Good News ReflectionFriday of the 19th Week in Ordinary TimeAugust 14, 2009
Today's Memorial: Saint Maximilian Mary KolbePray for the imprisoned and addicted:http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/MaxKolbe.htm
Today's Readings:Joshua 24:1-13Ps 136:1-3, 16-18, 21-22, 24Matt 19:3-12http://www.usccb.org/nab/081409.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_08_14.mp3
A marriage made in heaven
Jesus' tough stand against divorce in today's Gospel reading can be hard to accept when a (valid) marriage is subjected to divisive troubles. So is what he says about celibacy. It's hard to believe that the Pope is right about priests not getting married. Is celibacy really better than marital relations? "Not everyone can grasp this teaching", Jesus said, and he explained why: We have to be GIVEN the understanding of it by the Holy Spirit. This is true of everything that we don't agree with in the teachings of the Church.
The Holy Spirit is the authority behind Church teachings. To hear the Spirit's voice, we have to be willing to sacrifice our own views.
In his comments about divorce, Jesus says that unlawful marriages are not real marriages and therefore no adultery is committed when divorce and remarriage occurs. When a spouse's conduct is abusive and disrespectful from the beginning, and there was no ability or intention to love as Jesus loves, the marriage was never valid.
A true marriage unites the husband and wife – physically, emotionally, and spiritually – as representatives of God's love for the Church. Christian marriage is supposed to prove to the unbelieving and confused world that God's love and faithfulness are real.
A marriage with unholy conduct falsely witnesses against God. A marriage that truly represents God's relationship with his people exhibits committed, unconditional, permanent love, and spouses who love God work hard to stay in love and serve each other even in the midst of trials and other sources of division.
The entire story in the Bible is the story of marriage, from Adam and Eve's union and then the sin that damaged their unity with God, to the Israelites' repeated unfaithfulness and recommitments to Yahweh, to Jesus' birth as one with us and his sacrificial death to rescue us, to the successes and failures and reforms of the Church.
Human marriages go through the same struggles. Only by the grace of God, which is available to all who want it, can marriages survive the many temptations of division. This is why having a sacramental marriage is so very important. When a union is merely a civil, legal contract, or when unmarried couples cohabitate, they miss out on the extra graces that are available through the Sacrament of Matrimony.
God has gifted marriage with a physical desire that binds the couple's unity: "The two become one flesh." At every Catholic Mass, we the Bride of Christ are unified with God as we become "one flesh" with Jesus in the Eucharist. This is why receiving the Eucharist during a non-valid marriage is a terrible insult to him. We should all work hard to become fully united to our Eternal Spouse and show the world what a loving union really means.
Note: Saturday will be the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since there are no e-mailings of the Good News Reflections on Saturdays (so that I can take a little time off), for a reflection on Mary's Assumption, which is printer-ready and can be copied for distribution (it's great for RCIA!), please visit Catholic Digital Resources™ at http://catholicdr.com/calendar/August/assumption.htm.
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Marriage is indeed a beautiful thing. If done right under the guidance of God, it is something that can be the foundation of a family, something which can produce individuals which can shape the destiny of a nation. I really would advise all Christian couples to take advantage of any marriage workshops and enrichment seminars that are offered at their areas or on the Internet. It is something which costs so little but has great rewards.
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