament. As 
 a contract established by God himself from the begin- 
 ning ; and as a sacrament of the %ew law, established 
 by Jesus Christ — these two qualities being inseparable 
 in the Christian marriage, since it is the same matrimo- 
 nial contract, established by God from the beginning, 
 which our divine Saviour raised to the dignity of a sac- 
 rament for all those who have received the Christian 
 baptism. On the knowledge of the matrimonial con- 
 tract greatly depends the right understanding of the 
 .same as a sacrament — the object we have in view by 
 these few lines, for the benefit of our Catholic friends. 
 
 Although matrimony, as we shall see, is a mutually
 
 onerous contract between man and woman; and on thi3 
 account it might be as well called patrimony as matri- 
 mony, which means — the duty both of father and moth- 
 er {Patris vel Matris inunus) — still as it is much more 
 onerous and laborious to the woman, to whom it belongs 
 to conceive, bring forth, and train up her offspring, it is 
 for this reason called, more appropriately, " matrimony." 
 It is likewise called "■ wedlock " {conjug ium), ^vom the 
 conjugal union of man and wife, united, as it were, by 
 a common yoke, and mutually bound to each other. 
 Matrimony can be defined thus: "The conjugal and 
 leoitimate union of man and woman, which is to last 
 during life." The word " union " expresses the mutual 
 tie and obligation by which the man and woman are 
 bound to each other; that of "conjugal" indicates the 
 peculiar character of this union, binding their own per- 
 sons to each other, which distinguishes the matrimonial 
 contract from all others; "legitimate," this word not 
 only means that said union is honest and lawful, but 
 also that it is to be contracted under certain laws ; the 
 words " which is to last during life," express the indis- 
 solubility of the tie which binds husband and wife. 
 
 Matrimony is a natural contract established by God 
 from the beginning of creation ; hence we read in the 
 first chapter of the book of Genesis (vv. 27, 28), that 
 
 " God created man to his own image male and 
 
 female he created them ; " and again, " God blessed 
 them, saying, increase and multiply," which woi*ds by 
 no means imply a precept for all to marry, as some 
 erroneously interpret them, as we shall see hereafter ; 
 but they merely express the object of matrimony, the 
 propagation of the human race, for which purpose he
 
 6 
 
 had made them male and female, and rendered them 
 fruitful by his blessing. In the second chapter of the 
 same book, we learn the secondary object of the matri- 
 monial contract, as intended by God, namely, the mu- 
 tual comfort and assistance of husband and wife, their 
 domestic felicity, as comprised in these words which 
 God said : " It is not good for man to be alone, let us 
 make him a help like unto himself" (v. 18) ; and having 
 formed the first woman out of one of the ribs of Adam? 
 by which God intended to teach them, that they were 
 to treat each other as companions and not as servants, 
 God brought the woman to Adam, " And Adam said, 
 this now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh ; 
 she shall be called woman, because she was taken out 
 of man ; wherefore a man shall leave father and moth- 
 er, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two 
 in one flesh" (vv. 23, 24). That these words, although 
 pronounced by the first pai'ent of the human race, were 
 pronounced by God's authority establishing matrimony, 
 is authoritatively declared by our Lord Jesus Chi-ist, 
 answering the question proposed to him by the Phari- 
 sees, whether " it were lawful for a man to put away 
 his wife for every cause ; he answered and said to 
 them, have ye not read, that he who made man in the 
 beginning, made them male and female ? and he said, 
 for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and 
 shall cleave unto his Avife ; and they two shall be in one 
 flesh ; M-herefore they are no more two, but one flesh. 
 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man 
 put asunder." (Matt. c. 19, v. 3, etc.) 
 
 This matrimonial contract, having the seal of God's 
 authority, the Supreme Author of nature, and being
 
 according to the end which he proposed to himself in 
 the formation of the two first parents of the human race, 
 even before their prevarication, could not be but good 
 and holy ; contrary to the teaching of those ancient her- 
 etics, who, as Saint Paul says, writing to his disciple 
 Timothy, departed " from the faith, giving heed to spirits 
 of error, and doctrines of devils," and " forbidding to 
 marry,"" (First Tim. ch. 4, v. 1, and following,) as com- 
 ing from an evil principle. This monstrous doctrine 
 needs no confutation, since it is evident by the very 
 words of its institution, that matrimony was established 
 by the Almighty for the purpose of preventing the pro- 
 miscuous intercourse of the sexes in the procreation of 
 children, for promoting domestic felicity, and for secur- 
 ing the maintenance and education of children ; all of 
 which is well protected by its unity and indissolubility, 
 being " two in one flesh," and placed out of the reach of 
 man to dissolve the union ; " what God hath joined 
 together, let not man put asunder." 
 
 Such was the matrimonial contract — from the begin- 
 ning, one and indissoluble ; and being such by divine 
 institution, it was held in great veneration amongst all 
 nations, to which the knowledge of its divine origin had 
 reached by oral tradition from the first parents of the 
 human race, to whom, the union of Jesus Christ with 
 his Church, by which, as the Apostle says : (Eph. ch. 5, 
 V. 31) " we are members of his body, of his flesh and of 
 his bones," and which is represented by the matrimonial 
 contract, was made manifest by divine light when he 
 took for his wife the first woman whom he called " bone 
 of his bones, and flesh of his flesh." Hence, before the 
 coming of Christ our Lord, no human legislator ever
 
 8 
 
 dared to touch, with profane hands, the matrimonial 
 contract, but it was left altogether under the control of 
 religion, whose ceremonies ordinarily accompanied its 
 celebration ; such was the case among the Persians, 
 Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans; they considered and 
 held matrimony as a sacred thing, and used to call it " a 
 communication of the divine and human right," and the 
 woman by it was said to be " partaker of sacred things." 
 Human legislation cannot loose the ties that bind the 
 offspring to their parents ; much less could it dissolve 
 the conjugal union, far superior to the first, since by it 
 the first is dissolved. " A man shall leave father and 
 mother, and shall cleave to his wife." How could the 
 human legislator separate two persons united into one 
 and the same flesh ? " And they shall be two in one 
 flesh." No ; " what God hath joined together let not 
 man put asunder." 
 
 By what has been said, it appears evident that matri- 
 mony, as an institution of God, is one, holy and indis- 
 soluble ; or has three essential conditions: Unity, 
 Sanctity, and Indissolubility. Unity : they are not two, 
 but " one flesh." Sanctity : representing the union of 
 Jesus Christ with his church ; and Indissolubility : 
 ••' what God hath joined together, let not man put asun- 
 der." Unity condemns polygamy, or the plurality of 
 wives, against the practice of Mormonism. Sanctity 
 condemns all those who look upon matrimony as a mere 
 civil contract, and treat it as such. And Indissolubility 
 condemns divorce, as coming from Judaism. We there- 
 fore proceed now to the consideration of these three dif- 
 ferent errors, as we consider them in opposition to the 
 nature of the matrimonial contract according to God's 
 institution.
 
 Although polygamy be contrary to the matrimonial 
 contract, as established by the Creator, who made it 
 one, as Ave have said ; and ahhough even it be not con- 
 ducive to the secondary end of matrimony, which is, as 
 we have seen, domestic felicity, no one can doubt, how- 
 ever, that God can dispense with it, since it is not con. 
 trary to the fix'st and principal object of matrimony, the 
 procreation of children ; and if any shadow of doubt 
 should remain on tlie subject, it would be easily removed 
 by the fact that God granted such dispensation to sev- 
 eral of the patriarchs, as Abraham, Jacob, and David, 
 as it can be seen in the Holy Scriptures (Gen. c. 16: 
 29, 30, and Second Kings, c. 5) ; for we could not con- 
 sistently with the Holy Word of God, sustain the sanc- 
 tity of those holy fathei-s, but by supposing the divine 
 dispensation of a law which by no means could be 
 unknown to them. Such being the case, it would be 
 temerity for us to ask the reason why God granted such 
 dispensation. We know it was done for the most wise 
 reasons, entering into the designs of his divine provi- 
 dence, foreshadowing something mysterious of the union 
 of Jesus Christ with his church, always represented by 
 matrimony : perhaps the plurality of nations and tribes, 
 called and united into one and the same church, one and 
 the same faith, by christian baptism, through Jesus 
 Christ, whom the patriarch also prefigux-ed. Such was 
 the opinion of Saint Augustin, saying {De bono conjiig. 
 c. 18, V. 21), " plures uxores antiqurum Patrum 
 significaverunt puturas nostras ex omnibus gentibus 
 ecclesias, uni viro subditas Christo." He might also 
 have granted such dispensation to the patriarchs, his 
 faithful servants, for the purpose of increasing the num-
 
 10 
 
 ber of his true adorers in a time when idolatry was so 
 ■widely spread over the world that few only, compara- 
 tively, knew and worshiped the true God. 
 
 There are plausible reasons for granting said dispen- 
 sation, which, however, could never be applied to the 
 plurality of husband i, never granted by Almighty God, 
 as being contrary to all and each of the ends of mat- 
 rimony, especially to the first, the propagation of chil- 
 dren. These reasons having ceased by the coming of 
 the Divine Redeemer, and the estabhshment of one 
 spiritual kingdom over the world, by the preaching of 
 His doctrine, we can see no cause why polygamy should 
 have been allowed under the christian dispensation, and 
 not rather abolished, and matrimony restored to its first 
 unity, namely : that of " one man with one woman," 
 representing the union of Jesus Christ with his Church, 
 formed out of all nations ; thus thought also the afore- 
 said Father, (loc. cit.), " Onius uxoris vir significat ex 
 omnibus gentibus unitatem uni viro subditam Christo ;" 
 and "therefore," continues Saint Augustine (same 
 place), "as the mystery of several wives anciently sig- 
 nified the future multitude of all earthly nations that 
 were to be subjected to God : so also in our days, the 
 mystery of one wife with one husband represents the 
 unity of us all subject to God to be perfected in one 
 heavenly city." However, whatever may be the rea- 
 sons against polygamy and in favor of the unity of 
 matrimony, it is certain that Jesus Christ, the true Leg- 
 islator of mankind, to whom all power was given by his 
 Eternal Father (Matt. c. 28, v, 18), and whom we 
 are commanded to obey (Luke c. 9, v. 35), abohshed 
 polygamy or the plurality of wives, under the christian
 
 11 
 
 dispensation ; restored matrimony to its primitive unity, 
 such as it was established by God in the beginning, and 
 declared the matrimonial engagement, whether made by 
 male or female, whilst a previous one exists, although 
 the dissolution of the first may be pretended by virtue 
 of a divorce, to be but an adulterous union, and by no 
 means a lawful matrimony : " From the beginning of 
 the creation," says he, " God made them male and 
 female ; for this cause a man shall leave his father and 
 mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall 
 be one flesh," and " whosoever shall put away his wife, 
 and marry another, committeth adultery. * * And 
 if the wife shall put away her husband, and be married 
 to another, she committeth adultery." (Mark, c. 10, 
 vv. 6, — 8, 11, 12.) Such is the standard law of Jesus 
 Christ, the Supreme Legislator of mankind, binding all 
 men, whether Jews or Gentiles ; condemning by it po- 
 lygamy, and every kind of Mormonism of the past, pres- 
 ent and future time, and rendering null and void every 
 human law in opposition to his. 
 
 Matrimony, as we have seen, is a natural contract, 
 sanctioned by divine authority, for the procreation of 
 children and preservation of society ; this is its primary 
 object ; and on this account it is evident that society is 
 greatly interested in its rightful celebration. Its sec- 
 ondary object being to promote domestic felicity, the 
 happiness and comfort of the family, on which greatly 
 depends the well-being of society at large and the pros- 
 perity of nations, since it is the collection or aggregation 
 of such that forms the nation and greatly affects it, espe- 
 cially with regard to legitimacy, and the right of inher- 
 itance. Therefore civil rulers are bound to protect it by
 
 12 
 
 wise laws, and to preserve always the sanctity of the 
 matrimonial contract, according to God's institution- 
 Hence comes the distinction between natural and civil 
 contract, religious and political engagement. Hence the 
 zeal of civil masristrates and legislators in enacting laws 
 resfulating marriages or the matrimonial contract ; and 
 hence, too, the error of those, whether civil magisti-ates, 
 legislators, or the common people, who, regardless of the 
 laws of God and of religion, call matrimony and hold it 
 as a a mere civil contract, treating it as any other con- 
 tract or transaction under their exclusive jurisdiction, 
 enacting laws affecting its validity or invalidity, and 
 pronouncing decrees of divorce or dissolution of the ties 
 of matrimony, granting leave to marry or to be married 
 to another ; all of which can never make good what 
 God has invalidated, or dissolve what God has united, 
 since thei-e is no power against the power of God, who 
 established matrimony one and indissoluble : " a man 
 shall leave father and mother and shall cleave to his 
 wife, and they two shall be one flesh ; wherefore they 
 are no more two, but one flesh ;" and he has withdrawn 
 from men the faculty of altering it : " what God hath 
 joined together let not man put asunder." 
 
 Matrimony, as a natural contract, being established by 
 God from the beginning, for the objects above said, is 
 anterior to all society ; and restored by Jesus Christ 
 under the Christian Dispensation, to its primitive insti- 
 tution as to its essential qualities, and placed out of the 
 reach of man to alter it, as we have already established, 
 it becomes evident that the civil contract of matrimony, 
 if there be any, is posterior to the natural one, nor can 
 it affect by any means, God's institution. Therefore,
 
 13 
 
 the nature of the civil contract of naatrimony can only 
 extend to and have only civil effects, leaving untouched 
 the natural contract. It is something adventitious, not 
 inherent to matrimony, whicli was perfect as coming 
 from the Creator, and for ages in existance before the 
 civil contract was known ; and it is still perfect to-day 
 without any civil contract whenever there are no civil 
 laws I'egarding matrimony, as it is in several countries, 
 and also amongst tribes uncivilized ; and as valid as to 
 the matrimonial contract as it can be under the most 
 refined civil legislation. We by no means, however, 
 pretend to deny to civil legislators the faculty of enact- 
 ing laws concerning marriage, since from it proceed, as 
 we have already said, rights and duties which fall under 
 the control of civil magistrates, and consequently must 
 of necessity be regulated by wise civil laws, which we 
 said shall produce their civil effects, and bind the citi- 
 zens. But moreover, bound as they ai'e, to protect by 
 wise laws the rights of citizens, the eternal laws of jus- 
 tice and public morality which corrupt people are too 
 apt to violate, unless restrained through the fear of 
 them who, as Saint Paul says (Rom. c. 13, v. 4) :bear 
 "not the sword in vain," being the ministers of God 
 and avengers " to execute wrath upon " them that do 
 " evil :" so they are not less bound to protect matri- 
 mony, as an institution of God, to secure its essential 
 qualities, especially in a country where every system of 
 religion being authorized, or at least tolerated, by law, 
 the corruption of the human Iieart and its untamed pas- 
 sions are apt to introduce, under the pretext of religion, 
 to the prejudice of public and even common decency, 
 the most infamous crimes and abominations, as is testi- 
 fied by the history of humanity.
 
 14 
 
 Let, then, human legislators, in enacting laws con- 
 cerning marriage, be careful not to extend their legis- 
 lative i^ower beyond the civil power confided to their 
 care ; directing well, according to the rights of eternal 
 justice, the effects resulting from the matrimonial con- 
 tract, inasmuch as they may affect civil order or the 
 order of society ; and leave sacred and untouched the 
 matrimonial contract itself, as an institution of God ; 
 and their laws will be by all respected. But if they 
 go beyond that, their laws shall command neither re- 
 spect nor esteem, nor even obedience, whenever peo_ 
 pie will be able to evade them. Let them not yield, 
 in the formation of their laws, to the depraved inclina- 
 tions of the human heart, which would bring them to 
 legalize the most brutal passions, without satisfying 
 them ; but rather enforce by wise laws the essential 
 conditions of the mati-imonial contract established by 
 the Creator of mankind for the preservation and per- 
 fection of human society, and thus they will effectually 
 cooperate to its enlightenment and to the preservation 
 of the image and likeness of God, which we bear in our 
 souls and distinguishes us from the brute creation. 
 
 Having thus briefly explained our candid views con- 
 cerning polygamy, and the error of such as look upon 
 mati'imony as a mere civil contract, as being opposed 
 both to the union and sanctity of the matrimonial 
 engagement, it remains for us to show how divorce also 
 is opposed to its indissolubility or perpetuity. 
 
 Every one can easily understand that although the 
 primary object of the matrimonial contract, the pro- 
 creation of children, demands not its perpetuity, since 
 they could be obtained with only a temporary contract ;
 
 15 
 
 still the proper training of the same, their education, 
 the noblest part of the same primary object, as also the 
 secondary one, namely, domestic peace and felicity, 
 resulting from love, uniting the parents amongst them- 
 selves and the offspring to their parents, cannot be 
 secured without the perpetual tie that binds the couple 
 to each other ; and since God made all things good from 
 the beginning, and He made the first man perfect, and 
 destined his children to be taught by the parents, and 
 thus be conducted to perfection, He must have made 
 the matrimonial tie perpetual, or else He would not 
 have sufficiently provided for the object He had in 
 view. Whether He could dispense with it, we will not 
 venture to ask ; since He could have even established 
 the matrimonial tie temporal, providing some other 
 means for the proper education of children, so He could 
 dispense with the law which He himself had made, and 
 allow its dissolution, as He really did, granting to the 
 •Jews, for certain reasons, the faculty of giving the bill 
 of divorce, remaining free after that to marry another. 
 But Jesus Christ abolished said permission under the 
 Christian dispensation, and restored matrimony to its 
 primitive institution, rendering it perpetual and indisso- 
 luble ; answering to the Jews who justified themselves 
 in the practice of putting away their wives, alleging 
 the law of Moses which " permitted " to write a bill of 
 divorce and to put them away, Jesus said to them, 
 " Because of the hardness of your heart he Avrote you, 
 that precept ; but from the beginning of the creation 
 God made them male and female ; for this cause a man 
 shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to 
 his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. What, there-
 
 16 
 
 fore, God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." 
 And immediately after, speaking to his disciples con- 
 cerning the same thing. He said to them : " Whosoever 
 shall put away his wife and marry another, committeth 
 adultery against her ; and if the wife shall put away 
 her husband and be married to another, she committeth 
 adultery." (Mark, c. 10, vv, 4-12.) 
 
 This is the standard law of Jesus Christ under the 
 Christian dispensation, binding all men, whether Chris- 
 tians, Jews, or Gentiles ; a law superior to all human 
 laws ; which no human law can ever destroy, and 
 which annuls all laws against it, from whatever author- 
 ity they may proceed and by whatever magistrate they 
 may be enacted, whatever may be the opinions of men 
 to the contrary, since there is no power against the 
 power of God : " what God hath joined together, let no 
 man put asunder." Let civil magistrates grant divorces 
 of marriages previously legally contracted ; let them 
 exercise this power as long as they please, they can* 
 never prescribe against the law of God declaring mat- 
 rimony to be one and indissoluble. They may grant to 
 the couple divorced the faculty of marrying again, and 
 declare the second engagement valid according to the 
 civil law ; but according to the law of God and the gos- 
 pel, it shall always be an unlawful union and a [^real 
 adultery : " Whosoever shall put away his wife] and 
 marry another, committeth adultery ; and if the wife 
 shall put away her husband and be married to anotherj 
 she committeth adultery." 
 
 We have elsewhere said, that the matrimonial con- 
 tract, from its first institution, was a holy, a sacred 
 thing ; not only on account of its divine origin, but
 
 17 
 
 moreover on account of its being designed to represent 
 that admirable union which was to be effected in the 
 fullness of time between Jesus Christ and his Church. 
 There is nothing in matrimony so strikingly representa- 
 tive of this union as its perpetuity and indissolubility ; 
 for the human flesh which the Eternal Word assumed 
 for the redemption of mankind He shall never abandon, 
 as is beautifully expressed by Saint John, saying, "And 
 the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us " (c. 
 1, V. 14) ; and the same He assumed in heaven at the 
 right hand of his Eternal Father. This is the reason 
 why Jesus Christ did not allow any longer divorce 
 under the Christian dispensation, restoring matrimony 
 to its primitive purity, and I'endering its tie indissoluble. 
 
 We have considered matrimony so far under the 
 aspect of a natural contract, established by God from 
 the beginning, one, holy, and indissoluble ; excluding 
 equally polygamy and divorce, and condemning such as 
 would consider it as a mere civil contract, depriving it 
 of the sacredness attached to it by the Almighty. We 
 proceed now to consider the same as a sacrament of the 
 new law established by our Lord Jesus Christ for all 
 who have received Clmstian baptism. 
 
 That matrimony, under the Christian dispensation, or 
 the matrimonial contract between two baptized and 
 faithful Christians, be one of the seven sacraments 
 established by our Lord Jesus Christ, which He left in 
 the Church for the sanctification of its members, is one 
 of the dogmas of the Christian faith and of divine rev- 
 elation, constantly held in the Church, sustained by the 
 Fathers, expressed in the rituals, and believed by the 
 faithful ; and thus defined against the Reformers by the
 
 18 
 
 General Council of Trent : " If any one say that mat- 
 rimony is not verily and properly one of the seven 
 sacraments of the evangelical law instituted by Christ 
 our Lord, let him be anathema." (Can. 1, Sec. 24.) 
 Not only did our divine Saviour honor matrimony as 
 an institution of God by his presence at the marriage 
 feast of Cana in Galilee (John, c. 2), and sanctified it 
 by his first miracle changing water into wine, condemn- 
 ing thus by his conduct such as were afterwards " giv- 
 ing heed to doctrines of devils," as we observed before, 
 forbidding marriage as an unlawful deed ; but, more- 
 over. He confirmed by his authority the unity and 
 indissolubility of the matrimonial tie, condemning po- 
 lygamy and divorce against the Mormon and Jewish 
 practice (Matt. 19 and Mark 10), as we have already 
 proved ; and this matrimonial tie, a mere figure of the 
 union of Jesus Christ with his Church before his incar- 
 nation, He rendered productive of divine grace, through 
 his passion and death, for the sanctification of the con- 
 tracting parties, as He also sanctified his Church ; and 
 thus enabled them to fulfill those supernatural duties 
 resulting from Christian marriage — duties which could 
 not be duly complied with unless by a special and 
 supernatural grace, which grace God will not refuse ; 
 and has consequently annexed it to this sacrament, as 
 the Church has formally declared as an article of divine 
 faith : " If any one say that matrimony . . . does not 
 confer grace, let him be anathema." (Can. 1, Sec. 24.) 
 From this principle of divine faith, that matrimony, 
 or the matrimonial contract, amongst Christians, is a 
 sacrament, and that it confers sanctifying grace, it fol- 
 lows as a necessary consequence, that it is a sacred
 
 19 
 
 thing of a supernatural order, whose management and 
 administration belongs to the church and its ministers, 
 they being, according to the doctrine of Saint Paul, 
 " the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mys- 
 teries of God." (1st Cor. c. 4.) And this is precisely 
 what the church, in the Council of Trent, decided, when 
 she said (Can. 11, Sec. 24) : " If any one say that the 
 matrimonial causes do not belong to the ecclesiastical 
 judges, let him be anathema." To the church, then, it 
 belongs to regulate the Christian matrimony, or the 
 marriage of those who profess the Christian faith and 
 belong to the chui'ch, having received Christian bap- 
 tism ; such marriage, as we have said, being a sacra- 
 ment, and being the same matrimonial contract which 
 God estabhshed from the beginning, which our Saviour 
 raised to the dignity of a sacrament, attaching to it 
 sanctifying grace. Hence it has been confided to the 
 church and placed under her protection, and therefore 
 to the church belongs to regulate, by wise laws, the 
 marriage contract amongst Christians ; so that on the 
 observance of said laws will depend the lawfulness and 
 validity of the matrimonial tie. This has also been 
 defined by the church as an article of faith, condemning 
 as heretics such as would deny to her the faculty, or 
 would dare to afiirm that she has erred in exercising 
 the same, saying : " If any one say that the church can- 
 not establish impediments annulling matrimony, or that 
 she has erred in establishing them, let him be anathe- 
 ma." (Can. 4, Sec. 24.) 
 
 These few points, on which depends all that we are 
 to say, or can say, concerning Christian marriage, being 
 decided upon by the infallible authority of the church,
 
 20 
 
 against which the gates of hell shall never prevail 
 (Matt. c. 16, V. 18), and which, being "the pillar and 
 ground of the truth (1 Tim. c. 3, v. 15), we are com- 
 manded by our Lord to obey, even as himself (Luke c. 
 10, V. 16), we can say, with full confidence, that we 
 are placed on solid ground, independently of any other 
 proof from Holy writ ; but they have, besides, for their 
 support, the doctrine and practice of the great Apostle 
 Paul, who has written the first code of legislation, by 
 which the church has been guided in matrimonial con- 
 cerns. In the fifth chapter of his Epistle to the Ephe- 
 sians, Saint Paul draws a line of comparison between 
 matrimony and the union of Jesus Christ with the 
 church, of which it has always been a figure — the hus- 
 band being the head of the wife, as Christ is the head 
 of the church ; and the members of the church, which 
 is the body of Christ, being therefore " the members 
 of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones," as the first 
 woman, taken out of Adam, was said to be '' bone of 
 his bone, and flesh of his flesh." He extols the Chris- 
 tian marriage above the ancient one, although the same 
 established by God from the beginning, by the superi- 
 ority of duties resulting from it, such as supernatural 
 love and respect for one another, similar to that which 
 exists between Christ and his church, implying a special 
 grace attached to the same to sanctify the contracting 
 parties, as Christ sanctified the Church, by virtue of 
 which he calls it "a great Sacrament in Christ and in 
 the church ;" and therefoi-e as a sacred thing, as a Min- 
 ister of Ciirist, and Dispenser of the mysteries of God, 
 he knew he had authority to regulate the marriage con- 
 tract amongst Christians, as he did in many instances,
 
 21 
 
 especially in the seventh chapter of the first Epistle to 
 the Corinthians, which would have been in itself suffi- 
 cient guaranty for the church to decide upon her power 
 to regulate by wise laws the matrimonial contract 
 amongst Christians, as we have established above. 
 
 The church, then, of her own authority, that is to say, 
 independently of any civil power or magistrate, but only 
 by virtue of the power she received from her Divine 
 founder, can enact laws concerning Christian marriages, 
 regulating their contract, and affecting their lawfulness 
 and validity, which no other laws can do, by whatever 
 magistrate or authority they may be enacted, unless 
 approved and sanctioned by the same. Civil laws pro- 
 duce civil effects, which Christians will be bound, if they 
 be just, to respect ; if otherwise, might be compelled so 
 to do ; but they can never affect the matrimonial con- 
 tract amongst Christians, it being the same matrimonial 
 contract wnich was raised by our Lord to the dignity 
 of Sacrament — not to be touched by proftuie hands, but 
 exclusively confided to the church and its ministers. 
 This is so clear that Calvin himself admits it, saying 
 (Justit. Book 4th, chap. 19, § 37): "Once admitted 
 that Matrimony is a Sacrament, the matrimonial causes 
 belong to them (the Pastors of the church), because 
 spiritual things cannot be judged by the profane judges." 
 
 The church respects the civil laws, and even enforces 
 them, whenever they are not in opposition to those 
 of God and of her own ; but in case of any opposition 
 between the laws of the church and those of the prince, 
 or of the State, those of the church would stand, as to 
 the validity or invalidity of the marriage contract before 
 God, whatever might be the opinion and judgment of
 
 22 
 
 men to the contrary, according to the words of our 
 Lord: "Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, it shall 
 be bound also in heaven ; and whatsoever you shall 
 loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven " 
 (Matt. c. 18, V. 18), which particularly stands good for 
 what regards the Sacrament, as Matrimony is amongst 
 Christians. 
 
 The practice of the church in this respect confirms 
 the same truth ; for she, invariably, from the time of the 
 Apostles down to the present day, in all her tribunals, 
 judged upon the validity or invalidity of the matrimonial 
 tie, even amongst princes and kings, according as they 
 were contracted in conformity with her own laws, or 
 against them, without any regard to the civil laws of the 
 country in which they had been contracted. There- 
 fore she constantly held this doctrine, that the civil laws 
 cannot affect the matrimonial contract amongst Chris- 
 tians, this being exclusively confided to the Divine foun- 
 der, and she, most strenuously sustained the trust com- 
 mitted to her, in preserving inviolate the sanctity of 
 matrimony, its unity and indissolubility, according to 
 God's institution, against all the efibrts even of crowned 
 heads who attempted to assail them ; opposing to their 
 mighty will and threats, her patience, constancy, and 
 perseverance, in telling them, in the name of the^Lbrd, 
 as Saint John the Baptist to Herod, non licet, " it is not 
 lawful" (Mark c. 6, v. 18). The church, moreover, 
 has surrounded the Christian marriage with many wise 
 laws, which Christians cannot lawfully disregard ; but 
 are to observe them most carefully, if they wish to find 
 in the matrimonial state, not a source of anguish and 
 despair, but the happy fruits of domestic peace. Thanks
 
 23 
 
 then to the untiring zeal of the church, or rather, to our 
 Lord, who has intrusted to his faithful spouse the inter- 
 ests of Christian marriage, and withdrawn it from pro- 
 fane hands, thus preserving the same, as Saint Paul 
 wished it to be, " honorable in all things." (Heb. c. 13, 
 V. 4.) 
 
 The church of God ever faithful to God's commis- 
 sion, to " preach the Gospel to every creature," and to 
 " teach all nations" the Gospel truths (Mark, c. 16, v. 
 15, and Matt. c. 28, v. 19), never ceased to inculcate 
 the unity and indissolubility of marriage as established 
 by God for aU men, wherever she has announced the 
 tidings of salvation ; and she never allowed any devia- 
 tion from it, unless authorized by the same author of 
 matrimony and specified in the Gospel. She enacts no 
 laws of her own for them that are out of her pale, fol- 
 lowing in this the example of Saint Paul, who, writing 
 to the Corinthians (1st Cor. c. 5, vv. 12, 13) says : — 
 " "What have I to do to judge them that are without ? 
 . . . For they that are without God will judge." But 
 she did not neglect the Christian marriage ; and her 
 legislation in this respect is the most perfect code of 
 laws that ever existed, full of wisdom from above, be- 
 cause it is grounded on the Gospel. And first of all, 
 well aware of the prohibition of Polygamy, or plurality 
 of wives, made by Jesus Christ under the Christian dis- 
 pensation, as we have seen before, she hath declared it 
 an article of Divine faith, and condemned as heretics 
 such as would dare to deny it, or afiirm that it is law- 
 ful for Christians to have several wives simultaneously 
 (Can. 2, Sec. 24) : " If any one say that it is lawful 
 for Christians to have several wives sinjultaneously, and
 
 24 
 
 that the Divine law prohibits the same, let him be 
 anathema." The law of the church, contained in this 
 definition, plainly embraces all Christians ; but that the 
 law of God, on which the same is grounded, extends to 
 all men, whether Jews or Gentiles, or any other kind of 
 Mormons, is also evinced by the practice of the same 
 church ; for in case of the conversion of any of them to 
 the Catholic church who, whilst in their infidelity, had 
 attempted to contract matrimony with several women, 
 she does not allow them to keep but one of them, and 
 that must be the first, as she is considered the only 
 proper wife. Only in the event that the first wife would 
 not live peaceably with the new convert, or would with- 
 draw from him, in such case he would be allowed to 
 leave the first, and take any one of the others unto wife, 
 according to the liberty which the Gospel grants, in 
 favor of the Christian faith, to the new convert. And 
 this is the doctrine of the great Apostle, saying (1st 
 Cor. c. 7, v. 15) : "If the unbeliever depart, let him 
 depart ; for a brother or sister is not under bondage in 
 such cases ; but God hath called us in peace." 
 
 We need not repeat what we have said concerning the 
 indissolubility of the marriage contract as established 
 by God from the beginning, since the same was con- 
 firmed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and raised to the dig- 
 nity of a Sacrament, under the new Dispensation ; the 
 same doctrine, therefore, is to be applied to Matrimony 
 as a Sacrament ; and the church grounded on said Di- 
 vine teachings, and also on that of the Apostle : " 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
 
 26 
 
 her husband. And let not the husband put away his 
 wife." And again : " A woman is bound by the law as 
 long as her husband liveth ; but if her husband die, she 
 is at liberty ; let her marry whom she will, only in the 
 Lord " (1st Cor. c. 7, vv. 10, 11, 39). And again : " The 
 woman that hath a husband, whilst her husband liveth 
 is bound to the law ; but if her husband be dead, she is 
 loosed from the law of her husband. Wherefore, whilst 
 her husband liveth, she shall be called an adulteress, if she 
 be with another man " (Rom. c. 7, v. 2, 3). Grounded, 
 I say, on these eternal truths, in which only death is 
 assigned for the dissolution of the matrimonial tie 
 amongst Christians, the church hath justly declared 
 matrimony indissoluble, only by the death of one of the 
 parties ; and declared heretics such as would dare aflSrm 
 that it can be dissolved, either by heresy or troublesome 
 cohabitation, or by a protracted absence of one of the 
 parties, saying : " If any one say that the tie of matri- 
 mony can be dissolved either by heresy or troublesome 
 cohabitation, or by a protracted absence of one of the 
 parties, let him be anathema" (Can. 5, Sec. 24). She 
 hath, moreover, condemned as heretics, and pronounced 
 the same anathema against those who dare say that " the 
 church errs, teaching that according to the evangelical 
 and apostolic doctrine, that the band of matrimony can- 
 not be dissolved for the cause of fornication of either of 
 the married couple ; and that neither of the two — even 
 the innocent, who did not give any cause for the adul- 
 tery, cannot contract another martrimony whilst the 
 other party lives ; but rather, that both, he who puts 
 away the adulteress and marries another committeth 
 adultery, and she who puts away the adulterer aad is 
 2
 
 26 
 
 married to another, committeth adultery." (Can. 7, 
 Sec. 23.) 
 
 This doctrine of the church, which is that of the 
 Apostle, as we have seen, and is derived fr6m that of 
 Jesus Christ, " What, therefore, God hath joined to- 
 gether, let no man put asunder," evidently is applicable 
 to all men, since Jesus Christ legislates for mankind, as 
 we have established before ; and therefore the church 
 hath never, nor shall she ever recognize the validity of 
 a matrimony contracted in virtue of a divorce from a 
 previous marriage validly contracted. She rather looks 
 always upon it as an adulterous union, according to that 
 of our Lord, " Whosoever shall put away his wife and 
 marry another, committeth adultery against her ; and 
 if the wife shall put away her husband and be married 
 to another, she committeth adultery." (Mark, c. 10, vv. 
 11, 12.) Nor can any Christian at any time, under any 
 pretext whatever, apply to any civil magistrate or any 
 court whatever for a divorce of a marriage validly con- 
 tracted for the purpose of marrying another, or avail 
 himself of a divorce previously obtained to get married 
 again to another. The only exception that exists in 
 this respect is the one mentioned above by Saint Paul, 
 in favor of the Christian faith, when marriage has been 
 contracted by two infidels, or unbaptized persons, and 
 one of them after marriage embraces the Christian 
 faith ; if the unbeliever abandons him, or will not live 
 peaceably with the new convert, this remains free from 
 the first tie, and can get mai'ried to another : " If the 
 unbeliever depart, let him depart ; for a brother or sis- 
 ter is not under bondage in such cases ; but God has 
 called us in peace." The reasonableness of this allow-
 
 27 
 
 ance appears plain from the very fact that it would be 
 a great obstacle to embracing the Christian faith, with- 
 out which " it is impossible to please God " (Heb. c. 11, 
 V. 6), if the new convert were bound either to remain 
 with an enemy or persecutor of his faith, or remain for- 
 ever unmarried ; and therefore, when such is not the 
 case, the tie of marriage continues good, and the new 
 convert is bound to keep the infidel or unbaptized com- 
 panion, according to the teaching of the same Apostle, 
 saying, " If any brother have a wife that believeth not, 
 and she consent to dwell with him, let him not put her 
 away ; and if any woman have a husband that believ- 
 eth not, and he consent to dwell with her, let her not 
 put away her husband." (1st Cor. c. 7, vv. 12, 13.) 
 As the above liberty and exception is only in favor of 
 the Christian faith, it follows that a catholic, who, with 
 dispensation from the church, would get married to an 
 infidel or unbaptized person, could not avail himself of 
 it to put away his companion and get married to an- 
 other, although ill-treated and persecuted on account of 
 his faith ; but must of necessity abide by its conse- 
 quences (which he well knows, or at least he should 
 know) until the death of either of them. 
 
 This is the doctrine of the catholic church concerning 
 the unity and perpetuity of the Christian marriage un- 
 der the new dispensation ; and since it is in accordance ' 
 with the teachings of the gospel, as we have observed, 
 it is to be expected that no learned and reasonable man, 
 comparing the same with the teaching of the politicians 
 of this day and the practice of the church with that of 
 civil courts, which are so generous in granting, for very 
 trivial causes, divorces ; and, particularly, comparing
 
 28 
 
 the effects produced by holding strictly to the severity 
 of the church with the looseness of morals caused by 
 deviating from the same — no reasonable man can re- 
 proach the first to praise the latter ; but rather will 
 admire the divine wisdom by which the church has 
 always been guided, and will deeply lament the evils 
 brought on the domestic family by the Reformation, 
 depriving the Christian matrimony, under the pretext 
 of Christian liberty, of its sacred character as a sacra- 
 ment, to withdraw the same from the pontiff and give it 
 to the king. In vain did the Reformers repent after- 
 wards, and would reclaim the right of the church and 
 its pontiff for themselves ; the evil seed was sown, and 
 it must produce its bad fruit. But the right of the 
 church is always the same ; the matrimonial contract is 
 a sacrament ; is one and indissoluble ; its administration 
 is confided to the pastors of the church, who alone, of 
 their own authority, can establish laws regulating the 
 same and affecting its validity and lawfulness, which all 
 Christians are bound to observe, as we have heretofore 
 proved. We have, moreover, seen the doctrine of the 
 church concerning the unity and perpetuity of the 
 Christian marriage, and her laws protecting the same. 
 It remains now for us to consider, in particular, the 
 laws of the church affecting the Christian marriage* 
 both as a contract and as a sacrament, and which are 
 called impediments ; as also those which do not affect 
 indeed the Christian marriage, but merely prescribe 
 some things to be observed in order to proceed cau- 
 tiously and prudently in an engagement which lasts for 
 life, and on which depend both the happiness of the 
 contracting parties and the fruits of domestic peace, and 
 greatly contribute to the good of society at large.
 
 29 
 
 The laws of the church prohibiting marriage between 
 certain persons are those which we call impediments ; 
 and they either render the contract null and void, or 
 without annulling the contract, they render it only un- 
 lawful unless dispensed with by the same church. We 
 have already proved that the church can establish such 
 impediments, and therefore she can also dispense with 
 the same, since every power authorized to make laws is 
 equally empowered either to annul or dispense with the 
 same, or to change them, according as the circumstances 
 and good of the persons concerned may I'equire ; the 
 power being given, as Saint Paul says (2d Cor. c. 10, 
 v. 8), " for edification, and not for destruction." The 
 church cannot, however, dispense with such impedi- 
 ments as are not established by herself, but by nature 
 or the natural law ; hence she cannot allow those per- 
 sons to contract matrimony whom the nature of the 
 matrimonial contract itself repels, whether it be for 
 want of understanding to know the nature of the 
 engagement as incapable to contract, or for want of 
 capacity to consummate the matrimonial tie as unfit for 
 generation — such persons are said to labor under natu- 
 ral impediments to contract matrimony, nor can they 
 be dispensed by any authority whatever; neither can 
 the church dispense with the laws of God prohibiting 
 marriage, under the Christian dispensation, to them 
 that are already validly engaged in this state until one 
 of the parties die, as we have seen, speaking of the 
 unity and indissolubility of matrimony, and which the 
 divines call an impediment of divine institution. She 
 can, however, dispense with those impediments, or laws 
 prohibiting marriage, within certain degrees of kindred.
 
 30 
 
 which God gave to his people, and are contained in the 
 18th chaptei' of the Book of Leviticus ; both because 
 they do not regai'd Christians, having been abrogated by 
 the gospel, nor are they imposed by the natural law, 
 which alone is obligatory at all times and to all per- 
 sons ; and hence the church hath justly pronounced, in 
 the Council of Trent, the following anathema : " If any 
 one say that only those degrees of consanguinity and 
 affinity which are mentioned in the Book of Leviticus 
 can prohibit matrimony and annul its contract, nor can 
 the church dispense with some of them, or establish that 
 some others may prohibit or annul the same, let him be 
 anathema." (Can. 3, Sess. 24.) 
 
 We are therefore reduced to the laws of the church 
 prohibiting marriage, rendering it either null and void 
 if attempted, or at least unlawful if contracted without 
 her dispensation. Hence there are two kinds of eccle- 
 siastical impediments, namely, those that both prohibit 
 the matrimonial contract and annul it if attempted, and 
 those that merely prohibit it, but if contracted, although 
 unlawfully, yet becomes binding and obligatory in con- 
 science. The knowledge of them being of the highest 
 importance to the persons called to the matrimonial 
 state, and showing likewise the wisdom of the church 
 on this most interesting subject, we cannot forbear men- 
 tioning them. They are contained in the following 
 verses : 
 
 " Error, conditio, votum, cognatio, crimen, 
 " Cultus disparitas, vis, ordo ligainen, honestas, 
 " Amens, affinis, si clandestinus, et impos, 
 " Si mulier sit rapta loco nee reddita tuto." 
 
 These forbid marriage, and annul it if attempted.
 
 81 
 
 The following merely forbid it, but it is valid if <ion» 
 tracted ; they are : 
 
 " EcclesEe vetitum, tempus, sponsalla, rotum." 
 
 We cannot be expected, howevei-, to give a full 
 explanation of these impediments, which would be a 
 tedious work, would require a volume, and would an- 
 swer little to our purpose ; it being only to show the 
 wisdom of the church in her legislation, and to cau- 
 tion the faithful how they ought to proceed prudently, 
 and always with advice from their pastors, in matrimo- 
 nial concerns. 
 
 We commence with those impediments wliich annul 
 the mati'imonial contract, the first and eleventh of which 
 — namely. Error and Insanity, " Error et Aniens " — 
 are natural impediments for want of consent ; the ninth, 
 " Ligamen" that is, the tie of matrimony previously 
 contracted, still existing, of divine enactment ; the 
 eighth and fourteenth, " Vis et linpos" force and vio- 
 lence and impotency are partly natural and partly eccle- 
 siastical ; the fifth, tenth, and thirteenth are purely 
 ecclesiastical, such are Crime, Honesty, and Clandes- 
 tinity, "crimen, honestas, clandestinus ;" and the second, 
 thu-d, fourth, sixth, eighth, twelfth, and fifteenth, are 
 also indeed ecclesiastical, but most conformable to the 
 natural or divine law — that is to say, to reason and rev- 
 elation ; such are Condition, Vow, Kindred, " conditio, 
 votum, cognatio" Disparity of worship. Order, Affinity, 
 "cultus disparitas, or do affinis /" and finally. Rape, " si 
 midier sit rapta," etc. 
 
 j^. The first impediment is Error, and exists whenever 
 any individual marries a person intending to marry an- 
 other ; the matrimony is null for want of consent.
 
 a2 
 
 The second is Condition, which means the state or 
 condition of slavery, and annuls matrimony when a free 
 person marries a slave not knowing such to be bond. 
 The church annuls this matrimony, as a free and full 
 consent cannot be supposed, such as matrimony requires. 
 Hence if the condition of slavery be known by the free 
 party, the matrimony is valid and good ; since nature 
 has given to every one the right to select the companion 
 for life, whether free or bond, unless prohibited by 
 proper authority and for good reasons, which the church 
 cannot see in this case. 
 
 The third is a Vow ; that is to say, a solemn and 
 perpetual vow made in a religious community approved 
 by the church. By such vow a person binds himself to 
 live in perpetual celibacy, in order to be more " solici- 
 tous," as St. Paul says (1st Cor. c. 7, v. 32), "for the 
 things that belong to the Lord, how he may please 
 God." As such vow is pleasing to God, and of the 
 highest importance for the persons that make it to be 
 faithful to the engagement, the church, both to prevent 
 rashness and precipitation in making it, and to facilitate 
 its observance after being made, has declared a matri- 
 mony contracted after that, unless it be dispensed with, 
 null and void. 
 
 The fourth is Kindred, or Consanguinity. The canon 
 law distinguishes three different kinds of relationship or 
 kindred : the first proceeding from the communication 
 of blood, which is called consanguinity ; the second, 
 from the office of godfather or godmother in baptism 
 and confirmation, and this is called spiritual kindred ; 
 and the third from the perfect adoption of some one 
 as a son or daughter, with the right of inheritance,
 
 33 
 
 which last is known by the name of legal kindred. The 
 first, or consanguinity, annuls matrimony between per- 
 sons related within the fourth degree of kindred, com- 
 puting the degrees with the generations. The reasons 
 which the church has in establishing this impediment are 
 the same which God had in prohibiting marriage to the 
 Jews within certain degrees (Leviticus, c. 18) ; such as, 
 for example, to diffuse the bonds of amity, friendship, 
 and relationship amongst strange families, uniting them 
 in charity; to inspire respect and avoid unlawful famil- 
 iarity amongst kindred, entertaining no hope of mar- 
 riage amongst them ; the perfecting of the human race, 
 both in its corporeal and mental faculties, to which the 
 mixture of blood greatly contributes, whilst the contrary 
 practice gradually enervates them. (This, young peo- 
 ple who intend to marry, should bear in mind.) Here 
 we may observe what divines affirm, that kindred in 
 direct line hinders matrimony in any degree whatever ; 
 and even nature abhors it, at least in the first degree, 
 both direct and collateral line ; and hence they say that 
 within said degree it is a natural impediment, in which 
 therefore the church has never dispense(S 
 
 The spiritual kindred, resulting from baptism and 
 confirmation, is an impediment established by the 
 church, and annuls matrimony between the godfather 
 or godmother and the godchild ; and between the same 
 godfather or godmother and the father or mother of the 
 godchild. The godfathers taking the place of parents 
 with respect to their godchildren, in the spiritual order, 
 to instruct them in the things concerning their salvation, 
 most wisely the church has established the impediment 
 to prevent all dangers of temptation in the fulfillment of 
 2*
 
 34 
 
 their duty, removing from them the hope of a future 
 matrimony. The same impediment exists between the 
 person that administers baptism or confirmation and the 
 person baptized or confirmed and their parents, as the 
 spiritual kindred extends also to them. 
 
 For the same reasons above stated, the church has 
 also established the impediment of legal kindred, and 
 annuls the matrimony, in direct line, between the adop- 
 ter and adopted and the children of the adopted to the 
 fourth generation ; in the collateral line, between th» 
 adopted and the children of the adopter only whilst the 
 {.doption perseveres; and by afiinity, between the adop- 
 ter and the wife of the adopted, and, vice versa, between 
 the wife of the adopter and the adopted. 
 
 The fifth impediment is Crime ; namely, the crime of 
 murder, of adultery, and of both murder and adultery, 
 annul matrimony in the following cases : The crime of 
 murdering the wife or the husband being agreed upon 
 with a third person, with the intention of marrying 
 afterwards, annuls the projected matrimony if the mur- 
 der be committed; the crime of adultery committed 
 with a promise of marriage after the death of the hus- 
 band, or of the wife of either of the parties, annuls also 
 the promised matrimony, when both the adultery and 
 promise have occurred during the same first marriage ; 
 likewise a second matx-imony contracted during the life 
 of one's husband or wife, not only is null, but it renders 
 the persons who attempted the marriage unfit to marry 
 even after the death of the first companion, provided 
 that both knew the first husband or wife to be still alive. 
 Finally, the two crimes of murder and adultery occur 
 when either the adulterer murders the husband of the
 
 35 
 
 adulteress, or the adulteress kills the wife of the adul- 
 terer, with the intention of contracting matrimony after- 
 wards ; they cannot marry, and if they attempt it, their 
 matrimony is null and void. The wisdom of the church 
 establishing this impediment is evident, the object being 
 to protect fidelity amongst mai'ried people and prevent 
 crime. 
 
 The sixth impediment, Disparity of TTorship, is that 
 which annuls matrimony between two persons, the one 
 baptized and the other unbaptized, already forbidden by 
 the Apostle, saying, " Bear not the yoke together with 
 unbelievers" (2d Cor. c. 6, v. 14), of which we shall 
 have occasion to speak afterwards. 
 
 The seventh is Force or Violence, which if it be such 
 as to deprive a person altogether of liberty, is a natural 
 impediment ; but it is an ecclesiastical impediment when 
 it is such as to affect a person with a grievous fear, 
 caused by a free agent, unjustly, in order to obtain the 
 consent ; this annuls matrimony, as an onerous contract 
 of such importance demands freedom and full consent j 
 for the protection of which the church established said 
 impediment; and, moreover, she forbids all persons, 
 even masters and magistrates, whether directly or indi- 
 rectly, to force in any way their subjects to contract 
 matrimony, under the pain of excommunication, which 
 they incur by the very fact. (Council of Trent, Sess. 
 24, Chap. 9.) 
 
 The eighth is Order ; namely, the Sacred Order, by 
 which a Levite consecrates himself irrevocably to the 
 service of the ministry, as we said of the vow, to be 
 more free to attend to the things of God. 
 
 The ninth is " Ligamen," a previous matrimony val-
 
 \ 
 
 36 
 
 idly contracted. As we have said, this is of divine 
 institution, the tie being perpetual. 
 
 The tenth. Public Honesty. This has been estab- 
 lished by the church for the reasons conveyed by the 
 very name, and already explained, speaking of consan- 
 guinity ; and springs from two sources, namely, from 
 espousals or a lawful contract of a future matrimony, 
 and from matrimony contracted but not consummated. 
 The first annuls the matrimony contracted by one of the 
 sponsors with the relatives of the other within the first 
 degree of consanguinity, that is to say, with the father 
 or mother, and with the brother or sister ; and the sec- 
 ond annuls the same within the fourth degree, even 
 should the first matrimony contracted and not consum- 
 mated be null, with the only exception that such nullity 
 were for want of consent. 
 
 The eleventh is Insanity. Nature renders insane 
 persons incapable to contract, except they had intervals 
 of reason, during which they could contract matrimony 
 — this being not prohibited by the church. 
 
 The twelfth, Affinity ; which is the kindred resulting 
 from the mutual intercourse of both sexes, each of 
 whom contracts affinity with the relatives, by blood or 
 consanguinity, of the other. The said intercourse may 
 be lawful when in lawful marriage, or unlawful ; in the 
 first case it annuls matrimony within the fourth degree, 
 and in the second within the second only, computing the 
 degrees of affinity by those of consanguinity. By 
 mutual intercourse, although unlawful, man and woman 
 are made one flesh, according to the doctrine of Saint 
 Paul, " He who adheres to a harlot is made one body." 
 (1st Cor.^c. 6, V. 16.) Hence the degree of consan-
 
 37 
 
 guinity on one side forms the degree of affinity on the 
 other. This impediment, within certain degrees, was 
 established by God himself for the Jews (Leviticus, c. 
 18) ; but, as we observed before, such is no more bind- 
 ing to Christians ; therefore the impediment is ecclesi- 
 astical, the same reasons guiding the church in estab- 
 lishing it which God had of old for his people. 
 
 The thirteenth impediment is Clandestinity, of which 
 we shall have occasion to speak afterwards ; and there- 
 fore, it will be sufficient for the present to declare in 
 what it consists, quoting the words of the Council of 
 Trent, by which the said impediment is established, and 
 which is of obligation wheresoever the same has been 
 published, as is the case in California : " Whosoever 
 will attempt to contract matrimony otherwise than in 
 presence of the proper pastor, or some other priest au- 
 thorized by the said pastor, or by the ordmary and two 
 or three witnesses, such the Holy Synod renders wholly 
 incapable of contracting, and declares such contracts 
 null and void, as by the present decree annuls and 
 declares them void." (Chap. 1, Sess. 24.) This im- 
 pediment was most wisely established by the Church to 
 protect the sanctity of the matrimonial contract, and 
 prevent the awful evils that proceed from rash, precipi- 
 tate, unpremeditated and secret engagements. 
 
 The fourteenth impediment is that of Impotency, 
 which we said to be partly natural, partly ecclesiastical. 
 Perpetual and absolute impotency, or incapacity of con- 
 summating matrimony is a natural impediment to the 
 marriage state ; relative impotency is likewise a natural 
 impediment, but only with regard to the persons in 
 whose respect such impotency exists. Children, also, 
 
 29108H
 
 38 
 
 before the age of puberty, which for males is the age of 
 fourteen years, and for females that of twelve, are inca- 
 pable of contracting matrimony, according to the canon 
 law ; as they are considered incapable to consummate 
 matrimony. 
 
 The fifteenth and last of the impediments that annul 
 matrimony, is Rape, by which we mean the violent or 
 forcible withdrawal of a Avoman from place to place, 
 under the power of the raptor, for the purpose of con- 
 tracting marriage ; whilst the woman will be under the 
 control and powor of the raptor, although she might wil- 
 lingly consent, they cannot contract matrimony ; and if 
 they do, the contract will be null and void, the Church 
 annulling the same for the purpose of securing the lib- 
 erty of the engagement. To contract validly it is 
 necessary that the woman be removed from the place 
 and out of the power of the raptor, and set at liberty. 
 
 The impediments which do not annul the contract of 
 matrimony, but render it unlawful, are, as we said 
 before, four, namely : " Ecclesige vetitura, Tempus, 
 Spousalia, Votum." The Prohibition of the Church, 
 Time, Sijousals, and Vow. 
 
 The Church may prohibit, for several reasons, the 
 contracting of matrimony for a while; as she does 
 sometimes for the purpose of ascertaining whether there 
 be any impediment to it or not; and also to comply with 
 certain requirements of the same Church, that the con- 
 tracting parties may prepare themselves to receive wor- 
 thily the sacrament and the fruits thereof. To contract, 
 therefore, while her prohibition stands, is sinful and 
 unlawful, although the contract will stand. This will 
 be more fully understood in the sequel, as also why, on
 
 39 
 
 certain times she prohibits some of the rites aad cere- 
 monies of the christian marriage, as unsuitable to the 
 spirit of the Church under certain circumstances. 
 
 Espousals, or the promise of a future matrimony, is 
 an obstacle or impediment to contract matrimony with 
 any other besides the one to whom the promise was 
 made, as it would be a violation or a breach of faith, 
 and therefore unlawful, unless the first promise were 
 null or mutually dissolved, or else, not binding for want 
 of fidelity or otherwise, in the person to whom the 
 promise was made. However, matrimony would be 
 valid and obligatory if contracted, notwithstanding such 
 promise, except in case it was contracted with a person 
 in the first degree of consanguinity to the person to 
 whom the promise bad been made, as we said before. 
 
 Finally, the simple vow of Chastity, or of Cehbacy, 
 or of entering a religious life ; and even the vow which 
 is made in such religious communities, who make simple 
 vows, not solemn, which, as we have said before, annul 
 matrimony. Such simple vows render matrimony un- 
 lawful, unless dispensed with ; but if it were contracted, 
 the matrimony would be valid and good. 
 
 Such are the laws of the Church affecting christian 
 marriage, and rendering it either null and void, or at 
 least unlawful ; for which reason they are justly called 
 Impediments. The Church enacting these laws, does 
 not intend to legislate for those that are out of her pale, 
 as we said before, according to the doctrine of Saint 
 Paul ; but for her children. Nevertheless, her laws 
 bind also, those who, although they may belong to other 
 denominations, have received christian baptism ; since 
 by baptism, when validly administered to them, they
 
 40 
 
 become subjects of Jesus Christ, and debtors to him of 
 the whole law ; and consequently they were by him 
 placed under the guidance of them to whom Christ con- 
 fided his authority, saying : " As the Father hath sent 
 me, I also send you ;" * * " go, and teach all nations ; 
 baptising them, * * teaching them to observe all 
 things whatsoever I have commanded you," and " what- 
 soever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in 
 heaven." (John, c. 20, v. 21 ; Matt. c. 28, vv. 10, 20 ; 
 Matt. c. 18, V. 18.) The Church, however, does not 
 intend to oblige them in several things, especially with 
 regard to the marriage contract, in order to prevent its 
 invalidity, and thus lessen the number of sins, and of 
 even material transgressions of her laws ; but they can- 
 not avoid being bound by the laws of the Church when- 
 ever they are willing to contract marriage with a 
 Catholic, it being impossible for the law to affect one 
 party without affecting the other. The Church would 
 prefer not to have anything to do with them, and let 
 them alone, according to the doctrine of the Apostle : 
 *' what have I to do with them that are without ?" and 
 therefore she forbids Catholics to intermarry with them, 
 as it was of old forbidden to the Jews to intermarry with 
 the Gentiles. But according to the power which she 
 hath received from God, she may allow such marriages, 
 under certain conditions to remove the dangers which 
 accompany them, and she does really allow them when- 
 ever the present state of society, or mixed up popula- 
 tion seems to require it ; as it is now in this our country, 
 and generally throughout the United States ; but always 
 under certain conditions and her previous dispensation, 
 without which a Catholic would sin mortally by marry-
 
 41 
 
 ing any one else but a Catholic ; and the matrimony 
 even, would be null and void, if contracted with an un- 
 baptized person ; or if baptized, with some of those 
 impediments above mentioned, which the Church has 
 declared to annul the matrimonial contract. 
 
 The Church forbidding Catholics to intermarry with 
 any but Cathohcs, follows the doctrine of the Apostles? 
 which no doubt, they learned from our Lord himself. 
 If question be of unbaptized persons, we have the pro- 
 hibition of Saint Paul, who writing to the Corinthians, 
 speaking of marriage, says : " Bear not the yoke together 
 with unbelievers ; for what participation hath justice 
 with injustice? or what fellowship hath light with dark- 
 ness ? and what concord hath Christ with Belial ? or 
 what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever ?" (2d 
 Ep. c. 6, vv. 14, 15.) And if of baptized persons, but 
 that abandoned the ancient faith, and did not continue 
 in the doctrine of Christ, the bloved disciple of our 
 Lord says (2d Ep. c. — , vv. 10, 11) : "If any man 
 come to you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not 
 into the house, nor say to him, God save you ; for he 
 that saith to him God save you, communicateth with his 
 wicked works." Far be from us the blasphemous 
 thought that the Apostle of Charity, whom Jesus loved, 
 forbids by divine inspiration, the chai'itable intercourse 
 and friendly dealings which we owe to all men ; but he 
 merely admonishes the faithful in general of the dan- 
 gers which may arise from a familiarity with those who 
 have gone from the true faith, whose speech, as Saint 
 Paul says : " spreadeth like a cancer " (2d Tim. c. 2, v. 
 17), lest they might subvert " the faith of some." (Same 
 18.) Although this could not be applied, consistently
 
 42 
 
 with charity, to every case in particular; as on the 
 contrary, there are many honest, generous, unpreju- 
 diced, and liberal minds amongst them that are out of 
 Catholicity ; and even not a few who are better than 
 the Catholics themselves, as we are obliged, to our 
 shame, to confess ; as also did Saint Paul when com- 
 plaining of a sin amongst the faithful Corinthians, un- 
 heard of even " among the Gentiles." (1st Ep. c. 5, v. 
 1.) Still, this cannot altogether destroy the dangers 
 which the beloved disciple foresaw, and which unhappily 
 too often result from said familiarity ; which, therefore, 
 the Church reasonably apprehends, and justify her in 
 forbidding such marriages, unless contracted under cer- 
 tain conditions, to protect the faith of the Catholic party, 
 and that of her offspring. Is it not just that the Church 
 should protect the faith of her children ? And would 
 she not cease to be the true spouse of Jesus Christ, if 
 she neglected the care and solicitude of her flock .-' 
 
 The conditions, then, prescribed by the Church, be- 
 sides the dispensation of her law prohibiting such alli- 
 ances, are to the effect of securing, first, " the free 
 exercise of the Catholic religion to the Catholic party ;" 
 and secondly, " the Catholic education of the children of 
 such marriages, both male and female." The first of 
 these conditions is eminently just, by what we have 
 already said concerning the care and solicitude that the 
 Church must have as a tender mother, for the welfare 
 and eternal salvation of her children, and the preserva- 
 tion of their faith, without which, as Saint Paul says: 
 "It is impossible to please God:" Heb. c. 11, v. 6.) 
 The second is not less evidently just, since the very 
 nature of matrimony, as an institution of God, impera-
 
 43 
 
 tively demands, if there be children, that they be raised 
 in the knowledge and fear of God ; and consequently 
 educated in the true religion of the Crucified ; and such 
 does the Catholic Church know, as certain as God can- 
 not lie, that she is. The very least, then, that the 
 Church can require from the non-Catholic party, is a 
 formal and solemn promise to that effect, without which 
 she has never, and we dare say, she shall never, nor can 
 she ever dispense. Nor can any Catholic, therefore, at 
 any time, or under any circumstances whatever, contract 
 such marriage with a person not Catholic, regardless of 
 the above said dispensation and promise, without a 
 o-rievous crime of disobedience to the Church, and ex- 
 posing himself rashly to the danger, both of losing his 
 faith and that of his children, and incurring the anathe- 
 mas of the Church, it being in several dioceses prohib- 
 ited under pain of excommunication, (as in the Diocese 
 of Monterey aud Los Angeles) ; especially if said mar- 
 riage were contracted before any minister of religion of 
 any other denomination but Catholic, which is most se- 
 verely forbidden by the Church ; and in some dioceses 
 (as in the above said, of Monterey and Los Angeles) 
 excommunication is incurred by the very fact. The 
 matrimony, however, would be binding and obligatory, 
 except the case in which the party not Catholic were 
 unbaptized ; or if baptized, there existed between them 
 any of those impediments above mentioned, which the 
 Church has declared to render matrimony null and void, 
 as we observed before. 
 
 According to the above said doctrine, it appears evi- 
 dent, that it is of the highest importance for the con- 
 tracting parties, especially for the Catholic ones, before
 
 44 
 
 engaging in such marriages, in order not to expose 
 themselves to the danger of disappointment, to apply 
 in time to the Church for dispensation and direction ; 
 that all things being done in order, they may draw upon 
 themselves God's blessing, of which they stand so much 
 in need to discharge faithfully the arduous duties of the 
 matrimonial state ; for, what benefit could a Protestant, 
 or any other not Catholic, expect from taking as his or 
 her inseparable companion for life, a Catholic, who, 
 regardless of the most sacred laws of the Church, would 
 dare to trample under foot the institutions of his or her 
 professed religion ? What kind of affection, love, and 
 respect, could he promise to himself, from one who thus 
 disdains her God, her Church, and its Ministers, and 
 even her own soul ? Oh ! unhappy Catholic who thus 
 sneers at his God ; for unless he repent and do penance 
 for such sinful and foolish act, a day will come in which 
 his despised Lord and Judge shall tell him in his turn, 
 "you have despised all my counsel, and have neglected 
 my reprehension ; I also will laugh in your destruction." 
 (Prov. c. 1, vv. 25, 26.) 
 
 We say, then, that for the Catholic party, especially, 
 it is of the highest importance to proceed with prudence 
 and caution before engaging in such mixed marriages, 
 as his faith and perseverance is apt to be exposed to the 
 severest trials, notwithstanding the dispensation of the 
 church, and the promise of the other party not Catholic, 
 to the effect of securing the free exercise of his religion 
 and that of the children. This danger has often proved 
 fatal to the soul ; and as the same proceeds from the 
 very nature of the matrimonial contract, whose tie is 
 perpetual and indissoluble, for this i*eason the Catholic
 
 45 
 
 church has always abhorred and detested the said mix- 
 ed mai-riages, and prohibited them, as we have shown, 
 they being prejudicial to Christianity. And in fact, 
 except the case in which the Catholic succeeds in con- 
 verting his companion to the Catholic faith and its prac- 
 tice, which he is bound to procure, both by word and 
 example, what will be the effects produced by these 
 marriages with regard to the faith and morals of the 
 Catholic party and children ? We know that many a 
 Catholic lady married to a Protestant or even Infidel 
 gentleman (and vice versa), who are models of piety in 
 the practice of their religion ; whose husbands, rather 
 than put any obstacle in their way, encourage them ; 
 affording them besides every facility to promote the 
 Catholic education of their children, faithful to the 
 promise they made when they were married. But even 
 in this case, what will be the effects produced, both to 
 the wife and children, by the zeal of the father, unsup- 
 ported by example ? Will he be able to persuade them 
 of the necessity of the Catholic faith and its practice, 
 he himself remaining outside of it ? Can it be reason- 
 ably supposed that even his dearest ones will follow 
 rather the way and the faith of the mother than that of 
 their father ? And if he were willing to insist, would 
 they not be justified in saying to him : "Physician, heal 
 thyself?" (Luke, c. 4, v. 24.) And should the pious 
 mother succeed in raising her beloved children in the 
 bosom of the Catholic church, shall she not suffer the 
 anguish and pain of seeing some of them, when gi'own, 
 following the example of their father, abandon the faith 
 which they had embraced in their infancy ? and thus 
 perhaps introduce into the same family with the differ-
 
 46 
 
 ence of belief and of religion that of discord and of infi- 
 delity ? Oh ! would to God, that the pious and virtuous 
 mother may not see in her old age some of her dearest 
 ones to sneer and laugh at her own faith and religion ! 
 The fact is, that from such mixed marriages, even the 
 most fortunate ones, proceed infidel children ; neither 
 Catholics nor Protestants ; loving no religion at all, if 
 not hating every religion. If such be the case in these 
 marriages, contracted even under the best auspices, what 
 must be the unhappy lot of a Catholic marrying one, 
 who, faithless to the promise made, as not seldom is the 
 case, becomes, not so much his opponent, as his tyrant 
 and persecutor on account of his faith, unless he have 
 the virtue of a Saint to suffer a protracted martyrdom ! 
 We may be told, that to the same dangers might be 
 exposed a Catholic marrying another Catholic. It is 
 true, if question be of a Catholic who lost his faith — an 
 impious" Catholic, who is still worse than an infidel ; and 
 therefore what we said above is equally applicable to 
 the case. Since we speak of the dangers and trials to 
 which the faith of the Catholic party and that of the 
 children may be exposed — for want of faith and dis- 
 crepancy of religion in the married couple — besides 
 which, there are other dangers resulting from the want 
 of good morals, in either of the contracting parties, 
 which may be equally found in a Protestant and in a 
 Catholic — as well in a non-professing Catholic as in an 
 Infidel — whether baptized or unbaptized. This increases 
 the necessity of being on the alert, when question is 
 of making selection of a companion for life, and not to 
 be led by impetuous passion, but by reason and faith. 
 In these mixed marriages the church dispenses with
 
 47 
 
 all the sacred ceremonial rites, not only for the sake of 
 the non-Catholic party, from whom she does not wish to 
 force any external act contrary to conscientious convic- 
 tions ; but also in behalf of the Catholic party, she wishes 
 to have the same contracted under her protection, rep- 
 resented by the Catholic Priest. She forbids even the 
 Clergyman to perform any sacred rite in these mar- 
 riages, both in order not to appear to approve them — 
 for she rather tolerates than approves them, for the rea- 
 sons above said ; and also in oi'der not to cooperate 
 in any way to the profanation of the Sacrament, in case 
 that the not Catholic party be not well disposed, as it 
 is justly supposed, to receive the grace of the same ; 
 whether for want of good faith in his religious belief, or 
 for want of conviction that Matrimony under the Chris- 
 tian Dispensation is one of the seven sacraments estab- 
 lished by our Lord Jesus Christ. We may be asked, 
 is then Matrimony a sacrament, when contracted be- 
 tween a Catholic and non-Catholic ? "We must answer 
 with distinction ; either the uon- Catholic party has been 
 baptized or not ; certainly it cannot be a sacrament for 
 the non-Catholic, if he has not been baptized; as bap- 
 tism is the door by which one enters into the sanc- 
 tuary of the church, becomes a member of the mys- 
 tical body of our Lord, and a child of God ; and as 
 such he is made partaker of the pastures which Jesus 
 Christ left for his children in the sacrament, in which 
 he cannot partake who is unbaptized ; but if the non- 
 Catholic party be validly baptized, whosoever he may 
 be that administered it, and in whatsoever denomination 
 of Christians he may have received the same, as there 
 is but " one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
 
 48 
 
 the Father of all " (Eph. c. 4, vv. 5, 6) ; moreover, 
 whether it be Peter or Paul, John or Judas, who ad- 
 ministers Christian baptism ; even more, whether it be 
 a male or a female who performs this rite, it is the 
 same as to its validity, because it is Christ himself who 
 baptizes, " He it is that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost," 
 says Saint John (c. 1, v. 33) ; therefore, such a one by 
 baptism became a member of the Christian family, and 
 consequently capable to receive all the sacraments of 
 the church, as to their validity — matrimony included. 
 Still something else is required on their part to receive 
 the sacraments, when they attain to the use of reason, 
 which is the intention of receiving them. If said inten- 
 tion be not wanting, certainly they receive the sacra- 
 ment of matrimony ; but if they do not intend to receive 
 the sacrament of matrimony, whether it be because they 
 do not believe it to be a sacrament, or for some other 
 reason. In such case theologians are divided, some say- 
 ing that they do not receive the sacrament ; but others, 
 even more probably think, that they always receive the 
 sacrament, whether they intend or not, provided both be 
 baptized, and intend seriously to perform the matrimonial 
 contract, since this very contract, as we said above, was 
 raised by our Lord unto the dignity of a sacrament 
 amongst Christians ; and consequently, the sacrament 
 being inseparable from the matrimonial contract, when- 
 ever this matrimonial contract is validly performed, there 
 is also the Sacrament of Matrimony amongst baptized 
 persons. 
 
 As for the Catholic party, in these mixed marriages. 
 Divines incline in favor of considering it always a sacra- 
 ment, at least, when both parties have been baptized ;
 
 49 
 
 and hence the Catholic is bound to prepare himself to 
 receive the grace, which is annexed to the sacrament, 
 and which it never fails to produce, when received with 
 proper dispositions. What is the preparation required 
 from a Catholic, or what dispositions must he have not 
 merely not to profane the sacrament, but also to receive 
 its fruits, we proceed now to examine — referring to 
 the laws of the church regulating the Christian mar- 
 riage, when contracted by two Catholics. 
 
 These laws either command something previous to 
 the matrimonial engagement or accompanying the same, 
 or even subsequent to it. In other words, the church 
 commands some things to be observed before marriage, 
 others in the time of marriage, and some others after 
 the marriage is contracted. The first are intended by 
 way of preparation ; the second of conseci'ation ; and 
 the last perfection ; and they teach the contracting par- 
 ties how they are to prepare themselves to receive the 
 grace of the sacrament ; that they are to receive it with 
 the utmost reverence and devotion ; and finally, that 
 they have to endeavor to preserve the fruits thereof. 
 Before marriage the church commands the bans of mat- 
 rimony to be published three successive Sundays or fes- 
 tival days in the parochial church, of those that intend 
 to be married ; entreating them meanwhile to prepare 
 themselves, by approaching the holy sacraments of Pen- 
 ance and Holy Eucharist. In the time of marriage she 
 commands the contracting parties to contract the same 
 in the presence of the proper Pastor, or of another 
 Priest, authorized by said Pastor, or the Bishop, who is 
 to confirm their contract, and sanctify it, by imploring 
 upon them, and granting to them God's holy benediction. 
 3
 
 50 
 
 And^ finally, aftei' matrimony has been contracted, she 
 anxiously wishes to implore for them, at the most Holy 
 Sacrifice of the Mass, all those temporal and spiritual 
 blessings, of which they stand so much in need, to com- 
 ply faithfully with the duties of the married state, and 
 that they may find therein the happy fruits of domestic 
 peace and everlasting enjoyment ; and therefore she 
 imposes on them the duty on certain days and occasions 
 to assist, after the ceremony of matrimony, at the Holy 
 Sacrifice of the Mass for the performance of this rite. 
 
 In the first place, the church commands the bans of 
 matrimony to be published before marriage can be con- 
 tracted ; and this she does for very wise and weighty 
 reasons. First, to discover whether there be any imped- 
 iment to the proposed marriage ; and secondly, to obtain 
 God's grace in behalf of the couple to be married through 
 the prayers of the Congregation, It is of the highest 
 importance to the contracting parties to know and dis- 
 cover whether there be or not any impediment to the 
 intended marriage which would render it null and void, 
 and a mere palliated concubinage ; and as there might 
 be some, which it is impossible for them to know, on 
 account of its secrecy, unless discovered by others, so 
 the church by this means takes the most efiicacious step 
 to secure the interested parties in this respect, com- 
 manding, under pain of mortal sin and even excommu- 
 nication, all and every Catholic who may know any of 
 these impediments (except such as may be known only 
 under natural secrecy, or by reason of professional du- 
 ties, Avhich are not subject to denunciation), to discover 
 them to the Pastor, that proper means may be taken 
 either to stop the marriage or to obtain beforehand the
 
 61 
 
 proper dispensation. Thus the church, as a solicitous 
 Mother, secures the honor of the contracting parties and 
 that of their families, as well as that of the matrimonial 
 engagement, which is called by Saint Paul "honorable" 
 (Heb. c. 13, V. 4). By this any one can easily perceive 
 how great folly it is for the contracting parties to pre- 
 sent objections to the observance of this wise law of the 
 church, which places them on secure ground in making 
 the most important of all contracts. Oh ! how many 
 an honorable young lady, by neglecting the said wise 
 prescription, contrary to the will of her Pastor, from 
 whom she forced a dispensation, often for no other rea- 
 son than to avoid having her name mentioned in the 
 church, has afterwards discovered with anguish, bitter- 
 ness, and despair, that the object of her affection had 
 given his previously to another ! It is in order to pre- 
 vent such calamities that the church recommends to her 
 Pastors seldom to dispense with the matrimonial bans, 
 and then only for just and very grievous reasons. If 
 Catholics were to understand well their interests, rather 
 than solicit any dispensation on this point, they would 
 urge having said laws rigorously enforced in their re- 
 gard ; and this, not only to prevent disappointment, but 
 even to obtain the prayers of the faithful. The other 
 reason for which the church commands the bans of mat- 
 rimony to be published : 
 
 Society at large is greatly interested in matrimonial 
 contracts, but especially Christian society. All legisla- 
 tors have recognized, with the church, which has been 
 commanded to civilize the world by the preaching of 
 the gospel, that the well-being and harmony of a nation, 
 or even of society, as we observed elsewhere, greatly
 
 62 
 
 depends on the well-regulated family, the result of mat- 
 rimonial contract, as the collection of these small socie- 
 ties forms what we call a nation, or society ; hence the 
 zeal of the church in enacting laws to x-egulate the Chris- 
 tian marriage, as she is the only competent Legislator, 
 who can fully comprehend God's holy requirements in 
 this respect, the Christian marriage being, as we proved 
 before, one of the seven sacraments of the new law, 
 whose dispensation has been confided to her by our 
 Lord. The church, therefore, well aware of the im- 
 portance of matrimony for the good of society, and espe- 
 cially for that of Christian society, she not only prays 
 but recommends all her children to pray for such as 
 have been called to the marriage state, and are about 
 engaging in it, that God may vouchsafe to direct all 
 their proceedings to the greatest glory and the welfare 
 of Christianity. It is for this same reason that the 
 church entreats the contracting parties, whilst the bans 
 of matrimony are being published, to prepare themselves 
 for the reception of this sacrament, approaching worthily 
 the holy sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion, 
 that their souls being thus purified from the stain of 
 mortal sin, and fortified with the Body and Blood of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, they may render themselves worthy 
 of that supernatural love which will enable them to be 
 mutually assiduous and diligent in complying with each 
 other's wish, seeking each other's comfort, and bearing 
 the mutual yoke with gladness and edification, — the 
 proper fruits of the sacramental grace attached by our 
 Lord, through the merits of his passion and death, to 
 matrimony under the Christian dispensation. 
 
 Although the minister of the sacrament of matrimony
 
 53 
 
 be not the priest, but the contracting parties themselves, 
 according to the teaching of the Catholic church, which 
 is an additional reason for them to receive before the 
 sacraments of penance and holy eucharist, still the 
 church has at all times enjoined upon the faithful the 
 duty of receiving the sacrament of matrimony under 
 the protection of the church, represented by her minis- 
 ter, the proper pastor of the contracting parties, who is 
 to ratify the matrimonial contract, imploring and impart- 
 ing unto them God's holy benediction ; and impelled by 
 the weightiest reasons, she has enjoined this wherever 
 the Council of Trent has been published, as it is in our 
 State (California), not only under the pain of mortal 
 sin, but she has even declared tlie matrimonial contract 
 null and void whenever attempted in places where there 
 is a parish priest resident, to whom they may have 
 recourse conveniently. However, Catholics who live 
 in places or counties remote from the church and far 
 from the priest's residence, as for example those who 
 reside in the interior of the State, or to whom it would 
 be almost impossible, notwithstanding their good will, 
 to have recourse to the priest and contract in his pres- 
 ence, in which the church does not invalidate their 
 matrimonial contract, provided they contract before at 
 least two witnesses, and if possible Catholics ; even in 
 this case the Catholic church enjoins on them the duty, 
 as soon as they will have the opportunity, to receive the 
 priest's blessing and have the matrimonial contract rati- 
 fied by the same. From this it appears evident, that 
 those Catliolics who, disregarding the laws of the church 
 in this respect, dare to contract matrimony before the 
 civil magistrates, or any other way, without the presence
 
 54 
 
 of the Catholic priest, in cities and places where the 
 said priest resides or visits, besides committing a mortal 
 sin, cause great scandal to religion and do great injury 
 to themselves, living in a state of degradation, their 
 matrimony being nothing else but a palliated concubin- 
 age, which will surely bring them to eternal condemna- 
 tion, unless they repent and x-epair the scandal by 
 redressing their steps ; such the church wishes to have 
 cut off from her communion by the sword of excommu- 
 nication (Cone. Tri. Sess. 24, Cap. 8, De Reform.), and 
 in the diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles they incur 
 the same by the very fact. 
 
 After the ceremony of matrimony is performed, the 
 church enjoins on them that have been married to assist 
 at the holy sacrifice of the mass, and receive therein a 
 still more copious benediction, the nuptial blessing. 
 This is one of the most imposing ceremonies of the 
 church, and one which Catholics should not disregard. 
 It is only enjoined on them who are married for the 
 first time, nor can it be performed at all times, the 
 church prohibiting the performance of this rite from the 
 first Sunday in Advent until the day of the Epiphany, 
 and from Ash Wednesday to the octave of Easter, 
 inclusively ; on which time she recommends to her 
 children not to contract matrimony at all, for reason of 
 the penitential time and the great mysteries which are 
 commemorated, and the faithful are expected to comply 
 with their mother's wish in order not to be deprived of 
 the above especial blessing, which, as we have said, is 
 one of the most touching and imposing ceremonies of 
 the Catholic church, and shows evidently the great 
 respect and esteem in which Christian marriage is to
 
 55 
 
 be held. The holy sacrifice of the mass is offered up 
 for the new couple, and the whole of the liturgy is 
 directed towards obtaining for them Heaven's most 
 copious blessings, commencing the Introit with those 
 words of Raguel when he gave Sara his daughter in 
 marriage to Tobias : " The God of Abraham, and the 
 God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob be with you, and 
 may He join you together and fulfil his blessing in 
 you" (Tob. c. 7, v. 15), and so on to the end of the 
 mass. Mindful of the divine institution of marriage, 
 of its being a great sacrament in Christ and in the 
 church, and of the duties resulting from it for the newly 
 mai'ried, she implores the grace that they may fulfill 
 them ; that being faithful to the Author of matrimony, 
 they may live a long life, and see their children's chil- 
 dren to the third and fourth genei*ation. She reads 
 that portion of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians 
 (chap. 5, from v. 22 to 33) in which he details the duties 
 of both husband and wife, and that they are to cherish 
 one another as Christ and his church, of whose union 
 matrimony is a figure ; and, particularly, that the hus- 
 band " love his wife as himself," and " the wife rever- 
 ence her husband." She reads also that portion of the 
 gospel (Matthew, c. 19, vv. 3-6) in which our Lord 
 declares matrimony to be instituted by God, one and 
 indissoluble. And in one of the most solemn moments 
 of the sacrifice, immediately after the " Paternoster" or 
 Lord's Prayer, she pronounces a lengthy benediction on 
 both the bridegroom and the bride, but most particularly 
 on the bride, begging of God that she may " be pleasing 
 to her husband, like Eachel ; discreet, like Rebecca ; 
 and in years and fidelity, like Sarah." Finally, at the
 
 56 
 
 end of mass, before giving the last blessing, she ad- 
 dresseth likewise both of them, saying, '• May the God 
 of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob 
 be with you, and may He fulfil his blessing in you, that 
 you may see your children's children to the third and 
 fourth generation ; and afterguards enter the possession 
 of eternal life, through the assistance of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth 
 and reigneth one God forever. Amen." Such are the 
 laws and ceremonies prescribed by the church for Cath- 
 olic marriages. Would to God they were faithfully 
 observed by Christians ! There would not be so many 
 unhappy marriages and scandals in Christian society. 
 
 Having considered matrimony under its two-fold 
 aspect, as a contract and as a sacrament, under the 
 Christian dispensation ; its essential qualities of unity, 
 sanctity, and indissolubjlity ; the different erroneous 
 doctrines opposed to the same as an institution of God ; 
 the power and zeal of the Catholic church in protecting 
 Christian marriage by prudent and wise laws, it seems 
 to us that our object would remain yet imperfect unless 
 we placed before the reader the duties resulting from 
 Christian marriage, the knowledge of which may greatly 
 contribute to direct those who feel themselves called to 
 that state, how they ought to proceed with the utmost 
 care, rectitude of intention, and guided by religion in 
 embracing it. This is what we are going to do in the 
 following lines : 
 
 The duties resulting from matrimony, called by Saint 
 Paul a " Yoke " (2d Cor. c. 6, v. 14), are of such im- 
 portance and so arduous that the disciples of our Lord 
 hearing him speak of them, and especially of those
 
 57 
 
 resulting from its perpetuity, said to him, " If the case 
 of a man with his wife be so, it is not good to marry ;" 
 that is to say, it is better not to marry. To whom the 
 Lord, approving their opinion, said, " All receive not 
 this word, but they to whom it is given" (Matt. c. 19, 
 vv. 10, 11) ; and hence He took occasion to extol and 
 enhance celibacy over the matrimonial state, saying : 
 " There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs 
 for the kingdom of heaven's sake," and encouraged them 
 to celibacy, adding, " He that can receive it, let him 
 receive it." (Same, v. 12.) St. Paul also recommends 
 cehbacy and virginity over the matrimonial state, as 
 being more apt to attend to the service of God and to 
 one's salvation, saying, " He that is without a wife is 
 solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he 
 may please God ; but he that is with a wife is solicitous 
 for the things of the world, how he may please his 
 wife, and he is divided. And the unmarried woman 
 and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that 
 she may be holy both in body and spirit ; but she that 
 is married thinketh on the things of the world, how she 
 may please her husband." (1st Cor. 7.) Concerning 
 this, however, there is no commandment, except for 
 such who freely, of their own choice, impose upon them- 
 selves the obligation and vow chastity and celibacy to 
 the Lord, having received the gift from him ; but it is 
 only advised as more perfect and pleasing to God. 
 " Now concerning virgins," says the same Apostle 
 (Same), " I have no commandment of the Lord, but I 
 give counsel, as having obtained mercy of the Lord to 
 
 be faithful I would that all men were even as 
 
 myself," that is to say, unmarried ; " but every one has 
 3*
 
 58 
 
 his proper gift from God, one after this manner, and 
 another after that ; but I say to the unmarried and to 
 the widows, it is good for them if they so continue, even 
 as I. But if they do not contain themselves, let them 
 marry ; for it is better to marry than to burn. ... If 
 thou take a wife, thou hast not sinned ; and if a virgin 
 marry, she hath not sinned ; nevertheless, such shall 
 
 have tribulation of the flesh Therefore, both he 
 
 that giveth his virgin in marriage, doeth well ; and he 
 
 that giveth her not, doeth better A woman is 
 
 bound by the law as long as her husband liveth ; but if 
 her husband die, she is at liberty ; let her marry to 
 whom she will, only in the Lord. But more blessed 
 shall she be if so she remain, according to my counsel ; 
 and I think that I also have the Spirit of God." 
 
 This is the doctrine by which the church hath always 
 been guided in strenuously defending, against the an- 
 cient heretics, the dignity of matrimony, and against 
 the modern reformers, the supremacy of celibacy and 
 virginity over the matrimonial state. Against the for- 
 mer, namely, the Manicheans, who, as Saint Paul says 
 (1 Tim. 4), " giving heed to spirits of error and doc- 
 trines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy," were " for- 
 bidding to marry " as a diabolical institution, the church 
 declared that matrimony is an institution of God, sanc- 
 tified by our Lord, and raised by himself into the dig- 
 nity of a sacrament under the Christian dispensation ; 
 and against the latter, who, preferring matrimony to 
 celibacy and virginity, not on account of the sacrament, 
 which dignity they also denied to matrimony, but merely 
 as something more congenial to them, and opposing 
 celibacy, which they had vowed to God and were not
 
 59 
 
 willing to keep, and therefore they condemned it, to- 
 gether with virginity, as contrary to their inclinations, 
 by which they measured the gospel truths, the church 
 declared, according to the above doctrine of our Lord 
 and his blessed Apostle, celibacy and virginity to be 
 preferable to matrimony, saying (Cone. Trin. Sess. 24, 
 Can. 10), '• If any one say that the original state is to 
 be preferred to the state of virginity or celibacy, and 
 that it is not better and more blessed to live in vir- 
 ginity or celibacy than to conti'act raatrimony, let him 
 be anathema." 
 
 According to this gospel's doctrine, blessed are they 
 who are called to the state of celibacy, Avhether male 
 or female, either to the ecclesiastical state or to the 
 state of a religious life, and persevere faithful to their 
 holy vocation. Such is the preeminence of celibacy 
 over matrimony, that when accompanied with solemn 
 vows in religion, even after a previous maiTiage con- 
 tracted but not consummated, by virtue of the vows 
 the tie of matrimony is dissolved, so that the party 
 remaining in the world after the vows of the other 
 can contract matrimony with another. Whether this 
 be merely by virtue of the excellency of the religious 
 vows over matrimony, or by divine disposition in favor 
 of the religious life implied in that recommendation 
 made by Jesus Christ of renouncing all things, father, 
 mother, brother, sister, wife, and even one's life to 
 follow Him (Matt. c. 19, v. 29, Luke, c. 14, v. 26), or 
 lastly by virtue of a condition always implied in the 
 marriage contract, namely, " I contract for life, unless 
 previous to the consummation of matrimony I would 
 consecrate myself to God in religious life," certain it
 
 60 
 
 is that matrimony contracted but not consummated is 
 dissolved by solemn religious vows, as the church has 
 declared according to the above said doctrine, condemn- 
 ing as heretics those who would dare to deny it : " If 
 any one say . . . that matrimony contracted, but not 
 consummated, is not dissolved by the solemn religious, 
 profession of one of the contracting parties, let him be 
 anathema." (Con. Trin. Sess. 24, Can. 6.) The rea- 
 son of the dissolution of such marriage in favor of the 
 more blessed state of religious life, is because the union 
 of Jesus Christ with his church is fully represented and 
 perfected only by consummation, by which the contract- 
 ing parties become " one flesh," as also the members of 
 the church, with relation to Christ, are said to be by 
 the Apostle " of his flesh and of his bones " (Eph. c. 5, 
 V. 30) ; and from said consummation results the abso- 
 lute indissolubility of the matrimonial tie. Hence also 
 comes the opinion of some divines, who affirm that the 
 supreme pontiff, by virtue of the supreme power of the 
 keys conferred on him by our Lord, can dissolve, in 
 some extraordinary cases, the tie of said matrimony 
 contracted, but not consummated ; and sustain their 
 opinion by facts which prove the exercise of said power. 
 Returning to our subject, we say, according to the 
 above said doctrine of our Lord, and that of the Apostle, 
 that blessed are they who are called to a state of celi- 
 bacy ; but, as all have not received this gift from God, 
 so they are to be satisfied whom God hath called to a 
 married life ; it is also a gift of God, although not so 
 perfect ; they shall have tribulation of the flesh, as Saint 
 Paul says. But they do well marrying when called ; 
 and they shall find therein also, the means of sanctifica-
 
 61 
 
 tion and securing their eternal salvation, if they be 
 faithful in complying with the duties thereof ; in keep- 
 ing, as the same Apostle says, the " Marriage honorable 
 in all (things,) and the bed undefiled " (Heb. c. 13, v. 
 4) ; preserving, with the most assiduous diligence, the 
 unity, perpetuity, and sanctity of the matrimonial state ; 
 its unity by mutual fidelity ; its perpetuity by mutual 
 society ; and its sanctity by mutual love and assistance. 
 And these are the three duties resulting from the 
 matrimonial engagement, which we are now going to 
 explain. 
 
 In the first place, married persons are bound to pre- 
 serve the unity of matrimony by mutual fidelity. From 
 the moment they gave their mutual consent and engaged 
 in matrimony, they delivered to each other their bodies, 
 which are no more their own, but their companion's ; 
 this made the Apostle say (1st Cor., c. 7) : " The wife 
 hath not power over her own body, but the husband ; 
 and in like manner the husband also hath not power of 
 his own body, but the wife ;" and this is also the rea- 
 son why, according to the same Apostle (Eph. c. 5, v. 
 28), " so also ought men to love their wives as their own 
 bodies," and " he that loveth his wife, loveth himself ;" 
 because " they are not two, but one flesh," as our Lord 
 says. Hence, any one who is engaged in matrimony, 
 whether male or female, who divides the love he owes 
 to his companion with any other, toucheth at a forbidden 
 fruit, rends the unity of matrimony, and becomes a 
 practical " Mormonist," since there are more than two 
 in one flesh, according to the doctrine of Saint Paul, 
 saying : " know you not that he who adheres to a harlot, 
 is made one body ? for they shalkbe," saith he, " two in
 
 62 
 
 one flesh." (1st Cor., c. 6, v. 16.) Who can compre- 
 hend the black injustice, and the awful consequences of 
 this sin ? often rendering uncertain the fruit of matri- 
 monial engagements, and depriving the proper heirs of 
 what property belongs to them, to give it to strangers. 
 This is one of those monstrous deeds which should never 
 be heard of amongst Christians ; if in the ancient law 
 they who were guilty of it, whether male or female, 
 were ordered to be put to death, that the evil might be 
 removed, for thus saith the Lord : " they shall both die," 
 that is to say, the adulterer and the adulteress, " and 
 thou shalt take away the evil out of Israel (Deut., c. 22, 
 V. 22), what then must it be amongst Christians, whose 
 bodies by baptism were made temples of God, and mem- 
 bers of Christ ! the Apostle saying : " know you not 
 that your bodies are members of Christ ? shall I then, 
 taking the members of Christ, make them the members 
 of a harlot ? God forbid." * * « Know you not that 
 your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost ?" (1st 
 Cor., c. 6, vv. 15, 19.) 
 
 God forbid that any Christian should so forget the 
 unity of matrimony as to violate it by infidelity, for 
 with such a foul crime he could not be admitted into the 
 mansions of eternal bliss. Still it is not enough for 
 married people to preserve unity by mutual fidelity. 
 They must likewise preserve the perpetuity of their 
 engagement by constant and mutual society, which 
 obliges them to live togethei*, united by the bond of 
 family, according to the words of our Lord : " they are 
 not two, but one flesh ;" " what, therefore, God hath 
 joined together, let not man put asunder." Saint Paul, 
 who carefully explained all the duties of married per-
 
 63 
 
 sons, expresses this in the most cleai' and evident terms, 
 saying (1st Cor., c. 7) : " 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." The very end and 
 object of matrimony, namely, the procreation and proper 
 education of children, imperatively demands that mar- 
 ried people live in society together ; and they evidently 
 violate this, God's commandment, who, to the great 
 scandal of Christianity, live separated from one another ; 
 which crime, as an abyss calleth for another abyss, often 
 brings them to some other, even more grievous crime ; 
 and the disregard for the perpetuity of marriage some- 
 times brings them to the violation of its unity; and the 
 withdrawing from the path of Christianity carries them 
 to that of " Mormonism." 
 
 Some reason had the Apostles then, when, hearing 
 our Lord speak of the duties of married persons, said to 
 him : " If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is 
 not good to marry " (Matt., c. 19, v. 10) ; that is to say, 
 it is better not to marry ; which declai-ation, as we have 
 said, our Lord confirmed, celibacy being preferable to it, 
 and a more blessed state ; for, as Saint Paul says, those 
 that are married " shall have tribulation of the flesh " 
 (1st Cor., c. 7) ; and such tribulation sometimes, that it 
 becomes almost insupportable, the first aflfections having 
 changed into antipathies, which daily increasing, at last 
 convert the married state, from being a society of love 
 into a society of hatred: into a heUish society. Oh! 
 how young people ought to reflect upon this before con- 
 tracting matrimony, and be cautious in selecting a com-
 
 64 
 
 panion for life, being actuated not by flying passion and 
 affection, but by the principles of religion and Christian 
 prudence, in order not to expose themselves to the dan- 
 ger of perpetually bewailing their evil lot, and mixing 
 their bitter tears and fruitless grief with their daily 
 bread, as is the case with many an unfortunate couple. 
 But is there no remedy to soothe and alleviate the un- 
 happy lot of such as have been unfortunate in the selec- 
 tion of a companion, or whose dispositions have so 
 changed after marriage, as to render his company un- 
 pleasant, painful, or even sometimes dangerous ? or is an 
 innocent victim to be always under the power of a 
 tyrant, to be constantly immolated at the altar of anger ? 
 Does not religion offer some leniency to this, one of the 
 greatest evils at this side of the grave ? Yes ; there ia 
 some remedy to this, afforded by religion, which alone 
 can console when other remedies are unavailing. And 
 first of all is the patience of Job, who in the midst of 
 his heavy afflictions suffered the insults of his wife ; and 
 when this proves insufficient, then the Church, accord- 
 ing to the docti'ine of our Lord and His blessed Apostle, 
 may allow, and even order a separation, or dissolution 
 of family society, for a determined or undetermined 
 time, as she may think best, according to circumstances, 
 but retaining always firm the matrimonial contract until 
 a reconciliation can be obtained ; and those are con- 
 demned as heretics who refuse to the Church this 
 power, and affirm that she errs in the exercise of it, 
 saying : " If any one say that the Church errs, teach- 
 ing that for many reasons a separation of the married 
 couple for a certain or uncertain time, as to bed and co- 
 habitation, can be commanded, let him be anathema.' 
 (Con. Trid. Sess. 24; Can. 8.)
 
 65 
 
 We need not dwell upon the different reasons or 
 causes that may justify the dissolution of family society, 
 for a time, as they may be many and various, depending 
 on circumstances, rendering matrimonial society very 
 unpleasant and insupportable. Saint Paul supposes 
 them when he says |(lst Cor. 7) : " 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." 
 Not any kind of reason, however, is sufficient for sepa- 
 ration ; nor is any of the parties concerned always the 
 proper judge to decide when and where there is, or 
 there is not sufficient cause for said sepai'ation, and thus 
 declare that the Lord's commandment of cohabitation 
 is, or is not binding on them any longer ; this belongs to 
 the Church and its pastors, the interpreters of God's 
 holy law, and consequently of the duties resulting from 
 matrimony, whose dispensation as a sacrament under 
 the Christian Dispensation, exclusively belongs to them. 
 To the Church, then, are the interested parties to apply 
 for the proper decision. From these observations we 
 understand how guilty they must be, who of their own 
 authority, and for trivial reasons, separate, to the great 
 scandal of Christian society, and often to the ruin of 
 their own and their children's reputation. 
 
 There is nevertheless a ci-ime for which, our Lord 
 himself, notwithstanding the indissolubility of the mar- 
 riage contract, allows to the innocent party, provided he 
 has not been guilty of the same crime, to put away, and 
 even forever, the monstrous companion. This is the 
 crime of adultery ; but without the liberty of marrying 
 again to any other, which, as_we said elsewhere, is only
 
 6Q 
 
 allowed in case of death. This is the doctrine of the 
 Church according to that of our Lord (St. Matt., c. 5, 
 V. 32) : " I say to you, that whosoever shall put away 
 his wife, excepting for the cause of fornication, causeth 
 her to commit adultery ; and whosoever shall marry her 
 that is put away, committeth adultery," And again 
 (c. 19, V. 9) : " Whosoever shall put away his wife, ex- 
 cept it be for fornication, and shall marry another, com- 
 mitteth adultery ; and he who shall marry her that is 
 put away, committeth adultery." "We see here two 
 things, namely, the liberty, for the innocent party, to 
 put away the guilty monster for the cause of fornica- 
 tion ; and the prohibition, for both, even for the inno- 
 cent, to marry again to any other ; since both the inno- 
 cent and the criminal are said, by our Lord, to commit 
 adultery if they marry to another. From this it ap- 
 pears evident that the crime of adultery, in either of the 
 married couple, is a sufficient cause for separation, or 
 dissolution of family society, in favor of the innocent, 
 who has not given cause to it, nor has he been guilty of 
 the same crime either before or after ; in which case 
 he could not claim any privilege over the other, the 
 rights of matrimony being equal for both male and 
 female, and where there are equal rights, there is also 
 equal injustice, and a kind of compensation ; although 
 the crime be more grievous in the female, owing to the 
 uncertainty of the matrimonial fruit and the right of 
 inheritance, which might sometimes ensue. 
 
 The above said cause of adultery sets at liberty, as 
 we have said, the innocent party, forever, of the matri- 
 monial engagement, as to cohabitation and family soci- 
 ety ; so that he can withdraw from the companion of
 
 67 
 
 his own authority, which the Lord gives him without 
 expecting tlie decision of the Church, provided he be 
 certain of the crime voluntarily and willfully committed ; 
 and can enter even a religious life, and consecrate him- 
 self to God forever in religion ; which he could not do 
 for any other cause, they being by their own nature 
 temporary, whilst the former is perpetual, making of 
 them more than " two in one flesh," contrary to God's 
 command ; thus destroying as it were, what rendei's the 
 Christian matrimony so sacred and venerable, the union 
 of Jesus Christ with his church, which it represents. 
 This shows to married people what great care and 
 zeal they should have to preserve the unity of matri- 
 mony by mutual fidelity ; the first duty resulting from 
 matrimonial engagement, and the most efficacious means 
 to preserve likewise its perpetuity by constant and mu- 
 tual society of life, second duty of matrimony ; and 
 thus it will also be a society of mutual love and assist- 
 ance ; third duty, and we might call it the rewai-d of 
 their fidelity, by which they will preserve the sacred- 
 ness and sanctity of the sacrament. 
 
 To them who fully comprehend the dignity and sanc- 
 tity of matrimony, which is called by St. Paul " a great 
 sacrament ... in Christ and in the church," it is easy 
 likewise to understand the duty of mutual love and 
 assistance resulting from it, which renders the yoke 
 really sweet and light, strengthens the unity of the 
 matrimonial engagement, confirms its perpetuity, and 
 forms the happiness of family society. It seems to us 
 that we can do nothing better in this respect than to 
 speak with, or rather quote the words of the Apostle to 
 the Ephesians (chap. 5), scarcely leave anything to be
 
 68 
 
 added : " Let women," says he, " be subject to their 
 husbands, as to the Lord ; because the husband is the 
 head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church ; 
 He is the Saviour of his body. Therefore as the church 
 is subject to Christ, so also let the wives be to their 
 husbands in all things. Husbands, love your wives, 
 as Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself 
 up for it, that He might sanctify it, cleansing it by the 
 laver of water in the word of life ; that He might pre- 
 sent it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or 
 wrinkle, nor any such thing, but that it should be holy 
 and without blemish. So also ought men to love their 
 wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, 
 loveth himself. For no man ever hated his own flesh, 
 but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the 
 church ; for we are members of his body, of his flesh, 
 and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his 
 father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and 
 they shall be two in one flesh. This is a great sacra- 
 ment ; but I speak in Christ and in the church. Nev- 
 ertheless, let every one of you in particular love his 
 wife as himself, and let the wife reverence her hus- 
 band." Thus far the Apostle, presenting before the 
 eyes of the married people the union between Christ 
 and his church, developing the admirable effects of said 
 union, the unbounded charity of Jesus Christ for the 
 church, and the untiring zeal of the church for the 
 honor of her divine spouse, Jesus Christ ; and proposing 
 the same as a model to them who, being called to the 
 matrimonial state, are to be also a living figure and 
 image of that great mystery of charity and love ; that 
 being thus united by the bond of mutual affection and
 
 69 
 
 devotedness, they may have but one heart and one «oul, 
 as they are united in one flesh ; they may perpetually 
 preserve their marriage " honorable in all things," by 
 mutual fidelity, mutual society, and mutual affection, 
 which will certainly bring them to that marriage feast 
 where they shall be inebriated with the plenty of the 
 house of God. (Psalms 35, v. 9.)
 
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