What does Saint Thomas Aquinas say about Marriage?
By William Siebenmorgen
The modern world is full of broken marriages and
families. Unfortunately, this lamentable trend includes many Christians.
Instead of opposing family breakdown, many favour making it easier with divorce
and living together arrangements. As a result, such concessions have become
accepted and even commonplace. The confusion reigning in civil society now
extends even to the Church. The very essence of marriage and the family are now
being debated.
In face of all of this, we must not forget Our Lord’s
words: “What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.” (Mark
10: 9) These are not empty words. Besides the divine authority sustaining this
command, logic and nature clearly show that marriage is permanent and
insoluble.
Free Book Return to Order Free Book: Return to Order:
From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How
We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go
Understanding the perennial truth on marriage is an
important first step to helping society get back on track on this crucial
issue. Saint Thomas Aquinas is eminently qualified to explain these truths.
Eight hundred years have transpired since he wrote these truths. Yet they read as
though he had written them yesterday. They address the present problems
concerning marriage and family.1
Marriage is Natural
Saint Thomas: A thing is said to be natural in two
ways. First, as resulting of necessity from the principles of nature; thus upward
movement is natural to fire. In this way matrimony is not natural, nor are any
of those things that come to pass at the intervention or motion of the
free-will. Secondly, that is said to be natural to which nature inclines
although it comes to pass through the intervention of the free-will; thus acts
of virtue and the virtues themselves are called natural; and in this way
matrimony is natural, because natural reason inclines thereto in two ways.
(Supplement, Q 41. A1)
Commentary: To those that would argue that the
permanent nature of the bond of marriage is an artificial human invention,
Saint Thomas counters that it is, in fact, a natural union. Matrimony, he
states, is natural not in the sense that a marriage falls into place on its
own, but rather natural in the sense that any man beginning a family naturally
desires and seeks out a permanent union between him and his wife.
The Ends of Marriage
Primary End:
Saint Thomas: [T]he principal end of matrimony, [is]
the good of the offspring. For nature intends not only the begetting of
offspring, but also its education and development until it reach the perfect
state of man as man, and that is the state of virtue. Hence, […] we derive
three things from our parents, namely “existence,” “nourishment,” and
“education.” (Ibid.)
Commentary: Contrary to the modern concept of
marriage, which sees the love between spouses as the most important aspect, the
truly central purpose is the procreation and education of children. The union
of marriage seeks above all else to supply new members of the Church and to
prepare them for union with God in Heaven.
Our Lord’s words from the beginning “be fruitful and
multiply” (Gen. 1: 28) were not without cause. Any means which destroys,
manipulates or deliberately hinders the purpose of marriage are contrary to
Divine and natural law.
Among other things, homosexual “marriage” stands
contrary to true marriage, as homosexual unions are intrinsically barren, the
goal being nothing more than an emotional and unnatural attachment to an
individual based solely on carnal lust.
Secondary End:
Saint Thomas: [T]he secondary end of matrimony, […] is
the mutual services which married persons render one another in household
matters. For just as natural reason dictates that men should live together [in
society], […] so too among those works that are necessary for human life some
are becoming to men, others to women. Wherefore nature inculcates that society
of man and woman which consists in matrimony. (Ibid.)
Commentary: This is the second purpose for marriage:
the mutual support of the spouses. And it is not merely the emotional
attachment spouses have to another. Among many important factors, it necessitates
financial stability, physical capabilities for labour, an environment suitable
to a family and, above all else, solid virtue.
Living and working in close proximity with another
will necessarily bring petty annoyances which can culminate into great
suffering, at times making life seem unbearable. Thus, charity and patience
will also be required for both to co-operate in a household to ensure that the
needs of the family are sustained.
The Permanence of Marriage
Indissoluble by Nature:
Saint Thomas: By the intention of nature, marriage is
directed to the rearing of the offspring, not merely for a time, but throughout
its whole life. Hence it is of natural law that parents should lay up for their
children, and that children should be their parents’ heirs (2 Corinthians
12:14). Therefore, since the offspring is the common good of husband and wife,
the dictate of the natural law requires the latter to live together forever
inseparably: and so the indissolubility of marriage is of natural law. (Supplement
Q. 67 A. 1)
Commentary: Marriage is founded on the primary end of
marriage, whence comes a naturally inseparable union. Such permanence brings
about the happy result of a stable family.
A Further Aid to the Primary End of Marriage:
Saint Thomas: Now a child cannot be brought up and
instructed unless it have certain and definite parents, and this would not be
the case unless there were a tie between the man and a definite woman and it is
in this that matrimony consists. (Supplement, Q 41. A1)
Commentary: Indissolubility is the natural result of
the primary end. It is also a strong guarantee of a sense of stability in the
child’s life, providing the child with identity, support, care and initiative.
All such benefits pave the way to form a well-ordered, productive citizen and
faithful Catholic.
Indissolubility a Reflection of Christ and His Church:
Saint Thomas: Indissolubility belongs to marriage […]
is a sign of the perpetual union of Christ with the Church, and in so far as it
fulfils an office of nature that is directed to the good of the offspring, as
stated above. […] [T]he indissolubility of marriage is implied in the good of
the sacrament rather than in the good of the offspring, although it may be
connected with both. And in so far as it is connected with the good of the
offspring, it is of the natural law, but not as connected with the good of the
sacrament. (Supplement, Q. 65, A. 1)
Commentary: Here Saint Thomas answers those that would
question the permanent state of marriage after children grow up and leave the
house.
In this very beautiful reply, he points out that the
husband and wife are meant to reflect the eternal union of Christ with His
Church (cf. Ephesians 5: 22-23), bound by an unbreakable fidelity.
Marriage is Monogamous
For the Upbringing of Children and Support of Spouses:
Saint Thomas: [P]plurality of wives neither wholly
destroys nor in any way hinders the first end of marriage [procreation and
education of children] … But though it does not wholly destroy the second end
[support of spouses], it hinders it considerably for there cannot easily be
peace in a family where several wives are joined to one husband, since one
husband cannot suffice to satisfy the requisitions of several wives, and again
because the sharing of several in one occupation is a cause of strife.
(Supplement, Q. 65, A. 1)
Commentary: Saint Thomas observes that the begetting
of children and perhaps even the support of more than one woman is physically
possible. However, he notes that this is wholly counter-intuitive, as the
suffering that accompanies marriage will be intensified by the presence of a
community that will compete to gain favour. This is anything but the peace that
Christ intended for a Christian family.
Although Saint Thomas does not say it directly, one
can easily infer that the discord permeating a polygamous “family” would ruin a
child’s moral compass and psychological development. Thus, indirectly, at
least, it is contrary to the proper upbringing of offspring (i.e. the primary end
of marriage).
Re-iteration of the Christ’s Fidelity to Church:
Saint Thomas: Furthermore [marriage] has another end,
as regards marriage between believers, namely the signification of Christ and
the Church […] [A]s Christ is one, so also is the Church one. (Ibid.)
Commentary: If the natural reasons against polygamy
seem minor, Saint Tomas really hits home by showing that it is wholly contrary
to Christ’s intention of creating marriage to mirror His fidelity with the
Church. This, above all else, is what makes polygamy a grave evil and an
offense against God.
