D2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net



6th Sunday Year A (The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony)Fr. Dwight P. Campbell, S.T.D.This Sunday the Church celebrates the World Day of Marriage. To understand marriage from the Christian perspective, we must go back to the beginning of the human race. In the book of Genesis we read: “God created them male and female . . . That is why a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh” (Gen. 1:27; 2:24).In these words we see that God instituted marriage when he created Adam and Eve; and that marriage is a great mystery: in marriage, husband and wife are united not only in heart and mind, but truly become “one flesh.”However, after the Original Sin of our first parents, the human race fell out of God’s grace, and because of our fallen nature, our inclination to sin and selfishness, people found it a challenge to remain faithful to the marriage bond. In fact, the Law of Moses allow the Israelites to divorce and remarry.Then Jesus came. In chapter 19 of Matthew’s Gospel we read how the Pharisees one day approached Jesus and said, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” Jesus answered: “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no man must separate” (Mt. 19:3-6).The Pharisees protested, saying, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?” And Jesus responded: “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery” (Mt. 19:7-9). Jesus here repeats the same words that He spoke in the Sermon on the Mount, which is our Gospel reading today.With these words Jesus did two things: He restored marriage to its original dignity as God had planned from the beginning; and He raised marriage from a purely natural institution to a sacrament, so that spouses would receive special graces to live out their marriage in fidelity and in holiness.Why does Jesus insist that the bond of marriage is unbreakable, that what God has joined no man can separate? Because in God’s plan, Christian marriage is intended be a covenant which is an image or reflection of the mystical marriage covenant between Christ, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Bride.St. Paul reveals this in chapter 5 of his Epistle to the Ephesians: After quoting the words of Genesis, “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh,” he goes on to say: “This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church” (Ephes. 5:31-32).The marriage covenant of love between Christ and His Church is a bond that is totally faithful and unbreakable. The covenant of love in Christian marriage is intended by God reflect these qualities; this is why spouses promise to be faithful and true to each other until death. Fidelity and permanency are two of the goods of marriage, and make up part of the marriage vows.A valid sacramental marriage cannot be broken, even if one of the spouses is unfaithful to the marriage covenant, e.g., obtains a civil divorce and civilly marries someone else. Why? Because God has made them one flesh, in a bond if it lasts until death. This is precisely why Jesus teaches that “what God has joined together, no human power can separate,” and that “one who divorces his or her spouse and marries another commits adultery – unless the marriage is unlawful.” This clear teaching of Jesus Christ is the reason why those who are divorced and civilly remarried cannot receive Holy Communion – because such persons are living in a state of serious sin, i.e., adultery; and “their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by Eucharist” (Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio #84).These words of Jesus are also the basis for the Church’s teaching on what is called annulments. A declaration of nullity means that from the very beginning the marriage for some reason was unlawful, and therefore was not a true marriage. If, after an investigation, the Church grants a declaration of nullity, then the spouses are free to marry.One of the things I enjoy as a priest is preparing couples for the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, to bring them to a better understanding of the beauty of the truth of the great mystery of Christian marriage, which is ordered toward the procreation and education of children, and to the good of the spouses: they are to help each other to become saints and to get to Heaven, the final goal. Through daily prayer, reception of the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Penance, and by striving daily to practice charity, Christian love, with the help of God’s grace they can achieve this goal.On this World Day of Marriage, I’ll end by quoting from a beautiful “Exhortation before Marriage” which used to be read at wedding Masses and which I sometimes read at wedding celebrations: “[Today], not knowing what is before you, you take each other for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death. Truly, these words are most serious. It is a beautiful tribute to your undoubted faith in each other. And because these words involve such solemn obligations, it is most fitting that you rest the security of your wedded life upon the great principle of self-sacrifice. And so you begin your married life by the voluntary and complete surrender of your individual lives in the interest of that deeper and wider life which you are to have in common. “Henceforth you belong entirely to each other; you will be one in mind, one in heart, and one in affections. And whatever sacrifices you may hereafter be required to make to preserve this common life, always make them generously. Sacrifice is usually difficult and irksome. Only love can make it easy; and perfect love can make it a joy. We are willing to give in proportion as we love. And when love is perfect, the sacrifice is complete.“No greater blessing can come to your married life than pure conjugal love, loyal and true to the end. May this love with which you join your hands and hearts today never fail, but grow deeper and stronger as the years go on. And if true love and the unselfish spirit of perfect sacrifice guide your every action, you can expect the greatest measure of earthly happiness that may be allotted to man in this vale of tears. The rest is in the hands of God. Nor will God be wanting in your needs, he will pledge you the lifelong support of his graces in the holy sacrament which you are now going to receive.”Let us pray for all married couples that they may live out their beautiful vocation to Christian marriage. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download