Institution of marriage

Christianity

For Catholic and Methodist Christians, the mutual love between husband and wife becomes an image of the eternal love with which God loves humankind. In the United Methodist Church, the celebration of Holy Matrimony ideally occurs in the context of a Service of Worship, which includes the celebration of the Eucharist. Likewise, the celebration of marriage between two Catholics normally takes place during celebration of the Holy Mass, because of its sacramental connection with the unity of the Paschal mystery of Christ (Communion). Sacramental marriage confers a perpetual and exclusive bond between spouses. By its nature, the institution of marriage and conjugal love is ordered to the procreation of offspring. Marriage creates rights and duties in the Church between the spouses and towards their children: "[e]ntering marriage with the intention of never having children is a grave wrong and more than likely grounds for an annulment". According to Roman Catholic legislation, progeny of annulled relationships are considered legitimate. Civilly remarried persons who civilly divorced a living and lawful spouse are not separated from the Church, but cannot receive Eucharistic Communion.