Leo 13 Arcana



It is in the interests of the State for it to permit the Church to regulate the contractual [covenantal] aspects of marriage


[…] THE hidden design of the divine wisdom, which Jesus Christ the Saviour of men came to carry out on earth, had this end in view, that, by Himself and in Himself, He should divinely renew the world, which was sinking, as it were, with length of years into decline. The Apostle Paul summed this up in words of dignity and majesty when he wrote to the Ephesians, thus: “That He might make known unto us the mystery of His will . . . to re-establish all things in Christ that are in heaven and on earth.”⁽¹⁾	Arcanum divinae sapientiae consilium, quod Salvator hominum lesua Christus in terris erat perfecturus, eo spectavit, ut mundum, quasi vetustate senescentem, Ipse per se et in se divinitus instauraret. Quod splendida et grandi sententia complexus est Paullus Apostolus, cum ad Ephesios ita scriberet: Sacramentum voluntatis suae .... instaurare omnia in Christo, quae in coelis et quae in terra sunt.*—


4. WONDROUS, indeed, was the extent of dignity, steadfastness, and goodness which thus accrued to the State as well as to the family.[:]	—Societati vero domesticae et civili mirum est quantum dignitatis, quantum firmitudinis et honestatis accesserit.
The authority of rulers became more just and revered; the obedience of the people more ready and unforced; the union of citizens closer; the rights of dominion more secure.	Aequior et sanctior effecta principum auctoritas; propensior et facilior populorum obtemperatio; arctior civium coniunctio; tutiora iura dominii.
In very truth, the Christian religion thought of and provided for all things which are held to be advantageous in a State; so much so, indeed, that, according to St. Augustine, one cannot see how it could have offered greater help in the matter of living well and happily, had it been instituted for the single object of procuring or increasing those things which contributed to the conveniences or advantages of this mortal life. [...]	.Omnino rebus omnibus, quae in civitate habentur utiles, religio christiana consuluit et providit; ita quidem, ut, auctore S. Augustino, plus ipsa afferre momenti ad bene beateque vivendum non potuisse videatur, si esset parandis vel augendis mortalis vitae commodis et utilitatibus unice nata.


5. STILL, the purpose We have set before Us is not to recount, in detail, benefits of this kind; Our wish is rather to speak about that family union of which marriage is the beginning and the foundation. The true origin of marriage, venerable brothers, is well known to all. Though revilers of the Christian faith refuse to acknowledge the never-interrupted doctrine of the Church on this subject, and have long striven to destroy the testimony of all nations and of all times, they have nevertheless failed not only to quench the powerful light of truth, but even to lessen it. We record what is to all known, and cannot be doubted by any, that God, on the sixth day of creation, having made man from the slime of the earth, and having breathed into his face the breath of life, gave him a companion, whom He miraculously took from the side of Adam when he was locked in sleep. God thus, in His most far-reaching foresight, decreed that this husband and wife should be the natural beginning of the human race, from whom it might be propagated and preserved by an unfailing fruitfulness throughout all futurity of time.	Constat inter omnes, Venerabiles Pratres, quae vera sit matrimonii origo.—Quamvis enim fidei christianae vituperatores perpetuam hac de re doctrinam Ecclesiae fugiant agnoscere, et memoriam omnium gentium, omnium saeculorum delere iamdiu contendant, vim tamen lucemque veritatis nee extinguere nee debilitare potuerunt. Nota omnibus et nemini dubia commemoramus : posteaquam sexto creationis die formavit Deus hominem de limo terrae, et inspiravit in faciem eiua spiraculum vitae, sociam illi voluit adiungere, quam de latere viri ipsius dormientis mirabiliter eduxit. Qua in re hoc voluit providentissimus Deus, ut illud par coniugum esset cunctorum hominum naturale principium, ex quo scilicet propagari humanum genus, et, numquam intermissis procreationibus, conservari in omne tempus oporteret.
And this union of man and woman, that it might answer more fittingly to the infinite wise counsels of God, even from the beginning manifested chiefly two most excellent properties-deeply sealed, as it were, and signed upon it-namely,	Atque ilia viri et mulieris coniunctio, quo sapientissimis Dei consiliis responderet aptius, vel ex eo tempore duas potissimum, easque in primis nobiles, quasi alte impressas et insculptas prae se tulit proprietates,
[1] unity and [2] perpetuity.	nimirum unitatem et perpetuitatem.
From the Gospel we see clearly that this doctrine was declared and openly confirmed by the divine authority of Jesus Christ. He bore witness to the Jews and to His Apostles that marriage, from its institution,	—Idque declaratum aperteque confirmatum ex Evangelio perspicimus divina lesu Christi auctoritate; qui ludaeis et Apostolis testatus est, matrimonium ex ipsa institutione sui dumtaxat
[1] should exist between two only, that is, between one man and one woman; that of two they are made, so to say, one flesh; [2] and that the marriage bond is by the will of God so closely and strongly made fast that no man may dissolve it or render it asunder. “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What, therefore, God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”⁽²⁾	inter duos esse debere, scilicet virum inter et mulierem; ex duobus unam veluti carnem fieri; et nuptiale vinculum sic esse Dei voluntate intime vehementerque nexum, ut a quopiam inter homines dissolvi, aut distrahi nequeat. Adhaerebit (homo) uxori suae, et erunt duo in carne una. Itaque iam non sunt duo, sed una caro.• Quod ergo Deus coniunxit, homo non separet.


[…] 8. SO manifold being the vices and so great the ignominies with which marriage was defiled, an alleviation and a remedy were at length bestowed from on high. Jesus Christ, who restored our human dignity and who perfected the Mosaic law, applied early in His ministry no little solicitude to the question of marriage. He ennobled the marriage in Cana of Galilee by His presence, and made it memorable by the first of the miracles which he wrought;⁽⁷⁾ and for this reason, even from that day forth, it seemed as if the beginning of new holiness had been conferred on human marriages. Later on He brought back matrimony to the nobility of its primeval origin by condemning the customs of the Jews in their abuse of the plurality of wives and of the power of giving bills of divorce; and still more by commanding most strictly that no one should dare to dissolve that union which God Himself had sanctioned by a bond perpetual. Hence, having set aside the difficulties which were adduced from the law of Moses, He, in character of supreme Lawgiver, decreed as follows concerning husbands and wives, “I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery; and he that shall marry her that is put away committeth adultery.”⁽⁸⁾	Sed tot vitiis, tantisque ignominiis, quibus erant inquinata coniugia, sublevatio tandem et medicina divinitus quaesita est; quandoquidem restitutor dignitatis humanae legumque mosaicarum perfector lesus Christus non exiguam, neqtie postremam de matrimonio curam adhibuit. Etenim nuptias in Cana Galilaeae Ipse praesentia sua nobilitavit, primoque ex prodigiis a se editis fecit memorabiles; § quibus caussis vel ex eo die in hominuin coniugia novae cuiusdam sanctitudinis initia videntur esse profecta. Deinde matrimonium revocavit ad primaevae originis nobilitatem, cum Hebraeorum mores itnprobando, quod et multitudine uxorum et repudii facultate abuterentur; tum maxime praecipiendo, ne quis dissolvere auderet quod perpetuo coniunctionis vinculo Deus ipse constrinxisset. Quapropter cum difficultates diluisset ab institutis mosaicis in medium allatas, supremi legislatoris suscepta persona, haec de coniugibus sanxit: Dico autem voMs, quia quicumque dimiserit uxorem suam, nisi ob fornicationem, et aliam duxerit, moechatur; et qui dimissam duxerit, moechatur.


TWOFOLD MEANING: PROCREATION and UNION/COMMUNION
*[Procreation]*
10. FURTHERMORE, the Christian perfection and completeness of marriage are not comprised in those points only which have been mentioned.	Neque iis dumtaxat quae commemorata sunt, christiana eius perfectio absolutioque continetur.
For, first, there has been vouchsafed to the marriage union a higher and nobler purpose than was ever previously given to it.	Nam primo quidem nuptiali societati excelsius quiddam et nobilius propositum est, quavn antea fuisset;
By the command of Christ, it not only looks to the propagation of the human race, but to the bringing forth of children for the Church, “fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God”;⁽¹⁶⁾ so that “a people might be born and brought up for the worship and religion of the true God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”⁽¹⁷⁾	ea enim spectare iussa est non modo ad propagandum genus humanum, sed ad ingenerandam Ecclesiae sobolem, cives Sanctorum et domesticos Dei;^i ut nimirum populus ad veri Dei et Salvatoris nostri Christi cultum et religionem procrearetur atque educaretur.*


*[Union/Communion of the Couple]*
11. SECONDLY, the mutual duties of husband and wife have been defined, and their several rights accurately established. They are bound, namely, to have such feelings for one another as to cherish always very great mutual love, to be ever faithful to their marriage vow, and to give one another an unfailing and unselfish help. The husband is the chief of the family and the head of the wife.[:]	—Secundo loco sua utrique coniugum sunt officia definita, sua iura integre descripta. Eos scilicet ipsos necesse est sic esse animo semper affectos, ut amorem maximum, constantem fidem, sellers assiduumque praesidium alteri alterum debere intelligant.—Vir est familiae princeps, et caput mulieris;
The woman, because she is flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone, must be subject to her husband and obey him; not, indeed, as a servant, but as a companion, so that her obedience shall be wanting in neither honor nor dignity. Since the husband represents Christ, and since the wife represents the Church, let there always be, both in him who commands and in her who obeys, a heaven-born love guiding both in their respective duties. For “the husband is the head of the wife; as Christ is the head of the Church. . . Therefore, as the Church is subject to Christ, so also let wives be to their husbands in all things.”⁽¹⁸⁾	quae tamen, quia caro est de carne illius et os de ossibus eius, subiiciatur pareatque viro, in morem non ancillae, sed sociae; ut scilicet obedientiae praestitae nee honestas, nec dignitas absit. In eo autem qui praeest, et in hac quae paret, cum imaginem uterque referant alter Christi, altera Ecclesiae, divina caritas esto perpetua moderatrix officii. Nam vir caput est mulieris, sicut Chrislus caput est Ecclesiae .... Sed sicut Ecclesia subiecta est Christo, ita et mulieres viris svis in omnibus


12. AS regards children, they ought to submit to the parents and obey them, and give them honor for conscience’ sake; while, on the other hand, parents are bound to give all care and watchful thought to the education of their offspring and their virtuous bringing up: “Fathers, . . . bring them up” [that is, your children] “in the discipline and correction of the Lord.”⁽¹⁹⁾ From this we see clearly that the duties of husbands and wives are neither few nor light; although to married people who are good these burdens become not only bearable but agreeable, owing to the strength which they gain through the sacrament. […]	—Ad liberos quod pertinet, subesse et obtemperare parentibus, hisque honorem adhibere propter conscientiam debent; et vicissim in liberis tuendis atque ad virtutem potissimum informandis omnes parentum curas cogitationesque evigilare necesse est: Patres .... educate illos (filios) in disciplina et correptione Domini.^ Ex quo intelligitur, nee pauca esse coniugum officia, neque levia; ea tamen coniugibus bonis ob virtutem quae Sacramento percipitur, non modo tolerabilia finnt, verum etiam iucunda.


24. MARRIAGE, moreover, is a sacrament, because it is a holy sign which gives grace, showing forth an image of the mystical nuptials of Christ with the Church. But the form and image of these nuptials is shown precisely by the very bond of that most close union in which man and woman are bound together in one; which bond is nothing else but the marriage itself. Hence it is clear that among Christians every true marriage is, in itself and by itself, a sacrament; and that nothing can be further from the truth than to say that the sacrament is a certain added ornament, or outward endowment, which can be separated and torn away from the contract at the caprice of man. Neither, therefore, by reasoning can it be shown, nor by any testimony of history be proved, that power over the marriages of Christians has ever lawfully been handed over to the rulers of the State. If, in this matter, the right of anyone else has ever been violated, no one can truly say that it has been violated by the Church. Would that the teaching of the naturalists, besides being full of falsehood and injustice, were not also the fertile source of much detriment and calamity! But it is easy to see at a glance the greatness of the evil which unhallowed marriages have brought, and ever will bring, on the whole of human society.	—Hue accedit, quod ob hanc caussam matrimouium est sacramentum, quia est sacrum signum et etficiens gratiam, et imaginem referens mysticarum nuptiarum Christi cum Ecclesia. Tstarum autem forma ac figura illo ipso exprimitur summae coniunctionis vinculo, quo vir et mulier inter se conligantur, quodque aliud nihil est, nisi ipsum matrimonium. Itaque apparet, omne inter christianos iustum coniugium in se et per se esse sacramentum: nihilque magis abhorrere a veritate, quam esse sacramentum decus quoddam adiunctuin, aut proprietatem allapsam extrinsecus, quae a contractu disiungi ac disparari hom mum arbitratu queat.—Quapropter nee ratione efficitur, nee teste temporum historia comprobatur potestatem in matrimonia christianorum ad principes reipublicae esse iure traductam. Quod si hac in re alienum violatum ius est, nemo profecto dixerit esse ab Ecclesia violatum. Utinam vero Naturalistsrum oracula, ut sunt plena falsitatis et iniustititae, ita non etiam essent fecunda detrimentorum et calamitatum. Sed facile est pervidere quantam profanata coniugia perniciem attulerint; quantam allatura sint universae hominum communitati.


[…] 26. IF, then, we consider the end of the divine institution of marriage, we shall see very clearly that God intended it to be a most fruitful source of individual benefit and of public welfare,	Si consideretur quorsum matrimoniorum pertineat divina institutio, id erit evidentissimum, includere in illis voluisse Deum utilitatis et salutis publicae uberrimos fontes.
Not only, in strict truth, was marriage instituted[:]	Et sane, praeter quam quod
[1] for the propagation of the human race, [2] but also that the lives of husbands and wives might be made better and happier.	propagationi generis humani prospiciunt, illuc quoque pertinent, ut meliorem vitam coniugum beatioremque efficiant;
This comes about in many ways:	idque pluribus caussis,
[1] by their lightening each other’s burdens through mutual help; [2] by constant and faithful love; [3] by having all their possessions in common; [4] and by the heavenly grace which flows from the sacrament.	nempe mutuo.ad necessitates sublevandas adiumento, amore constanti et fideli, communione omnium bonorum, gratia caelesti, quae a sacramento proficiscitur.
Marriage also can do much for the good of families, for, so long as it is conformable to nature and in accordance with the counsels of God, it has power to	Eadem vero plurimum possunt ad familiarum salutem; nam matrimonia quamdiu sint congruentia naturae, Deique consiliis apte conveniant,
[1] strengthen union of heart in the parents; [2] to secure the holy education of children; [3] to temper the authority of the father by the example of the divine authority; [4] to render children obedient to their parents [5] and servants obedient to their masters.	firmare profecto valebunt animorum concordiam inter parentes, tueri bonam institutionem liberorum, temperare patriam potestatem proposito divinae potestatia exemplo, filioa parentibus, famulos heris facere obedientes.
From such marriages as these the State may rightly expect a race of citizens animated by a good spirit and filled with reverence and love for God, recognizing it their duty to obey those who rule justly and lawfully, to love all, and to injure no one.	Ab eiusmodi autem coniugiis expectare civitates iure possunt genus et sobolem civium qui probe animati sint, Deique reverentia atque amore assueti, sui officii ease ducant iuste et legitime imperantibus obtemperare, cunctos diligere, laedere neminem.

This Webpage was originally formatted for a workshop held at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California in 2004....x.... ’ “”.