[This is the fifteenth in a series on marriage, love, and God.]
You and me
We’re meant to be in holy matrimony
God knew exactly what He was doin’
When He led me to you… — Miley Cyrus, “I adore you” (Bangerz, 2013)
I was poking around on Apple Music when I heard this song. These lyrics appear in the bridge, and I was frankly startled. I don’t remember another pop song at all in which the word “matrimony” appears. What is it?
The word “matrimony” means a marriage celebrated as a sacrament. Since I haven’t discussed what a sacrament is, yet, I haven’t used the word “matrimony” in relation to marriage. It is a combination of the Latin mater, “mother,” and monium, meaning an action, a condition, a state of being. Mater is also the root of “matrix,” which generally means something which binds other things together, from which something originates or in which it is embedded. Marriage as matrix fits, therefore. But besides being recognizable as a synonym for marriage, matrimony also means specifically marriage in the Church — thus “holy matrimony.” Right, Miley?
Sacrament?
The word “sacrament” refers to Christian rituals such as Baptism and Holy Communion (Holy Eucharist). All Christians practice these two, because the Scriptures tell us Jesus started them and requires that we continue their use.[1]There…
