What is a sacrament? The sacraments are “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). A sacrament is a sacred and visible sign that is instituted by Jesus to give us grace, an undeserved gift from God. We covered in the last post the seven sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony). This year, I will likely be receiving the sacrament of confirmation, as I am working towards becoming a fully integrated member of the Church. Working towards this has opened my eyes to the marvel of the faith and its importance in our lives. Charlotte and I will also be entering into the sacrament of matrimony. I wanted to have a look at this painting with you, ahead of this wondrous day.
Jesus told the Pharisees, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” Matthew 19:6
Pope Paul VI wrote: “By it [the Sacrament of Matrimony] husband and wife are strengthened and…consecrated for the faithful accomplishment of their proper duties, for the carrying out of their proper vocation even to perfection, and the Christian witness which is proper to them before the whole world” (Humanae Vitae, n. 25).
The composition of this painting is beautiful. The priest is standing over the engaged couple, who kneel at the altar. The light is falling on the priest and also the heads of the two betrothed, which makes for a beautiful effect. The bride has a rosary draped over her robe. The scene is plain, and the robe is not white or elaborate. Rather, the priest is the one in white in this painting. I imagine this was done this way in order to accentuate the importance of the sacrament, rather than the wedding itself. This was done as a series of paintings on the seven sacraments so it stands to reason Crespi would have wanted to keep the focus on the sacrament itself. The couple here are confecting the sacrament of marriage. This is a very important moment in the Mass, which I look forward to taking part in later this year.
This is a beautiful painting which represents a beautiful moment. Charlotte and I have both said the Nuptual Mass is the part of our wedding day we are most looking forward to (as well as the panettone bread and butter pudding).