And the two shall become one flesh

Scripture for this reflection can be found at Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time |USCCB 

Our Lord is teaching about the challenges of a committed married life in today’s gospel. The Pharisees were looking at a marriage just as a legal contract, not as a relationship meant for life. They thought that if the marriage didn’t work out, it was okay to just move on and get a divorce. Their view is much like the divorce lawyers of our time who arrange for a “no fault” divorce. But this is not what God intended for marriage. There is no such thing as a “no fault” divorce.

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught in today’s gospel that marriage is more than just a legal contract between two people. It’s a permanent relationship in the eyes of God between a man and a woman. Jesus clearly teaches about the permanence of marriage when he says, “God has made them male and female. For this reason a man leaves his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

It's for this reason that it’s important to enter into the sacrament of marriage carefully and with discernment. Before being married in the Church, the couple needs to go through Pre-Cana in order to better understand the responsibilities of married life. Rushing into a marriage without proper discernment and understanding will certainly doom the marriage to failure.

When a couple comes to a point when they consider marriage, they need to realize that they are entering into a relationship with each other that will be blessed by God. They need to have mutual love and respect for each other and understand that this relationship is built on the foundation of God and His love for us. Also, there will be, as the marriage vows indicate, good times and bad times, health and sickness, and they promise to remain together until death. Further, in a marriage relationship, they need to be open to the possibility of having children within that relationship, if it’s God’s Holy Will. All this adds up to a marriage that needs to be entered into with a clear mind and hearts full of love for each other and for God.

The love sanctified in marriage is a holy bond. Two individuals become one in love. Sacramentally, marriage brings divine love into our midst, publicly witnessing to the power of two people’s love – and calling each of us to give life to divine love, no matter our vocation.

Let us pray for all married couples that they may see the love of God in each other. Let us also pray for those couples who are considering marriage that they seek to have God as the center of their marriage and to be true witnesses of God’s love for all of us.