How Was The Bvm And St. Joseph's Marriage Valid?

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='StThomasMore' post='1122918' date='Nov 18 2006, 12:22 AM']
Alright, what I meant is that the quote seems to say that the Sacrament was divinely instituted and would therefore have to be consummated just like a marriage today would be regardless of local laws.
[/quote]
The Sacrament would have to be consummated, yes. I'm saying that the marriage between Joseph and Mary was not a Christian marriage and therefore not a sacramental marriage, so the rules applying to sacramental marriage wouldn't apply. The law their marriage would be under is the law of Moses, and I don't think that the law of Moses ever stipulates that consummation is required. The thing dealing with local laws was a reference to the third type of marriage, which is heathen marriage (as opposed to Christian or Jewish marriage), which would really be up to whichever heathen religious, cultural, or civil law one was under.