This volume represents the teachings of the Supreme Pontiffs from Benedict XIV to John XXIII on that which lies at the basis of all family life, viz. the sacrament of Matrimony. Probably no other institutions over the last two centuries has been attacked so violently as matrimony. This should not surprise us, because enemies of religion would consider the primary cell of society a natural target. By recalling marriage to its original sanctity and elevating it to the dignity of a sacrament, Our Lord Jesus Christ made it a vital instrument of his redemption. The selections in this book may be called occasional instructions, if by this is meant that the vast majority of these Papal statements are not formally constructed documents. But as Vicars of Christ, the succession of Holy Fathers recorded here are anxious to enunciate for the faithful those teachings on marriage most suitable to the needs of the moment.

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