Marriage: A Communion of Persons in Love

We usually hear that when a man and a woman get married or enter into the sacrament of matrimony, they become "one flesh." Marriage is a "one flesh" union between husband and wife, a union that is indissoluble, permanent and "until death do them part." But what does this "one flesh" union mean? It means that marriage is a profound communion of two persons, indissolubly united with each other in love. This communion is characterized by their reciprocal and total gift of each other's self to one another. When two a man and a woman marry, it means that they totally and freely give themselves to each other in love, such that they "become one" because of their love for one another. It is only true love that can make a person give himself or herself totally and freely to the person he or she loves. One doesn't say to the person he or she marries: "Ok, I'll commit myself to you only for 10 years. After that, let's see if we still want to be together." Or "I'll stick it out with you for as long as you maintain your shapely figure." You don't enter marriage with that frame of mind! You must enter enter marriage because you truly love the person you are marrying.