In the Old Testament, marriage was not yet considered a sacrament.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) nº 1602 states:

"Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1: 26-27) and concludes with a vision of the 'wedding feast of the Lamb' (Rev 19: 9). Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its 'mystery', its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and end, its various realisations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal ‘in the Lord’ (1Cor 7:39), in the New Covenant of Christ and of the Church" (Eph 5,31-32).

Therefore, the Word of God in the Old Testament is significant in relation to marriage and is so for us too, from the moment that Jesus embeds himself in this tradition and defends it.

The Decalogue contains the commandment "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14); but in other places, divorce is considered possible. According to Deut 24: 1-4, Moses states that if a woman does not win his favour, a man can write her a certificate of divorce and dismiss her. As a consequence of this, the man and the woman can remarry.

However, in parallel with the granting of divorce in the Old Testament there is also a certain constraint in relation to this practice. Like the ideal of monogamy, so too the ideal of indissolubility is understood in the gradual understanding that the prophets unfold regardinh the covenant of Yahweh with Israel and the marriage bond.

The prophet Malachi expresses this clearly: "Let no one break the promise to the wife you married when you were young ... make sure that none of you break his promise to his wife" (Mal 2, 14-15). 

Further Reading: CCC, nº 1604; 1605; 1609-1611.

It was above all the controversies with the Pharisees that gave Jesus the occasion to deal with the subject of divorce.

He expressly distanced himself from the Old Testament practice of divorce, which Moses had permitted because of men's "hardness of heart," and instead pointed to the original will of God: "But at the beginning of creation man and woman created He them; Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh. (...)

Therefore, let not man separate what God has joined together "(Mark 10: 5-9; Mt 19: 4-9; Lk 16:18). The Catholic Church, in her teaching and practice, constantly referred to the words of Jesus on the indissolubility of marriage. The Covenant that unites the two spouses intimately and reciprocally is instituted by God himself. It is, therefore, a truth that comes from God and is no longer possible for men. Today, some interpreters affirm that these expressions of the Lord would have, in apostolic times, found a certain flexibility in the application: precisely in the case of fornication (cf. Mt 5,32, 19, 9) and in the case of the separation between a Christian spouse and another non-Christian (cf. 1Cor 7:12-15).

Paul states that the prohibition of divorce is an expressed will of Christ: "I command the married, not I, but the Lord, that a wife should not leave her husband. But if she does, let her not marry again, or else be reconciled to her husband; and let the husband not put away his wife "(1Cor 7:10-11).

The Church has recognized that only marriage between a baptized man and a woman is a sacrament in the proper sense, and only for these is unconditional indissolubility valid. In fact, the marriage of the unbaptized is subject to indissolubility, but can nevertheless be dissolved in certain circumstances - because for a greater good (Privilegium Paulinum). It is not, therefore, an exception to the Lord's teaching: the indissolubility of sacramental marriage, of matrimony within the Mystery of Christ, remains.

Of great significance for the biblical foundation of the sacramental understanding of marriage is the Letter to the Ephesians, in which it is stated: "Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself up for it" (Eph 5:25). And further on the apostle writes: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to the woman, and they shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I say it in relation to Christ and the Church "(Eph 5: 31-32).

Christian marriage is an effective sign of the covenant of Christ and the Church. Marriage among the baptized is a sacrament because it distinguishes and acts as a mediator of the grace of this covenant. As Saint Augustine said, God did not take the woman from the man's feet (because she is not inferior to him) and did not take him from the head (she is not superior either): he took her from his side.

Further Reading: Cardinal Gerard Ludwig Müller. "On the Indissolubility of Marriage and the Debate on Divorced Persons and the Sacraments." Published in the L'Osservatore Romano of October 23, 2013.

Also see the website of the Holy See, the page of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Synod of Bishops on the Family, held in October 2015, referred to different situations of fragility or imperfection experienced by couples.

"In this respect I would like to reiterate  (Pope Francis said)  something I sought to make clear to the whole Church, lest we take the wrong path:" There are two ways of thinking which recur throughout the history of the Church: casting off and reinstating. (...) The way of the Church, from the time of the Council of Jerusalem, has always been the way of Jesus: the way of mercy and reinstatement. (...) The way of the Church is not to condemn anyone forever; it is to pour out the balm of the mercy of God on all those who ask for it with a sincere heart. For true charity is always unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous. " Consequently, there is a need “to avoid judgments that do not take into account the complexity of various situations”and to be attentive, by necessity, to how people experience distress because of their condition.'" (Amoris Laetitia, nº 296)

In the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis continues: "It is a matter of reaching out to everyone, of needimg to help each person find his or her proper  way of participating in the ecclesial community, and thus to experience being touched by an  'unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous' mercy. No one can be condemned forever, because this is not the logic of the Gospel! (...) As for the way of dealing with different ‘irregular’ situations, the Synod Fathers reached a general consensus which I support: 'In considering a pastoral approach otowards people who have contracted a civil marriage, who are divorced and remarried, or simply living together, the Church thas the responsibility of helping them understand the divine pedagogy of grace in their lives and offering them assistance so they can reach the fullness of God's plan for them, somethimg which is always possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. " (Amoris Laetitia, nº 297)

Further Reading: Amoris Laetitia, nº 291-312. - Chapter VIII - " Accompanying, discerning and integrating weakness". 

Pope Francis says: "Let us not forget that, often, the work of the Church is similar to that of a field hospital."

See the document by Cardinal Gerard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, "On the Indissolubility of Marriage and the Debate on Divorced Couples and the Sacraments," in which he discusses the ecclesiastical position on the subject, thus showing how the tradition of the Church behaves through the Fathers and the Councils. (Published in the L'Osservatore Romano of October 23, 2013, also on the website of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith). 

"The situation of the faithful who have contracted a new civil bond after a divorce is not new and has always been guided with great seriousness by the Church with the purpose of helping these people, since marriage is a sacrament that encompasses in a particularly profound way the personal, social and historical reality of man".

To illuminate these reflections, let us limit ourselves to a synthesis of what the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL):

• The importance of the logic of the integration of couples who are in some of these so-called "irregular situations", in view of the care and Christian education of their children, which should be considered the most important. (AL, nº 299)
• Encourage responsible personal and pastoral discernment. Thus priests are encouraged to propose to these couples a plan of accompaniment and discernment, which "guides these faithful to the awareness of their situation before God," and "offers the formation of a right judgment on what prevents  the possibility of a fuller participation in the life of the Church and the steps that can enable it and lead it to grow. Given that gradualness is not in the law itself, this discernment can never prescind from the demands of truth and charity of the Gospel, as proposed by the Church. " (AL, nº 300) 
• In analyzing the influence of such concrete factors, and the mitigating factors that caused divorce and separation of couples, pastors (from the dioceses and parishes) are "encouraged to develop an enlightened conscience" for these people so that they can become "ever open to new stages of growth and to new decisions that can enable the (Christian) ideal to be  more fully realized." (AL, nº 303)
• And he proposes: "a pastor cannot feel that it is simply enough to apply moral laws to those living in 'irregular' situations, as if they were stones to throw at people's lives. By thinking that everything is white and black, we sometimes close off the way of grace and of growth and discourage paths of sanctification paths which give glory to God. " (AL, nº 305)
• "In order to avoid any misunderstanding, I would point out that in no way must the Church desist from proposing the full ideal of marriage, the plan of God in all its grandeur. (...) Today, more important than the pastoral care of failures is the pastoral effort to strengthen marriages and thus prevent their breakdown. " (AL, nº 307)

(...) "without detracting from the evangelical ideal, there is a need to accompany with mercy and patience, the eventual stages of personal growth as they progressively appear", making room for "the mercy of the Lord which spurs us on to do our best. " I understand those who prefer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion. But I sincerely believe that Jesus wants a Church attentive to the good-ness which the Holy Spirit sows in the midst of human weakness, a Mother who, while clearly expressing her objective teaching, "always does what good she can, even if in the process,her shoes get soiled by the mud of the street.” The pastors, of the Church, in proposing to the faithful the full ideal of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church, must also help them to treat the weak with compassion, avoiding aggrevation or unduly harsh or hasty judgements. The Gospel itself tells us not to judge or condemn "(Mt 7:1, Lk 6:37). (AL, nº 308)

Ver o documento do Cardeal Gerard Ludwig Müller, como Prefeito da Congregação para a Doutrina da Fé, “Acerca da Indissolubilidade do Matrimônio e do Debate sobre os Divorciados Recasados e os Sacramentos”, em que aborda a posição eclesiástica sobre o tema, mostrando assim como se comporta a tradição da Igreja por meio dos Padres e dos Concílios. (Publicado no L'Osservatore Romano de 23 de outubro de 2013. Ver também no site da Santa Sé, na página da Congregação para a Doutrina da Fé).

“A situação dos fiéis que contraíram um novo vínculo civil depois de um divórcio não é nova e foi sempre guiada com grande seriedade pela Igreja, com o propósito de ajudar a estas pessoas, dado que o matrimônio é um sacramento que abrange de modo particularmente profundo a realidade pessoal, social e histórica do homem”.

Para iluminar estas reflexões, vamos nos limitar ao que propõe, como uma síntese, a Exortação Apostólica Amoris Laetitia (AL):

• A importância da lógica da integração dos casais que se encontram em alguma das chamadas “situações irregulares”, tendo em vista o cuidado e a educação cristã dos seus filhos, que devem ser considerados os mais importantes. (AL, nº 299)
• Encorajá-los a um responsável discernimento pessoal e pastoral. Assim os sacerdotes são estimulados a propor a estes casais um itinerário de acompanhamento e de discernimento, que “oriente estes fieis para a tomada de consciência da sua situação perante Deus”, e concorra “para a formação de um juízo reto sobre aquilo que impede a possibilidade de uma participação mais plena na vida da Igreja e sobre os passos que podem favorecê-la e levá-la a crescer. Visto que na própria lei não existe gradualidade, este discernimento nunca poderá prescindir da verdade e da caridade do Evangelho, propostas pela Igreja”. (AL, nº 299)
• Ao analisar o peso dos condicionantes concretos, e os fatores atenuantes, que causaram o divórcio e a separação dos casais, é proposto aos pastores (das Dioceses e Paróquias) “incentivar o amadurecimento de uma consciência esclarecida” destas pessoas, de modo que possam estar “abertas para novas etapas de crescimento e novas decisões que permitem realizar o ideal (cristão) de forma mais completa”. (AL, nº 303)
• E propõe: “um pastor não pode sentir-se satisfeito apenas aplicando leis morais aos que vivem em situações ‘irregulares’, como se fossem pedras que se atiram contra a vida das pessoas. Por pensar que tudo seja branco ou preto, às vezes fechamos o caminho da graça e do crescimento, e desencorajamos percursos de santificação que dão glória a Deus”. (AL, nº 305)
• “Para evitar qualquer interpretação tendenciosa, lembro que, de modo algum, deve a Igreja renunciar a propor o ideal pleno do matrimônio, o projeto de Deus em toda a sua grandeza. (...) Hoje, mais importante do que uma pastoral dos fracassados é o esforço pastoral para consolidar os matrimônios e assim evitar as rupturas”. (AL, nº 307)

(...) “sem diminuir o valor do ideal evangélico, é preciso acompanhar, com misericórdia e paciência, as possíveis etapas de crescimento das pessoas, que se vão construindo dia após dia”, dando lugar à “misericórdia do Senhor que nos incentiva a praticar o bem possível”. Compreendo aqueles que preferem uma pastoral mais rígida, que não dê lugar a confusão alguma; mas, creio sinceramente, que Jesus Cristo quer uma Igreja atenta ao bem que o Espírito derrama no meio da fragilidade: uma Mãe que, ao mesmo tempo que expressa claramente a sua doutrina objetiva, “não renuncia ao bem possível, ainda que corra o risco de sujar-se com a lama da estrada”. Os pastores, que propõem aos fiéis o ideal pleno do Evangelho e a doutrina da Igreja, devem ajudá-los também a assumir a lógica da compaixão pelas pessoas frágeis e evitar perseguições ou juízos demasiado duros e impacientes. O próprio Evangelho exige que não julguemos nem condenemos” (cf. Mt 7, 1; Lc 6, 37).

Marriage is not an exclusively Christian reality. Although only Marriage among Christians is a sacrament, the unions between men and women, based on love, are somehow blessed by God, for they are decreed in the initial purpose of the Lord God for humanity. In all cultures and times, as long as human beings exist, man and woman will drop everything, leave their oroginal nest, leave the family in which they were born and take on a great adventure: to form a new family, a new home, a totally shared new life, in which the destiny of the two is intertwined, and from this bond depends the destiny of the children! In deed, "this mystery is great".

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

"According to the Latin tradition, the spouses as ministers of the grace of Christ, mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church." (CCC, nº 1623)

"The parties to a marriage covenant are a baptized man and a woman, free to contract marriage, who freely express their consent; 'to be free' means:

• not to be under constraint;
• not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law. " (CCC, nº 1625)

"The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element 'that makes the marriage’If consent is lacking there is no marriage. " (CCC, nº 1626)

"The priest (or deacon) who assists at the celebration of a marriage receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church and gives the blessing of the Church. The presence of the minister of the Church (and also of the witnesses) visibly expresses the fact that marriage is an ecclesial reality. " (CCC, nº1630)

"So that the 'I do' of the spouses may be a free and responsible act and so that the marriage covenant may have solid and lasting human and Christian foundations, preparation for marriage is of prime importance." (CCC, nº 1632)

"From a valid marriage, arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the spouses are strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state by a special sacrement. " (CCC, nº 1638)

All the time Pope Francis has been stressing the need for the Catholic Church to be able to integrate divorced or remarried couples.

"These baptized, who have established a new relationship after the dissolution of their sacramental marriage, need a fraternal and attentive reception in love and truth; these people have not been excommunicated, and cannot be treated as such; they are always part of the Church. "

"The Church is fully aware that such a situation is contrary to the Christian Sacrament. However, her gaze as a teacher always draws from a mother’s heart; a heart which, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, always seeks the good and the salvation of the people.”

But he asked how can this be realized if "we keep them at arms length from the life of the community? ".

In this sense, the Pope stressed the responsibility of the Catholic communities to make those who have lived the "irrerversible failure of their martimonial bond" or initiated a new conjugal path, "feel welcomed and can live according to a certain and practiced faith." This is all the more important, Pope Francis added, when it comes to " many children" arising from these relationships, "they are the ones who suffer the most in these situations."

"It is important for them to feel the Church as a loving mother to all, always ready to listen and to meet. The Church “is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone”, he said.

Also see: Public audience of the Pope with pilgrims in the Vatican City (5^th August 2015 - Ecclesia Agency). 

Further Reading: Numbers 304-312 of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (Chapter 8: "Rules and Discernment").

Benedict XVI affirmed, "the practice of the Church, founded on Sacred Scripture (cf. Mk 10: 2-12), does not admit the divorced to the sacraments," but urges pastors to devote "special attention" to those people concerned "in the desire that they cultivate, as far as possible, a Christian style of life through participation in Holy Mass, even without receiving Communion, listening to the Word of God, Eucharistic adoration, prayer, participation in communal dialogue on their life with a priest or a teacher of spiritual life, dedication to good works, acts of penance, commitment to the education of children. "

Further Reading: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, by Pope Benedict XVI on The Eucharist; Source and Summit of Life and Mission of the Church, especially nº 29.

The Church does not want to discriminate against or punish couples in a second union, but rather to offer them a spiritual/pastoral path adapted to their situation.

This spiritual/pastoral path is clearly pointed out in "Familiaris Consortio". It can be considered and is in fact a very spiritual and pastoral path rich in the spiritual fruits of Christian life, even if the "permanent status" of the second union of no return is an "irregular" situation. 

The Apostolic Exhortation "Familiaris Consortio" of Pope John Paul II, no. 84, exhorts divorced couples to participate in a Christian way of life which should consist of:

“They should be encouraged to listen to the word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts in favour of justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance” ... which is summarized as "persevering in prayer, penance and charity". 

The Apostolic Exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis" of Pope Benedict XVI, in paragraph 29, reaffirms the invitation to cultivate, as far as possible:

“A Christian life through regular participation at Mass, albeit without receiving communion, listening to the word of God, Eucharistic adoration, prayer, participation in the life of the community, honest dialogue with a priest or spiritual director, dedication to the life of charity, works of penance, and commitment to the education of their children.”

Pope Benedict XVI, during a meeting with the clergy of the diocese of Aosta (25 July 2005), valued ​​the participation of married couples in Holy Mass, even without Eucharistic communion. In this respect the Pope made this comment:

“A Eucharist without immediate sacramental Communion is not of course complete; it lacks an essential dimension. Nonetheless, it is also true that taking part in the Eucharist without Eucharistic Communion is not the same as nothing; it still means being involved in the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. It is still participating in the great Sacrament in its spiritual and pneumatic dimensions, and also in its ecclesial dimension, although this is not strictly sacramental.” 

“And since it is the Sacrament of Christ's passion, the suffering Christ embraces these people in a special way and communicates with them in another way differently, so that they may feel embraced by the Crucified Lord who fell to the ground and died and suffered for them and with them”.

“Consequently, they must be made to understand that even if, unfortunately, a fundamental dimension is absent, they are not excluded from the great mystery of the Eucharist or from the love of Christ who is present in it. This seems to me important, just as it is important that the parish priest and the parish community make these people realize that on the one hand they must respect the indissolubility of the Sacrament, and on the other, that we love these people who are also suffering for us. Moreover, we must suffer with them, because they are bearing an important witness and because we know that the moment when one gives in "out of love", one wrongs the Sacrament itself and the indissolubility appears less and less true”.

Further Reading: Address of Pope Benedict XVI during the meeting with the Clergy of the Diocese of Aosta, 25 July 2005 (https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2005/july/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20050725_diocesi-aosta.html)

Discussion about welcoming new members is not new to the Church.

Some theologians affirm that the Apostolic Exhortation AMORIS LAETITIA brings a new light to the reflection on situations called "irregular": the passage from moral law on the morality of the person. This is a reflection of fundamental importance; some theologians say that this is one of the most important conclusions of the Synod on the Family. The point, in short, is not only of individual questioning, but primarily a focus on moral theology.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith expresses itself thus:

"It is always more frequently suggested that the decision whether or not to receive Eucharistic Communion should be left to the personal conscience of remarried divorced persons. This subject, which is based on a problematic concept of 'conscience', has already been rejected in the 1994 letter of the Congregation. Certainly, in every celebration of the Mass, the faithful are obliged to reflect in all conscience whether it is possible to receive Communion, the existence of serious unconfessed sin always prevents it. "

"Christians have a great help for the formation of conscience in the Church and the Magisterium.  As the Council affirms: “In forming their consciences the Christian faithful must give careful attention to the sacred and certain teaching of the Church. For the Catholic Church is by the will of Christ the teacher of truth...The Church puts herself always and only at the service of conscience, helping it to avoid being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine proposed by human deceit , and helping it not to swerve from the truth about the good of man, but rather , especiially in more difficult questions, to attain the truth with certainty and abide by it ." (John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, 64).

"If divorced persons are subjectively in the conviction of conscience that the preceding marriage was not valid, this must be objectively demonstrated by the competent judicial authority in matrimonial matters." (Ecclesiastical Diocesan Court)

"Marriage does not concern only the relationship between two persons and God, but it is also a reality of the Church, a sacrament, on whose validity not only the individual for himself, but the Church, in which he through faith and Baptism is incorporated, must decide. 'If the previous marriage of remarried divorced faithful was valid, their new union cannot be considered in any way lawful, because the reception of the Sacraments cannot be based on internal reasons. The conscience of the individual is bound without exception to this norm." (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger," The pastoral care of marriage must be based on the truth.” L'Osservatore Romano, Italian edition 30^th  November 2011, p.4-5).

"The doctrine of 'epic', according to which a law is valid in general terms, but human action cannot always fully correspond to it, cannot be applied in this case because the indissolubility of sacramental marriage is a norm of divine truth , which is therefore not available to the authority of the Church. "

"However, it has the full power - in line with the Pauline privilege - to clarify what conditions must be satisfied before it can define a marriage indissoluble according to the meaning Jesus attributed to it. On this basis, the Church established the impediments to matrimony which are grounds for nullity of marriage and prepared a detailed procedural procedure. "

"A further tendency in favour of the admission of remarried divorcees to the sacraments is that which invokes the argument of mercy. Since Jesus himself showed solidarity with the suffering, giving them his merciful love, mercy would therefore be a special sign of the evidential consequence. This is true, but it is a weak argument in theological-sacramental matters, because the whole sacramental order is precisely the work of divine mercy and can not be revoked by invoking the same principle that sustains it. Because of what they aim at, it resounds as a false invocation of mercy, and it runs the risk of trivializing the very image of God, according to which God could do no more than forgive. Along with mercy, holiness and justice also belong to the mystery of God; if these attributes of God are hidden and the reality of sin is not taken seriously, one can not even speculate on human mercy. Jesus met the adulterous woman with great compassion, but also said to her, 'Go, and henceforth do not sin again' (Jn 8:11). The mercy of God is not a dispensation from the commandments of God and from the instructions of the Church; moreover, it grants the power of grace in its full realization, to rise after a fall and to a life of perfection in the image of the heavenly Father. "

"The remedy for remarried divorcees certainly should not be limited to the question of receiving the Eucharist. It is an inclusive pastoral care that seeks to satisfy as much as possible the demands of the various situations. It is important to remember, in this regard, that in addition to sacramental Communion, there are other ways to enter into communion with God. Union with God is reached when we address him in faith, hope and charity, repentance and prayer. God can grant his closeness and his salvation to people in different ways, even if they live in contradictory situations. As the recent documents of the Magisterium constantly emphasize, pastors and Christian communities are called to welcome people who live in irregular situations with openness and cordiality, to be at their side with empathy, with concrete help and to make them feel the love of the Good Shepherd. A pastoral care founded on truth and love will always, time and again, find in this field the way to be followed and with the most wise methods.

Further Reading: See the document of Cardinal Gerard Ludwig Müller (Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) "On the Indissolubility of Marriage and the Debate on Divorced People and the Sacraments," in which he addresses the ecclesiastical position on the subject, showing how the tradition of the Church behaves through the Fathers and the Councils. (Published in the L'Osservatore Romano 23^rd October 2013, read it also the website of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).

The story of Israel has as its protagonist the man who seeks the Creator God of all things. "I am the Lord thy God. There will be no God besides me" (Deut 32:39). He himself created the human being in his image and likeness. Sin, in turn, distanced man from his Creator.

The spirituality of the Old Testament can be called the Covenant.

"Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness." (Gen 15: 6).  Abram became a father because he had faith and believed.

What kind of faith was this? The best commentary on the faith of Father Abram is that in Romans 4:17: "As Scripture says, I have appointed you to be father of many nations. In the presence of God, the God who makes the dead live and calls into being things that are not".

In the Old Testament God repeats the promise of His covenant with Moses. God saved Israel in the desert and saved them by leading them to the promised land; a place of divine manifestation, a place of revelation.

“If only you will now listen to me and keep my covenant, then out of all peoples you will become my special possession, for the whole earth is mine." (Exodus 19: 5a). 

The individual and the Holy Spirit. This involves a certain logic. Listen to the voice of God and observe His covenant, be happy, that is, walk in the law.

The covenant is an agreement that is established between two parties and is contractual in nature.

In Exodus 19: 5b-6b: "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

Finally, the Old Covenant is the preparation for the New and Eternal Covenant, realized in Christ.

It is of the utmost importance for our openness to the Person of the Holy Spirit to properly understand - as much as Revelation allows us to and our ability to interpret it - the central significance of what happened in the historic event of Pentecost. Pentecost is not simply "the coming of the Holy Spirit," as is commonly claimed. The Holy Spirit - divine Person that He is - has always been present in the history of mankind, and therefore it is not correct to believe that He only came to work in our midst after Pentecost.

In fact, already in the second verse of the Bible (Gen 1: 1,2) we find the expression: "The Spirit hovered over the waters." And this text teaches us, for example, that He descended upon Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; that Pharaoh understood that Joseph possessed the Spirit of God; that the miracles of Moses were wrought by His virtue; who worked in Othoniel, Gideon, Deborah and Samson; that Samuel and David prophesied by the Holy Spirit; which Azariah and Uzziel possessed. And Isaiah (63: 11-12) adds, "Where is he who put within him the Holy Spirit, who sent his glorious power to walk at Moses’ right hand? Thus you led your people. "

From all these statements we can characterize, in a sense, the way the Holy Spirit was present and operating in the history of salvation before Pentecost. Pentecost is the fulfillment of these promises concerning the Spirit. And to us, who live in those times when Pentecost is already a reality, is given the possibility of enjoying the privileges that the new way that the Holy Spirit came to be present and came to act among us.

From this reality is born and becomes evident that Christian spirituality needs the person of the Holy Spirit. He is the author, source, feeder and driver of Christian spirituality. In fact, the term "spirituality" came exactly from the name of the Holy Spirit. The guarantee of acquiring, blossoming, maturing and living an authentic Christian spirituality, as well as a fruitful Christian life, is to create and cultivate a deep friendship with the person of the Holy Spirit.

Sacred Scripture projects and promotes a vital and spiritual experience: the Word of God presents itself as the generator and guide of the spiritual experience. It is not an experience of God, but of God Himself: God is the first and last of all spirituality.

The relevation of God corresponds to the acceptance of the human being, and in this relationship between grace and faith, transcendence and finiteness, eternity and time, the mystical dialogue flourishes. The spirituality generated by grace and faith opens itself to morals, laws, works and worship, for it is not internal but nourishes itself from daily life and expands in theological directions: vertical (with God) and horizontal (with all of humanity).

The New and Eternal Covenant sealed by Christ, through His Holy Spirit, unleashed a multitude of spiritual movements. In Christ, human life has acquired a new meaning. His presence amongst us generates life, and life in all its fullness.

The new life in Christ is conveyed by the Word of God. Just as the Father sent Christ into the world, Christ sends us on a mission. Through His Holy Spirit we become sons and daughters of God.

Jesus, the necessary mediator between humanity and divinity, thus pleaded with his Father at the point of realizing his sacrifice: "May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you; that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me "(John 17:21).

Thus the New Testament teaches us that Jesus is the beginning of a new humanity, where the Holy Spirit is the agent of the birth of the human being to the divine life.

St. Paul explains this new life by affirming:

"With this in mind, I kneel in prayer to the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name; that out of the treasures of his glory he may grant you inward strength and power through his Spirit, that through faith in Christ may dwell in your hearts in love. With deep roots and firm foundations may you, in company with all God’s people , be strong to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, and to know it, though it is beyond all knowledge, so may you be filled with the very fullness of God " (Eph 3: 14-19).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, quoting Saint Basil: "The Spirit is truly the dwelling of the saints and the saints are for the Spirit a place where he dwells in his own home, since they offer themselves as a dwelling place for God and is called his temple." (CCC, nº 2684)

Therefore, Christian spirituality indicates life in the Holy Spirit.

Christian spirituality is nothing more than getting in tune with the Spirit of God that is revealed in the Bible. And it is not the spirit of any god; it is of the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of the Father.

Christian spirituality is Christ-centered: not only because God makes himself known through Christ, in his total sacrifice, but also because the incarnation of the Word and the resurrection unite believers in one being, in Christ. This is the Christian life: to live with "[...] our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Heb 12,2)

Therefore, Christian spirituality shows us Christian life in totally, in which God is the first and the last. The spiritual life in Christianity starts from faith in the person of Jesus. To adhere to His Word is to bring God into the life of man, not as an idea, but as a living person. However, there is no Christian spirituality without cooperation with Christ and with the community of believers.

Christian spirituality means living according to the spirit of Christ; recreating and realising, in human existence and in a specific historical situation, the fundamental attitudes, motivations and behaviour of Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ today? Does your life, you yourself, and your style of living still tell us something?

For Christians, no spirituality can be authentic unless it is linked to the revelation of Christ, which is the key to defining Christian spirituality. In the Catholic Church, the Gospel is the standard and the cornerstone of all Christian spirituality. Thus all human forms of spirituality are rooted in the revelation of a God of trinitarian and unitary love. Therefore, the Gospel must be taken as the norm and proof of all spirituality in the Church.

If spirituality aims to bring Christian life to perfection, what does this Christian life consist of? What does it mean to grow in the Christian life? Here are some suggestions:

• Greater participation in divine life (letting God act in us);
• Developing our possibilities to the maximum, that is, the gifts that God has given us (parable of the talents);
• Growing in holiness, that is, letting oneself be carried away by God's calls (take the risk of moving into deep water);
• Being more and more inspired by Christ's ideals, his way of thinking and acting;
• Submitting to the will of God, which is never coercion;
• Always being focused on the good, on justice, on unrestricted love;
• Developing the good qualities that God has given to each person;
• Letting the love of God guide our body and our spirit;
• Following moral requirements and religious obligations.

Married spirituality is an aspect of Christian spirituality that has only recently been studied. Since spirituality consists in putting Christian perfection into practice in the various situations and states of life, it can be said that for Christian couples there is a very particular spirituality. Marital spirituality, therefore, is the art of living within marriage the evangelical ideal that Christ proposes to all his disciples. It is the science and art of sanctification in and through marriage.

How can we live conjugal and family realities in a Christian way? How to live, in the marital state, all the demands of the Christian life?

It is necessary to emphasize that conjugal spirituality is embodied in the common and daily life of the couple. Thus, it is not a question of excluding the normal obligations of the couple's life. It is a question of living ordinary, everyday life as a couple in the way of Christ.

In short, all conjugal spirituality is Christocentric.

The Decree of the Second Vatican Council, entitled Apostolicam Actuositatem (On the Apostolate of the Laity), emphasized that the " spiritual life of the laity should take its particular character from their married or family state". It says that the spirituality of the laity should assume special and proper characteristics, namely from the state of marriage and the family that live in their daily lives, and that neither caring for the family nor profane matters should be foreign or extraneous to their style of spiritual life. (nº 4)

In the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (On Love in the Family), Pope Francis dedicates the entire chapter IX to describe briefly some fundamental characteristics of this specific spirituality that unfolds in the dynamism of the relationships of married and family life. (nº 313)

The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (On the Role of the Christian Family in the World Today), by Pope John Paul II, affirms that the universal vocation to holiness is directed also to spouses and Christian parents: it is specific to them by the celebration of the sacrament of marriage and concretely translated into the realities of conjugal and family life. From this comes the grace and the demand for an authentic and deep conjugal and familiar spirituality. (nº 56)

From these documents of the Church, what are the most outstanding characteristics of conjugal spirituality?

• It is a spirituality of the married bond inhabited by divine love;
• It is a spirituality created by thousands of real and concrete gestures of everyday life as a couple and as a family;
• Because it is a spirituality of couples (and the family), it allows the construction of a domestic church; a living cell to transform the world;
• It is a spirituality that allows spouses to achieve, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, their sanctity through their married life;
• Through this intimate union with Christ, through the Sacrament of Matrimony, the spouses effect their own lifestyle as a demand of the covenant of conjugal love;
• It is a spirituality that is nourished by various spiritual means, common to all the faithful, such as participation in the Eucharist, reading and meditating on the Word of God, family prayer, participation in ecclesial and community life;
• It is a spirituality that causes each spouse to be to the other a sign and instrument of the closeness of the Lord, who does not leave us alone, and which unifies and illuminates all family life, even in the worst moments of difficulty;
• It is a spirituality that transforms the family into a "healing hospital" and "merciful shepherd", of welcome and hospitality, of Christian friendship, which provides mutual help to those in need. 

Let us also look at some references regarding conjugal spirituality:

• "The spirituality of marriage consists essentially of living and deepening the sacramental meaning of love so that it may be realized in real life, embodying itself in the daily story of the couple, in such a way that it becomes, on a daily basis, a reflection of the love of Christ. " (The family in the light of Puebla, nº 24, CELAM, Bogota, 1980)
• "Marital spirituality is the proper source and the original means of sanctification of the married." (Familiaris Consortio, 56; Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4)
• "Only those who know what the sacrament of matrimony is can outline the authentic face of conjugal spirituality." (Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi)
• "The specificity of the sacrament of matrimony determines the specificity of conjugal spirituality." (Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi)

"The love that unites the spouses is that which unites them to God." (St. John Chrysostom)

Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist are sacraments of Christian initiation. Their basis is the common vocation of all Christ’s disciples, a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelising the world. They confer the graces needed for life according to the Spirit during this life as pilgrims on the march towards the homeland. (CCC, nº 1533)

Two other sacraments, Holy Orders and Matrimony, are directed towards the salvation of others; if they contribute as well to personal salvation, it is through service to others that they do so. They confer a particular mission in the Church and serve to build up the people of God. (CCC, nº 1534)

Father Henri Caffarel, Founder of the Teams of Our Lady, states the following:

"This sacrament (marriage) has the characteristic that its subject is not the individual as in the other sacraments, but the couple as such. In fact, it founds, consecrates and sanctifies this small society, unique in its kind, made up of a married man and woman. "

His reflections are very rich on this subject: Marriage as a Sacrament. He says: It is Christ Himself who comes to seal this union of two persons; it is Christ who marries the young bridal pair, and they themselves minister to Him. Therefore, the bride and groom are the ministers of this Sacrament. Thus Christ is not only with them, but in them. It is from within the couple themselves that Jesus wants to purify and ennoble every moment their married life. It is God in action in the life of the couple.

From the reflections of Father Caffarel some characteristics of marriage as the grace of Christ can be highlighted:

• Christ brings to the marriage union a grace of healing, which expands the hearts of the spouses, and teaches them to be open and give themselves to the other (loving oneself more and better);
• It is a Sacrament of Transfiguration, inasmuch as the grace of Christ causes each spouse to surpass themselves for the benefit of the other (total renunciation);
• Sacramental grace is a grace of fruitfulness, by giving children to God;
• It is a grace of cooperation, of being disciples and witnesses of Christ in their daily existence, in the home and in any other social and community environment;
• By the Sacrament, marriage is not only sanctified but also consecrated (it is called to perform a liturgical and ecclesial function).

Finally, the Sacrament of Matrimony is a great mystery, for it forms a conjugal community, which is solid because the grace of God is a powerful worker in union.

So for spouses who want to love, who want to learn to love more and more, there is only good advice: unite with God, give Him space and time. Father Caffarel concludes that whoever separates from God loses love. And love grows as love for God grows,.

The Code of Canon Law thus expresses itself on matrimony:

"From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the spouses are strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state by a special sacrament".  (CCC, nº 1638)

The Sacrament of Matrimony is a reciprocal promise and the fulfillment of this commitment takes place throughout the life of the couple. This means that the Lord becomes present by His grace in a new and deeper way at the very moment of the exchange of promises. It also means that Christ becomes present every time the spouses keep these promises, every time they come together, to help each other, to forgive each other, and each time they turn to those around them.

In the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis says in paragraph 324:

“Led by the Spirit, the family circle is not only open to life by generating within itself, but also by going forth and spreading life by caring for others and seeking their happiness. This openess finds particular expression in hospitality, which the word of God eloquently encourages: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for there-by some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb 13: 2). When a family is welcoming and reaches out to others, especially the poor and the neglected, it is “a symbol, witness and participant in the Church’s motherhhod”. Social love, as a reflection of the Trinity, is what truly unifies the spiritual meaning of the family and its mission to others, for it makes present  the kerygma in all its communal imperatives. The family lives its spirituality precisely by being at one and the same time a domestic church and a vital cell for transforming the world.”

In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Pascal mystery of Christ. (CCC, nº 1621)

In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is celebrated in which Christ united himself forever to the Church, his beloved spouse, for whom he gave himself. It is therefore appropriate for the spouses to seal their consent to the reciprocal donation of the offering of their own lives, uniting it to the offering of Christ to his Church, made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and also receiving the Eucharist, so that by communion with the same body and the very blood of Christ, they "form one body" in Christ. He is the seal of the covenant of both, the spring of his love always offered, the strength by which his faithfulness will be renewed. This sacramental union, receiving the Holy Spirit, will propitiate the journey in sanctification and the progressive experience of conjugal spirituality. It is for this reason that, normally, the Church demands the ecclesiastical form of the celebration of Marriage for the faithful. Many reasons contribute to explain this determination:

Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is, therefore, appropriste that it should be celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church;

• Marriage introduces one into an ecclesial order, and creates rights and duties in the Church, between the spouses and towards the children;
• Since marriage is a state of life in the Church, certainty about it is necessary (hence the obligation to have witnesses);
• The public character of the consent protects the "I do" once given and helps the spouses to remain faithful to it. (CCC, nº 1631)

"There is an important difference between marriage and the other sacraments. These others last the time of the liturgy. On the other hand, what makes the sacrament of marriage is in no way the ceremony. It may even be waived: for centuries it was not mandatory. What the sacrament does is create conjugal life. So it is a sacrament that lasts a lifetime. It is an anticipation of the definitive Kingdom of God." (José Comblin)

In Chapter V of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium (on the Church), we read the following: "The universal call to holiness in the Church". That is to say, to be holy is something destined for every baptized person, and so many others who are not even Christians.

Thus we are all called to holiness; “The classes and duties of life are many, but holiness is one—that sanctity which is cultivated by all who are moved by the Spirit of God, and who obey the voice of the Father and worship God the Father in spirit and in truth. These people follow the poor Christ, the humble and cross-bearing Christ in order to be worthy of being sharers in His glory. Every person must walk unhesitatingly according to his own personal gifts and duties in the path of living faith, which arouses hope and works through charity”. (nº 41)

Jesus said: "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48); and Saint Paul reminds us of the following: "This is the will of God: that you should be holy" (1 Thes 4:3). He also wrote that Christ loved the Church as his spouse, in order to sanctify her. All Christian believers are called to the sanctity and perfection of charity. The passage from imperfect to perfect is always by love (Phil. 3:12).

In fact, the love of God, the source of everything, incarnates in human love. God's love comes to blossom, to develop, man's love for woman and woman for man. This is how they are "the image and likeness of God".

This is how Genesis speaks of marriage (Gen 1:27). St Paul uses a complementary language: that of the gift of self in the extreme. It says: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for her" (Eph 5:25).

In the heart of love is the Cross, the total gift of self to the other. To love is to give onself totally! The requirement of love.

However, Father Caffarel, one of the founders of the Teams of Our Lady movement, dedicated to conjugal spirituality, corrects what could be a "half truth": "To love is to give?".

He says: "To love is to breathe: to inhale and to breathe out, to give and to receive. Love suffocates when this rhythm is not respected. " Since it takes time to accept, receive, depend on the other out of love ... God is at the center of this relationship, He who is Father, Son.

Spirituality is to live under the action of the Holy Spirit accepting your inspirations and putting them into practice. Authentic spiritual life does not dispense with common sense, rationality, coherence of behavior but harmonizes with the fundamental requirements of the human person considered in real life situations. True spirituality encompasses all aspects of life. It integrates all the elements that make up the human path into the spiritual life itself.

One of the difficulties that a Christian finds when they marry is the insecurity they feel confronted by this new creation of God that is the couple. While each is called to preserve a profound individual identity, marriage seeks to merge spouses into a new personality, a new spirituality, a new being, many characteristics and attitudes that were two.

Thus, in addition to the individual encounter of the husband and wife with God, the new creature - the "being-couple" - also needs to communicate with Him. And this will also be intensified later when the children will complement that unity of love and life, which is the family.

Conjugal spirituality is to learn from the Spirit, how to live married life, united; lived in the flesh, situated in time and space; concrete, dynamic. It is an incarnate spirituality, a grace that sanctifies the couple, not in spite of the married life, but through it. Married life becomes an instrument and means of living and expressing spirituality.

We can speak of conjugal spirituality precisely because it was God himself who, throughout the pages of Sacred Scripture, used this image to express and manifest his infinite love for humanity. Conjugal love must be an explicit proclamation of God's passionate love for humanity. All because God made it an instrument of revelation of his love for us.

Married spirituality, and consequently family spirituality, has the great mission of helping the modern human being find ways to this help from on high. Lack of married spirituality has become one of the great killers of love. Without strength from on High, no one perseveres in love. Without the strength from on High no one moves from passion to love. Without the power from on High, it is impossible to find meaning in married life.

And spirituality must evolve within marriage, by the grace of the sacrament itself. To evolve means to vary, keeping the same meaning, keeping on the same direction and maintaining objectives.

This evolution goes through different stages, similar to the stages of a couple's life, in which the expectations are diverse, the commitments are new, the internal demands are the same, the time available varies, the commitments change, work acquires a new meaning; the satisfactions, frustrations, conflicts and challenges of tomorrow will be different from today's. All this counts in spirituality.

This evolution is not uniform and is not always predictable. There are many surprises along the way, no matter how prepared we are and have predicted them as probable. A true spirituality helps the couple to live the unpredictable and walk forward together in confidence. The Christian cannot stand still in the infantile stage of his faith. He is called to become an adult in Christ and to grow in divine wisdom (1Cor 13, 11). 

Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia states:

"A positive experience of family communion is a true path to daily sanctification and mystical growth, a means for deeper union with God. The fraternal and communal demands of family life are an incentive to growth in openess of heart, and thus to an ever fuller encounter with the Lord..... If only “we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us" (1 Jn 4:12). Since "the human person has an inherent social dimension” and “the first and basic expression of that social dimension of the person is the married couple and the family," spirituality ibecomes incarnate in the communion of the family. Hence, those who have deep spiritual aspirations should not feel that the family detracts from their growth in the life of the Spirit, but rather see it as a path which the Lord is using to lead them to the heights of mystical union. " (nº 316)

And he goes on:

"If a family is centred on Christ, he will unify and illumine its entire life. Moments of pain and difficulty will be experienced in union with the Lord's Cross and, his closeness will make it possible to surmount them. In the darkest hours of family life, union with Jesus in his abandonment can help to avoid a breakup. Gradually “with the grace of the Holy Spirit, (the spouses) grow in holiness through married life, also by sharing in the mystery of  Christ’s cross, which transforms difficulties and sufferings into a offering of love." Moreover, moments of joy, relaxation, celebration, and even sexuality can be experienced as a sharing in the full life of the resurrection. Married couples shape with different daily gestures a "God-enlightened space, in which to experience the hidden presence of the Risen Lord". (nº 317)

Pope John Paul II, in a speech to the American bishops on the sacredness of marriage, said: "Family life is sanctified by the union of man and woman in the sacramental institution of marriage. It is therefore fundamental that Christian marriage be understood in its deepest sense and presented at the same time as a natural institution and as a sacramental reality. " To understand the sacrament of matrimony in its fullness, one must understand that marriage is at the same time:

• A Sacrament;
• A system of values;
• A community;
• A spiritual journey.

The relationship of man and woman to marriage is compared to the love of Jesus for his spouse, the Church. Jesus spent his earthly life teaching and practicing the fundamental values ​​of human relationships. He excelled in the importance of community. He himself has shown us that his relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit is "a community of love." For the Christian couple, it is important to live marriage as a sacrament. On the first level, sacramental marriage between Christians celebrates and proclaims the intimate communion of life and love between man and woman. On a deeper level, the communion of life and love between man and woman makes explicit and manifests the intimate communion of life, love and grace that unites Christ to his people - the Church. For St. Augustine, the three essential elements of marriage were fidelity, permanence, and sacrament. The Catechism of the Catholic Church will formulate the three essential elements as follows: (CCC, nº 1644-1652)

• The unity and indissolubility of marriage;
• The fidelity of conjugal love;
• The acceptance of fecundity.

Family life is often described as a "Domestic Church." Marriage has a communitarian and not an individual dimension, because it can only be received by a couple who constitute a community. This community dimension of marriage extends to the family and society. Marital love is a love for another and must be expressed in total and unconditional surrender.

We read in the Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio: “Since the Christian family is a community in which the relationships are renewed by Christ through faith and the sacraments, the family's sharing in the Church's mission should follow a community pattern: the spouses together as a couple, the parents and children as a family, must live their service to the Church and to the world...... The Christian family thus builds the Kingdom of God in history through those same daily realities that concern their condition of life and identify it: it is therefore in conjugal and family love - lived in its extraordinary richness of values ​​and demands of totality, unity, fidelity and fecundity…a love lived out in all its extraordinary richness of values and demands: totality, oneness, fidelity and fruitfulness that the Christian family's participation in the prophetic, priestly and kingly mission of Jesus Christ and of His Church finds expression and realization. Therefore, love and life constitute the nucleus of the saving mission of the Christian family in the Church and for the Church”. (nº 50)

Therefore, he concludes: "It is urgent that each Christian lives and announces the message of hope contained in the relationship between man and woman." The couple and the family that do not become a common-unity - community - of affective love, a school of effective life values, a extension of paternity and maternity, and filiality of the Holy Trinity, which is the community of love-communion, unity , relationship and communication, loses all its reason for being.

The story of Israel has as its protagonist the man who seeks the Creator God of all things. "I am the Lord thy God. There will be no God besides me" (Deut 32:39). He himself created the human being in his image and likeness. Sin, in turn, distanced man from his Creator.

The spirituality of the Old Testament can be called the Covenant.

"Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness." (Gen 15: 6).  Abram became a father because he had faith and believed.

What kind of faith was this? The best commentary on the faith of Father Abram is that in Romans 4:17: "As Scripture says, I have appointed you to be father of many nations. In the presence of God, the God who makes the dead live and calls into being things that are not".

In the Old Testament God repeats the promise of His covenant with Moses. God saved Israel in the desert and saved them by leading them to the promised land; a place of divine manifestation, a place of revelation.

“If only you will now listen to me and keep my covenant, then out of all peoples you will become my special possession, for the whole earth is mine." (Exodus 19: 5a). 

The individual and the Holy Spirit. This involves a certain logic. Listen to the voice of God and observe His covenant, be happy, that is, walk in the law.

The covenant is an agreement that is established between two parties and is contractual in nature.

In Exodus 19: 5b-6b: "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

Finally, the Old Covenant is the preparation for the New and Eternal Covenant, realized in Christ.

It is of the utmost importance for our openness to the Person of the Holy Spirit to properly understand - as much as Revelation allows us to and our ability to interpret it - the central significance of what happened in the historic event of Pentecost. Pentecost is not simply "the coming of the Holy Spirit," as is commonly claimed. The Holy Spirit - divine Person that He is - has always been present in the history of mankind, and therefore it is not correct to believe that He only came to work in our midst after Pentecost.

In fact, already in the second verse of the Bible (Gen 1: 1,2) we find the expression: "The Spirit hovered over the waters." And this text teaches us, for example, that He descended upon Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; that Pharaoh understood that Joseph possessed the Spirit of God; that the miracles of Moses were wrought by His virtue; who worked in Othoniel, Gideon, Deborah and Samson; that Samuel and David prophesied by the Holy Spirit; which Azariah and Uzziel possessed. And Isaiah (63: 11-12) adds, "Where is he who put within him the Holy Spirit, who sent his glorious power to walk at Moses’ right hand? Thus you led your people. "

From all these statements we can characterize, in a sense, the way the Holy Spirit was present and operating in the history of salvation before Pentecost. Pentecost is the fulfillment of these promises concerning the Spirit. And to us, who live in those times when Pentecost is already a reality, is given the possibility of enjoying the privileges that the new way that the Holy Spirit came to be present and came to act among us.

From this reality is born and becomes evident that Christian spirituality needs the person of the Holy Spirit. He is the author, source, feeder and driver of Christian spirituality. In fact, the term "spirituality" came exactly from the name of the Holy Spirit. The guarantee of acquiring, blossoming, maturing and living an authentic Christian spirituality, as well as a fruitful Christian life, is to create and cultivate a deep friendship with the person of the Holy Spirit.

Sacred Scripture projects and promotes a vital and spiritual experience: the Word of God presents itself as the generator and guide of the spiritual experience. It is not an experience of God, but of God Himself: God is the first and last of all spirituality.

The relevation of God corresponds to the acceptance of the human being, and in this relationship between grace and faith, transcendence and finiteness, eternity and time, the mystical dialogue flourishes. The spirituality generated by grace and faith opens itself to morals, laws, works and worship, for it is not internal but nourishes itself from daily life and expands in theological directions: vertical (with God) and horizontal (with all of humanity).

The New and Eternal Covenant sealed by Christ, through His Holy Spirit, unleashed a multitude of spiritual movements. In Christ, human life has acquired a new meaning. His presence amongst us generates life, and life in all its fullness.

The new life in Christ is conveyed by the Word of God. Just as the Father sent Christ into the world, Christ sends us on a mission. Through His Holy Spirit we become sons and daughters of God.

Jesus, the necessary mediator between humanity and divinity, thus pleaded with his Father at the point of realizing his sacrifice: "May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you; that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me "(John 17:21).

Thus the New Testament teaches us that Jesus is the beginning of a new humanity, where the Holy Spirit is the agent of the birth of the human being to the divine life.

St. Paul explains this new life by affirming:

"With this in mind, I kneel in prayer to the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name; that out of the treasures of his glory he may grant you inward strength and power through his Spirit, that through faith in Christ may dwell in your hearts in love. With deep roots and firm foundations may you, in company with all God’s people , be strong to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, and to know it, though it is beyond all knowledge, so may you be filled with the very fullness of God " (Eph 3: 14-19).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, quoting Saint Basil: "The Spirit is truly the dwelling of the saints and the saints are for the Spirit a place where he dwells in his own home, since they offer themselves as a dwelling place for God and is called his temple." (CCC, nº 2684)

Therefore, Christian spirituality indicates life in the Holy Spirit.

Christian spirituality is nothing more than getting in tune with the Spirit of God that is revealed in the Bible. And it is not the spirit of any god; it is of the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of the Father.

Christian spirituality is Christ-centered: not only because God makes himself known through Christ, in his total sacrifice, but also because the incarnation of the Word and the resurrection unite believers in one being, in Christ. This is the Christian life: to live with "[...] our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Heb 12,2)

Therefore, Christian spirituality shows us Christian life in totally, in which God is the first and the last. The spiritual life in Christianity starts from faith in the person of Jesus. To adhere to His Word is to bring God into the life of man, not as an idea, but as a living person. However, there is no Christian spirituality without cooperation with Christ and with the community of believers.

Christian spirituality means living according to the spirit of Christ; recreating and realising, in human existence and in a specific historical situation, the fundamental attitudes, motivations and behaviour of Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ today? Does your life, you yourself, and your style of living still tell us something?

For Christians, no spirituality can be authentic unless it is linked to the revelation of Christ, which is the key to defining Christian spirituality. In the Catholic Church, the Gospel is the standard and the cornerstone of all Christian spirituality. Thus all human forms of spirituality are rooted in the revelation of a God of trinitarian and unitary love. Therefore, the Gospel must be taken as the norm and proof of all spirituality in the Church.

If spirituality aims to bring Christian life to perfection, what does this Christian life consist of? What does it mean to grow in the Christian life? Here are some suggestions:

• Greater participation in divine life (letting God act in us);
• Developing our possibilities to the maximum, that is, the gifts that God has given us (parable of the talents);
• Growing in holiness, that is, letting oneself be carried away by God's calls (take the risk of moving into deep water);
• Being more and more inspired by Christ's ideals, his way of thinking and acting;
• Submitting to the will of God, which is never coercion;
• Always being focused on the good, on justice, on unrestricted love;
• Developing the good qualities that God has given to each person;
• Letting the love of God guide our body and our spirit;
• Following moral requirements and religious obligations.

Married spirituality is an aspect of Christian spirituality that has only recently been studied. Since spirituality consists in putting Christian perfection into practice in the various situations and states of life, it can be said that for Christian couples there is a very particular spirituality. Marital spirituality, therefore, is the art of living within marriage the evangelical ideal that Christ proposes to all his disciples. It is the science and art of sanctification in and through marriage.

How can we live conjugal and family realities in a Christian way? How to live, in the marital state, all the demands of the Christian life?

It is necessary to emphasize that conjugal spirituality is embodied in the common and daily life of the couple. Thus, it is not a question of excluding the normal obligations of the couple's life. It is a question of living ordinary, everyday life as a couple in the way of Christ.

In short, all conjugal spirituality is Christocentric.

The Decree of the Second Vatican Council, entitled Apostolicam Actuositatem (On the Apostolate of the Laity), emphasized that the " spiritual life of the laity should take its particular character from their married or family state". It says that the spirituality of the laity should assume special and proper characteristics, namely from the state of marriage and the family that live in their daily lives, and that neither caring for the family nor profane matters should be foreign or extraneous to their style of spiritual life. (nº 4)

In the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (On Love in the Family), Pope Francis dedicates the entire chapter IX to describe briefly some fundamental characteristics of this specific spirituality that unfolds in the dynamism of the relationships of married and family life. (nº 313)

The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (On the Role of the Christian Family in the World Today), by Pope John Paul II, affirms that the universal vocation to holiness is directed also to spouses and Christian parents: it is specific to them by the celebration of the sacrament of marriage and concretely translated into the realities of conjugal and family life. From this comes the grace and the demand for an authentic and deep conjugal and familiar spirituality. (nº 56)

From these documents of the Church, what are the most outstanding characteristics of conjugal spirituality?

• It is a spirituality of the married bond inhabited by divine love;
• It is a spirituality created by thousands of real and concrete gestures of everyday life as a couple and as a family;
• Because it is a spirituality of couples (and the family), it allows the construction of a domestic church; a living cell to transform the world;
• It is a spirituality that allows spouses to achieve, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, their sanctity through their married life;
• Through this intimate union with Christ, through the Sacrament of Matrimony, the spouses effect their own lifestyle as a demand of the covenant of conjugal love;
• It is a spirituality that is nourished by various spiritual means, common to all the faithful, such as participation in the Eucharist, reading and meditating on the Word of God, family prayer, participation in ecclesial and community life;
• It is a spirituality that causes each spouse to be to the other a sign and instrument of the closeness of the Lord, who does not leave us alone, and which unifies and illuminates all family life, even in the worst moments of difficulty;
• It is a spirituality that transforms the family into a "healing hospital" and "merciful shepherd", of welcome and hospitality, of Christian friendship, which provides mutual help to those in need. 

Let us also look at some references regarding conjugal spirituality:

• "The spirituality of marriage consists essentially of living and deepening the sacramental meaning of love so that it may be realized in real life, embodying itself in the daily story of the couple, in such a way that it becomes, on a daily basis, a reflection of the love of Christ. " (The family in the light of Puebla, nº 24, CELAM, Bogota, 1980)
• "Marital spirituality is the proper source and the original means of sanctification of the married." (Familiaris Consortio, 56; Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4)
• "Only those who know what the sacrament of matrimony is can outline the authentic face of conjugal spirituality." (Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi)
• "The specificity of the sacrament of matrimony determines the specificity of conjugal spirituality." (Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi)

"The love that unites the spouses is that which unites them to God." (St. John Chrysostom)

Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist are sacraments of Christian initiation. Their basis is the common vocation of all Christ’s disciples, a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelising the world. They confer the graces needed for life according to the Spirit during this life as pilgrims on the march towards the homeland. (CCC, nº 1533)

Two other sacraments, Holy Orders and Matrimony, are directed towards the salvation of others; if they contribute as well to personal salvation, it is through service to others that they do so. They confer a particular mission in the Church and serve to build up the people of God. (CCC, nº 1534)

Father Henri Caffarel, Founder of the Teams of Our Lady, states the following:

"This sacrament (marriage) has the characteristic that its subject is not the individual as in the other sacraments, but the couple as such. In fact, it founds, consecrates and sanctifies this small society, unique in its kind, made up of a married man and woman. "

His reflections are very rich on this subject: Marriage as a Sacrament. He says: It is Christ Himself who comes to seal this union of two persons; it is Christ who marries the young bridal pair, and they themselves minister to Him. Therefore, the bride and groom are the ministers of this Sacrament. Thus Christ is not only with them, but in them. It is from within the couple themselves that Jesus wants to purify and ennoble every moment their married life. It is God in action in the life of the couple.

From the reflections of Father Caffarel some characteristics of marriage as the grace of Christ can be highlighted:

• Christ brings to the marriage union a grace of healing, which expands the hearts of the spouses, and teaches them to be open and give themselves to the other (loving oneself more and better);
• It is a Sacrament of Transfiguration, inasmuch as the grace of Christ causes each spouse to surpass themselves for the benefit of the other (total renunciation);
• Sacramental grace is a grace of fruitfulness, by giving children to God;
• It is a grace of cooperation, of being disciples and witnesses of Christ in their daily existence, in the home and in any other social and community environment;
• By the Sacrament, marriage is not only sanctified but also consecrated (it is called to perform a liturgical and ecclesial function).

Finally, the Sacrament of Matrimony is a great mystery, for it forms a conjugal community, which is solid because the grace of God is a powerful worker in union.

So for spouses who want to love, who want to learn to love more and more, there is only good advice: unite with God, give Him space and time. Father Caffarel concludes that whoever separates from God loses love. And love grows as love for God grows,.

The Code of Canon Law thus expresses itself on matrimony:

"From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the spouses are strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state by a special sacrament".  (CCC, nº 1638)

The Sacrament of Matrimony is a reciprocal promise and the fulfillment of this commitment takes place throughout the life of the couple. This means that the Lord becomes present by His grace in a new and deeper way at the very moment of the exchange of promises. It also means that Christ becomes present every time the spouses keep these promises, every time they come together, to help each other, to forgive each other, and each time they turn to those around them.

In the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis says in paragraph 324:

“Led by the Spirit, the family circle is not only open to life by generating within itself, but also by going forth and spreading life by caring for others and seeking their happiness. This openess finds particular expression in hospitality, which the word of God eloquently encourages: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for there-by some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb 13: 2). When a family is welcoming and reaches out to others, especially the poor and the neglected, it is “a symbol, witness and participant in the Church’s motherhhod”. Social love, as a reflection of the Trinity, is what truly unifies the spiritual meaning of the family and its mission to others, for it makes present  the kerygma in all its communal imperatives. The family lives its spirituality precisely by being at one and the same time a domestic church and a vital cell for transforming the world.”

In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Pascal mystery of Christ. (CCC, nº 1621)

In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is celebrated in which Christ united himself forever to the Church, his beloved spouse, for whom he gave himself. It is therefore appropriate for the spouses to seal their consent to the reciprocal donation of the offering of their own lives, uniting it to the offering of Christ to his Church, made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and also receiving the Eucharist, so that by communion with the same body and the very blood of Christ, they "form one body" in Christ. He is the seal of the covenant of both, the spring of his love always offered, the strength by which his faithfulness will be renewed. This sacramental union, receiving the Holy Spirit, will propitiate the journey in sanctification and the progressive experience of conjugal spirituality. It is for this reason that, normally, the Church demands the ecclesiastical form of the celebration of Marriage for the faithful. Many reasons contribute to explain this determination:

Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is, therefore, appropriste that it should be celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church;

• Marriage introduces one into an ecclesial order, and creates rights and duties in the Church, between the spouses and towards the children;
• Since marriage is a state of life in the Church, certainty about it is necessary (hence the obligation to have witnesses);
• The public character of the consent protects the "I do" once given and helps the spouses to remain faithful to it. (CCC, nº 1631)

"There is an important difference between marriage and the other sacraments. These others last the time of the liturgy. On the other hand, what makes the sacrament of marriage is in no way the ceremony. It may even be waived: for centuries it was not mandatory. What the sacrament does is create conjugal life. So it is a sacrament that lasts a lifetime. It is an anticipation of the definitive Kingdom of God." (José Comblin)

In Chapter V of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium (on the Church), we read the following: "The universal call to holiness in the Church". That is to say, to be holy is something destined for every baptized person, and so many others who are not even Christians.

Thus we are all called to holiness; “The classes and duties of life are many, but holiness is one—that sanctity which is cultivated by all who are moved by the Spirit of God, and who obey the voice of the Father and worship God the Father in spirit and in truth. These people follow the poor Christ, the humble and cross-bearing Christ in order to be worthy of being sharers in His glory. Every person must walk unhesitatingly according to his own personal gifts and duties in the path of living faith, which arouses hope and works through charity”. (nº 41)

Jesus said: "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48); and Saint Paul reminds us of the following: "This is the will of God: that you should be holy" (1 Thes 4:3). He also wrote that Christ loved the Church as his spouse, in order to sanctify her. All Christian believers are called to the sanctity and perfection of charity. The passage from imperfect to perfect is always by love (Phil. 3:12).

In fact, the love of God, the source of everything, incarnates in human love. God's love comes to blossom, to develop, man's love for woman and woman for man. This is how they are "the image and likeness of God".

This is how Genesis speaks of marriage (Gen 1:27). St Paul uses a complementary language: that of the gift of self in the extreme. It says: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for her" (Eph 5:25).

In the heart of love is the Cross, the total gift of self to the other. To love is to give onself totally! The requirement of love.

However, Father Caffarel, one of the founders of the Teams of Our Lady movement, dedicated to conjugal spirituality, corrects what could be a "half truth": "To love is to give?".

He says: "To love is to breathe: to inhale and to breathe out, to give and to receive. Love suffocates when this rhythm is not respected. " Since it takes time to accept, receive, depend on the other out of love ... God is at the center of this relationship, He who is Father, Son.

Spirituality is to live under the action of the Holy Spirit accepting your inspirations and putting them into practice. Authentic spiritual life does not dispense with common sense, rationality, coherence of behavior but harmonizes with the fundamental requirements of the human person considered in real life situations. True spirituality encompasses all aspects of life. It integrates all the elements that make up the human path into the spiritual life itself.

One of the difficulties that a Christian finds when they marry is the insecurity they feel confronted by this new creation of God that is the couple. While each is called to preserve a profound individual identity, marriage seeks to merge spouses into a new personality, a new spirituality, a new being, many characteristics and attitudes that were two.

Thus, in addition to the individual encounter of the husband and wife with God, the new creature - the "being-couple" - also needs to communicate with Him. And this will also be intensified later when the children will complement that unity of love and life, which is the family.

Conjugal spirituality is to learn from the Spirit, how to live married life, united; lived in the flesh, situated in time and space; concrete, dynamic. It is an incarnate spirituality, a grace that sanctifies the couple, not in spite of the married life, but through it. Married life becomes an instrument and means of living and expressing spirituality.

We can speak of conjugal spirituality precisely because it was God himself who, throughout the pages of Sacred Scripture, used this image to express and manifest his infinite love for humanity. Conjugal love must be an explicit proclamation of God's passionate love for humanity. All because God made it an instrument of revelation of his love for us.

Married spirituality, and consequently family spirituality, has the great mission of helping the modern human being find ways to this help from on high. Lack of married spirituality has become one of the great killers of love. Without strength from on High, no one perseveres in love. Without the strength from on High no one moves from passion to love. Without the power from on High, it is impossible to find meaning in married life.

And spirituality must evolve within marriage, by the grace of the sacrament itself. To evolve means to vary, keeping the same meaning, keeping on the same direction and maintaining objectives.

This evolution goes through different stages, similar to the stages of a couple's life, in which the expectations are diverse, the commitments are new, the internal demands are the same, the time available varies, the commitments change, work acquires a new meaning; the satisfactions, frustrations, conflicts and challenges of tomorrow will be different from today's. All this counts in spirituality.

This evolution is not uniform and is not always predictable. There are many surprises along the way, no matter how prepared we are and have predicted them as probable. A true spirituality helps the couple to live the unpredictable and walk forward together in confidence. The Christian cannot stand still in the infantile stage of his faith. He is called to become an adult in Christ and to grow in divine wisdom (1Cor 13, 11). 

Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia states:

"A positive experience of family communion is a true path to daily sanctification and mystical growth, a means for deeper union with God. The fraternal and communal demands of family life are an incentive to growth in openess of heart, and thus to an ever fuller encounter with the Lord..... If only “we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us" (1 Jn 4:12). Since "the human person has an inherent social dimension” and “the first and basic expression of that social dimension of the person is the married couple and the family," spirituality ibecomes incarnate in the communion of the family. Hence, those who have deep spiritual aspirations should not feel that the family detracts from their growth in the life of the Spirit, but rather see it as a path which the Lord is using to lead them to the heights of mystical union. " (nº 316)

And he goes on:

"If a family is centred on Christ, he will unify and illumine its entire life. Moments of pain and difficulty will be experienced in union with the Lord's Cross and, his closeness will make it possible to surmount them. In the darkest hours of family life, union with Jesus in his abandonment can help to avoid a breakup. Gradually “with the grace of the Holy Spirit, (the spouses) grow in holiness through married life, also by sharing in the mystery of  Christ’s cross, which transforms difficulties and sufferings into a offering of love." Moreover, moments of joy, relaxation, celebration, and even sexuality can be experienced as a sharing in the full life of the resurrection. Married couples shape with different daily gestures a "God-enlightened space, in which to experience the hidden presence of the Risen Lord". (nº 317)

Pope John Paul II, in a speech to the American bishops on the sacredness of marriage, said: "Family life is sanctified by the union of man and woman in the sacramental institution of marriage. It is therefore fundamental that Christian marriage be understood in its deepest sense and presented at the same time as a natural institution and as a sacramental reality. " To understand the sacrament of matrimony in its fullness, one must understand that marriage is at the same time:

• A Sacrament;
• A system of values;
• A community;
• A spiritual journey.

The relationship of man and woman to marriage is compared to the love of Jesus for his spouse, the Church. Jesus spent his earthly life teaching and practicing the fundamental values ​​of human relationships. He excelled in the importance of community. He himself has shown us that his relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit is "a community of love." For the Christian couple, it is important to live marriage as a sacrament. On the first level, sacramental marriage between Christians celebrates and proclaims the intimate communion of life and love between man and woman. On a deeper level, the communion of life and love between man and woman makes explicit and manifests the intimate communion of life, love and grace that unites Christ to his people - the Church. For St. Augustine, the three essential elements of marriage were fidelity, permanence, and sacrament. The Catechism of the Catholic Church will formulate the three essential elements as follows: (CCC, nº 1644-1652)

• The unity and indissolubility of marriage;
• The fidelity of conjugal love;
• The acceptance of fecundity.

Family life is often described as a "Domestic Church." Marriage has a communitarian and not an individual dimension, because it can only be received by a couple who constitute a community. This community dimension of marriage extends to the family and society. Marital love is a love for another and must be expressed in total and unconditional surrender.

We read in the Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio: “Since the Christian family is a community in which the relationships are renewed by Christ through faith and the sacraments, the family's sharing in the Church's mission should follow a community pattern: the spouses together as a couple, the parents and children as a family, must live their service to the Church and to the world...... The Christian family thus builds the Kingdom of God in history through those same daily realities that concern their condition of life and identify it: it is therefore in conjugal and family love - lived in its extraordinary richness of values ​​and demands of totality, unity, fidelity and fecundity…a love lived out in all its extraordinary richness of values and demands: totality, oneness, fidelity and fruitfulness that the Christian family's participation in the prophetic, priestly and kingly mission of Jesus Christ and of His Church finds expression and realization. Therefore, love and life constitute the nucleus of the saving mission of the Christian family in the Church and for the Church”. (nº 50)

Therefore, he concludes: "It is urgent that each Christian lives and announces the message of hope contained in the relationship between man and woman." The couple and the family that do not become a common-unity - community - of affective love, a school of effective life values, a extension of paternity and maternity, and filiality of the Holy Trinity, which is the community of love-communion, unity , relationship and communication, loses all its reason for being.