This post is in honor of St. Peter Canisius who assisted as theologian at the Council of Trent and of whom the 1949 St. Andrew's Daily Missal says, "We owe to him the first catechism of Christian doctrine."
I share the quote below as it helped to answer a long-standing doubt in my life. It is my hope that this post leads others to use the Catechism of the Council of Trent to learn the true Faith since there is so much confusion on what is truly Catholic in these end times.
"QUESTION V.
What sort of Consent is required in Marriage, and how it is to be declared.
But that the consent be expressed in words that designate the present time is most necessary, for marriage is not a simple donation, but a mutual compact; and hence the consent of one of the parties only is insufficient, and that of both essential. Now to declare this mutual consent, it is obvious that words are necessary; for if marriage could consist of the internal consent only, without any external indication thereof, it would then seem also to follow, that if two persons living in the most separate and distant countries were to consent to marry, they would contract a true and stable marriage, even before one had mutually signified to the other his or her consent by letter or messenger, a consequence repugnant to reason, and opposed to the usage and decrees of the Church."
Source: The Catechism of the Council of Trent, page 335; George Routledge & Company, copyright 1852
Photo by Sina Rezakhani