Readings: Gen. 2:18-24, Heb. 2:9-11, and Mk. 10:2-12.
“The Sacrament of Marriage is the Mother-Vocation.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
1. God created us out of love and for love, providing us with the necessary relationships and community. In our first reading God created animals for Adam, but none of them fulfilled Adam’s need for a relationship; none of them was a suitable partner. God created the first human community with Eve, and Adam’s longing for a “helpmate” is fulfilled. The life we are each entrusted with is sacred. In life we are endowed with three fundamental vocations, this is the universal call of God to all to a life of grace and union with Him. These are:
- A Call to be human beings – with desire for community, for love, and for friendship.
- A call to be a Christian – to live a life of holiness, bearing witness to the gospel; rooted in Christ Jesus. And
- A call to Marriage life or Single Life – working at it with Christ, in total humility. Added to these are sub vocations, these are means by which we enhance the fundamental vocations listed above.
2. The third fundamental vocation, the call to Marriage life is what the readings proposed for our reflection today. Marriage is a legal legitimate union between a man and a woman for their wellbeing, procreation, upbringing and education of Children. In marriage, the spouses ask God to bless them all the days of their lives. This is a prayer of humility, because on our own we are not going to make it; on our own, we will live in loneliness though married. We fundamentally relate with God, and then with significant others – our spouses, children, friends, and family. With this then we have three reasons for marriage:
- Mutual love and assistance.
- Procreation and education of children. And
- Avoidance of sexual promiscuity.
This understanding leads us to the essential properties of Marriage, which are unity and indissolubility. To this effect, the Church teaches “The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses’ community of persons, which embraces their entire life: ‘so they are no longer two, but one flesh.’ They are called to grow continually in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving. This human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by communion in Jesus Christ, given through the sacrament of Matrimony. It is deepened by the life of the common faith and by the Eucharist received together.” (CCC1644).
3. In our first reading we are told “The Lord God said: ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.’” With this, God ruled out loneliness or solitude of life that can truly be a burden to humanity. Purposeless loneliness is not of God’s making. After the creation of Eve, the man remarked “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called woman, for out of her man this one has been taken.” The writer continues “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.” God provided a woman to complement the man. They each have specific roles but equal in dignity before God because they are made in God’s image and likeness, male and female he created them. The loneliness we are talking about is not overcome by living next to the other; you must truly be available for each other, sharing all things in common – joys, sorrows, material and spiritual things in common as spouses.
4. Divorce is a total breakdown of marriage, a permanent separation with no intent of reunion. The church teaches that any validly constructed marriage, after consummation cannot be separated for whatever reason. Marriage is for life. Jesus’ teachings in today’s gospel bring us to God’s original plan. This teaching rule out Polygamy, Divorce/Separation, and Infidelity. In taking the Jews back to the book of Genesis in the gospel text, Christ reminded them on how it was in the beginning, reasserting that God is the author of Marriage, (modern culture needs this reminder urgently). This explains why Marriage should never be taken for granted.
5. We prepare before entering marriage, we persevere in marriage, doing our best to make it work, to make it lasts. Prior to marriage, pray to have a good marriage partner; dispose yourself to have a good marriage partner through right living; work at having a good partner by acting responsibly among which is keeping yourself from sexual relations before marriage and freeing yourself as well from all sexual deviations etc. In marriage, you must truly leave your parents, siblings and friends and be present at your marriage, to your spouse. It means every other relationship including that with your parents, siblings and friends become secondary. The most important person to you when you marry is your partner, not even your parents. Next join with your partner in all things possible. This joining is enhanced with effective communication in all aspects of your lives. One cannot be a foreigner to his/her spouse. No private businesses. Everything is put on the table for appreciation and assessment. You are a family. And finally, be one body. This asks for fidelity. Any unfaithful partner slowly but surely kills the marriage life/home.
6. Marriage is not meant for everyone. You must be sure you are called to it, before you embrace it. Some couples we must admit are sadly divorced out of weakness and not out of choice. The church sympathizes but she does not condemn them, she prays for them. God alone is our judge not human beings. We equally sympathize with those having difficult husbands and wives; difficult children and relations including in-laws. From good marriages, vocations to the priesthood and religious life are generated; that is why Marriage is the Mother Vocation. It gives birth to Religious or Single Vocation. May God bless and keep safe our marriages, enriching them with children who in turn will add to the growth of the Church and the wellbeing of humanity. To God be the glory and honor forever and ever. Amen.
Fr. Anthony D. Lawir
Pastor, St. Agnes and Our Lady of Snows Parishes, Pittsfield & Dexter.