The Sacraments of the Church confer grace and are efficacious because Christ is at work within each of the Sacraments.  With marriage being a Sacrament, it establishes a covenant between the man and the woman as a partnership for their whole life.  It is not just a commitment between the couple.  It is also a commitment to God.  This creates a covenant, or a solemn agreement, between God and the couple.  Because of this, we must hold the Sacrament in high esteem and a violation against the Sacrament is also a violation against God.  The Sixth Commandment points towards this sacramental reality and the covenantal bond made between the man and the woman that should not be broken.

              In marriage, the couple are called to develop a chaste love between each other.  It may seem odd to call their love chaste, but chastity is not refraining from sex.  Chastity is living out one’s sexuality proper to the state of life they are living.  If one is not married, then one should not be engaging in actions proper to the marital state.  If one is married, then proper sexual relations that are orientated away from the self towards the spouse.  This requires some self-disciplining and striving to show love to one’s spouse and not just giving into a primal desire.  Chastity within marriage creates a wholeness in the marital act that deepens the love of the couple.

              Adultery is a grave violation of this Sacrament and this love.  It ignores and violates the covenant a spouse establishes with another to establish the bond with one who does not share in the vow.  The spouse violates the commitment he or she establishes with both their spouse and God.  Because of this, adultery is an action of injustice towards God and the spouse.   The person does injury to the covenant of the marriage bond.

              Christ does not keep this violation at the level of only the literal.  He expands the meaning of adultery to our souls.  He states, “but I say to you that everyone one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).  Though the language of Jesus is addressing men, both men and woman are called to this fulfillment of the commandment.  Jesus is challenging us to develop that self-discipline in every aspect of our lives.  He also heightens our awareness of our thoughts that even if we do not act on them, we are not necessarily innocent.  Though physically we did not do anything, our hearts have wandered far away.  This prevents one from fully loving their spouse in the covenantal way.  One cannot take the vows of marriage fully if one’s heart seeks another.  Jesus desires for us not to simply avoid the basic level of sin.  He wants us to root sin out of our lives so that we may become holy and deepen our relationships with others in a pure and holy way.

              The fifth commandment calls us to examine the deeper meaning of the Sacrament of marriage and how couples are called to live it.  It calls married couples to deepen the marital bond with one another in the wholeness of love and holiness God blesses.  With that being the case, everyone must be constantly on guard with thoughts, beliefs, and ideas that may be a violation of the sanctity of the Sacrament.  God made us for holiness, and we are called to pursue that holiness in purity of heart.