Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB
In our gospel for today our Lord is teaching about the
true nature of marriage. The true nature of marriage is that of love between a
man and a woman, which reflects the love that God has for each one of us. Our
Lord clearly points out that from the beginning that man shall leave his mother
and father and become one with his wife. The Pharisees were having a problem
accepting the permanence of what it means to be married. They were looking at
it as just a contract between two people. And if the relationship didn’t work,
the husband would write a bill of divorce and move on. This always seemed to
work in the favor of the man, but not for the woman being left behind.
Even in our own society we have things like “no fault
divorce.” If two people feel it’s not “working out” then they just move on to
divorce. Marriage and relationships in our society have become very
self-centered. People don’t seem to worry about the other person in the
relationship or the children that may have come because of the marriage. They seem
to only worry about their own selfish needs and concerns. We’ve become a
disposable society: once we’re finished with someone, it seems it’s time to
move on and throw away the relationship that we feel we no longer need. What is
left behind in the divorce will be broken homes and broken hearts of spouses
and children. There are no winners in a divorce.
Marital love was begotten by God himself and raised to
the tremendous status of a sacrament by his Son. A man and woman united in
marriage are a miracle of love – two distinct persons, yet one in the creative
beauty of God.
It’s important to understand why the church encourages
those considering marriage to take their time during their courtship to get to
know each other and to have a better understanding of the meaning of what
marriage is and who each person is to the other. During the marriage ceremony,
we are reminded that we will be together in good times, in bad times, in
sickness and in health, till death do us part.
In the encyclical the Joy of Love, Pope Frances says,
“The love
they pledge is greater than any emotion, feeling or state of mind, although it
may include all of these. It is a deeper love, a lifelong decision of the
heart. Even amid unresolved conflicts and confused emotional situations, they
daily reaffirm their decision to love, to belong to one another, to share their
lives and to continue loving and forgiving.”
Let
us pray for all married couples, and those considering marriage that they will
understand marriage as a gift from God and that it’s meant to be a lifelong
commitment.
Unfortunately we are living in an age in which the Sacrament of Matrimony is gravely disrespected not only by "no fault divorce" but by other means our society has demeaned it in various ways.
ReplyDeletePremarital sex and co-habitation appear to have become the norm for many people, even for many young people who were raised in devout Catholic families and thus should know better. People respond to this phenomenon by saying "Times have changed", but when I hear people saying this I respond "But GOD has not changed." Violating His command is still a grave sin with potentially eternal consequences!
Somehow a lot of people feel "entitled" to engage in premarital or extramarital sex and demand a "right" to have an abortion if a child is conceived. It is estimated that less than 2% of abortions are of children conceived as a result of rape or incest, so about 98% of the babies were conceived via mutually consensual sex. I don't know what percentage of abortions are related to health issues of the mother or the child, but obviously a significant number of people consider abortion because they disrespected & disobeyed GOD'S unchanging law that the sexual act is supposed to be reserved for the union of one man with one woman in the holy sacrament of Matrimony in which two are united as one spiritually, psychologically & physically in a bond that is supposed to be a devoted, faithful & lifelong commitment where the physical act uniting their bodies is an expression of their authentic union in sacramental love.
The world would have a lot less trouble & life would be a lot less complicated if only we would commit ourselves to following what GOD clearly commands. We need to do a lot better job of communicating and living by this message.