Introduction

(Summa Theologica, Supplement, qq. 34-68.)

The first five Sacraments arc necessary for the spiritual welfare of individuals, the remaining two, which are the subject of this Article, are needful, not for each person, but for the Church as a body. A member of the Church may save his soul though he remains outside the priesthood and the married state, but the spiritual good of the Church itself requires both Orders and Matrimony. Without Orders the Church would be deprived of her rulers, teachers and ministers of divine things; without Matrimony the family would lack that sacramental protection which is so important for the Christian home and the right rearing of members of society.