According to Church teaching , spousal love is intended to form an unbroken , two @-@ fold end : the union of husband and wife and the transmission of life . The unitive aspect include the transference of each partner 's being " so that they are no longer two but one flesh . " The sacrament of matrimony is viewed as God 's sealing the consent which bind the partners together . Church teaching on the marital state require spousal acceptance of each other 's failures and faults , and the recognition that the " call to holiness in marriage " is one that require a process of spiritual growth and conversion that can last throughout life .