Back to: Protected: 4: Graced Living: What Does it Mean to Call Marriage a Sacrament
Welcome to this short online course about Graced Living
In this module we will explore the understanding of marriage as a sacrament within the Roman Catholic tradition.
The aims in this module are:
- To realise the many meanings of grace
- To discover what is a sacrament and its importance in relationships
- To appreciate Marriage as a sacrament
- To understand graces and goods of non-sacramental marriages
Having spent more time on this module than on others, I found it increased my awareness of the extraordinary gift of God’s grace, available to all of us and (it gave me) a much clearer grasp of the role of Sacraments in reception of the particular graces. I wonder what you will take from it.
Jean Marsh
Reflection
“To have and to hold, from this day forward,
for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health, until death do us part….”
The Order of Celebrating Matrimony © 2013
What an amazing thing to promise. To fall out of financial security is as easy as ever. Easier than ever since now our work rarely depends on producing something with guaranteed value and even sudden lottery wealth all too often turns from dream to nightmare.
Comfort during fever or flu is kindly but loving concern in terminal cancer, or patient learning presence throughout dementia, is an heroic asceticism beyond anything the ancient Monks and Religious preached.
How will I lie or sit with you as you enter the longer or shorter shadow of death?
How will I let you go in trust into the merciful hands of God?
Were we foolhardy or just amazingly courageous all those years ago?
Yet somehow the rhythm of daily generosity, of loss and gain, melts and moulds us, gentles and toughens us; enables us to become the people we promised to be.
Throughout this module you are invited to reflect on your own response to what you are encountering and what it means to you, especially in your journey in faith. You will therefore need a notebook or journal to record your thoughts as you progress through the following pages and complete the reflective activities provided.
Before you begin please complete this short preliminary evaluation form.
If you enjoy this module please do look at the five other short courses in this series In Service of Marriage and Relationships: a course for equipping and resourcing lay people.