And the Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Also, God formed out of the ground all the wild animals of the field and all the birds of heaven, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. Thus whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all the cattle, to all the birds of heaven, and to all the wild animals of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. Thus God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh in its place. Then the Lord God built the rib He took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to him. So Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. Now the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.
- God, not man, established the law of marriage; therefore, marriage is holy. In the marriage union, the husband and wife become one flesh (v. 24), which St. Paul calls “a great mystery” (Eph 5:32). This mystery is so great and wonderful that a man will leave his father and mother with their blessing, and be joined to a woman in marriage. In this joining, he will be devoted to her with sacrificial love and devotion, and she to him.