May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
Today in our readings from the Sacred Scriptures we hear
about two divine gifts. Today we hear
about the gift of marriage and the gift of children. The gift of marriage was given by God at the
dawn of creation. We hear this in the
reading from the book of Genesis. After
the creation of the man, the Lord desired to give the man companions to share
in the goodness of creation. What
followed was the creation of various kinds of birds and animals, and the man
was invited to name them. Each of the
animals that were created and named was created to be of service to the
man. The animals were not partners to
the man: they were servants. This is not
the case with the creation of woman. She
was not formed from the ground, but she was formed from the man. And while the man had named all of the
animals, the man had not named himself.
It is not until the man looks upon the woman that he names the woman and
he names himself. With the creation of
woman, the creation of humanity was completed.
The man recognized that the woman was, like himself, created in the
image and likeness of God. The woman was
not like the animals who were created to be servants. The woman was created to be a partner to the
man. The woman was a gift to be
respected and reverenced.
In our reading from the gospel, the Pharisees ask a question
of Jesus. They ask the Lord Jesus if it
is lawful for a man to divorce his wife.
Moses had allowed a man to divorce his wife, but the Lord Jesus reminds
the Pharisees that this was not the will of the creator. The marriage of a man and a woman was created
to be a permanent covenant that was blessed by God. The institution that was created by God at
the dawn of creation was raised by Christ our Lord to the dignity of a
sacrament. When a baptized man and a
baptized woman exchange their consent in the Church, the man and the woman
enter into the sacrament of marriage.
When the sacrament of marriage is truly entered into, that sacrament
endures forever. After the prayer of
consecration, the bread and the wine of the Eucharist can never be ordinary
bread and wine again. After the pouring
of the water, the baptized person can never lose their baptismal dignity. When the sacrament of Marriage has been truly
entered into, the bond of marriage can only be ended by the death of one of the
spouses. And yet, dear brothers and
sisters, in the time of Moses, and in the time of Jesus, and in our own day,
the marriage of a man and a woman is ended, not by death, but by divorce. The destruction of a marriage is a tragedy. The destruction of a marriage begins with the
rejection of a gift, either by the man or the woman or by both of the spouses.
So it is, dear brothers and sisters, that when a husband and a
wife deprive the gift of marital love of its divine and creative power, then they
reject the gift of God. Whenever children
are regarded as a burden, and not as a manifestation of the love of God, then the
husband and wife reject the gift of God and place their marriage in peril. Whenever the husband or the wife fails to reverence
their spouse as a companion on the journey to eternal life, then they reject the
gift of God. The destruction of a marriage
is a tragedy. It is a moment of great sadness.
And yet, brothers and sisters, we are a people of hope and a people
of redemption. If the gift of God has ever been rejected, through
the grace of repentance and forgiveness, the gift of God can again be accepted.
What God has joined by the goodness of his
providence, God will indeed strengthen and restore by his grace. As we celebrate this Eucharist today, we ask the
Lord to stir up the grace of the sacrament of marriage in the souls of husbands
and wives. Let us ask for the grace to reverence
and respect each other as gifts of God. And
let us turn to the Lord with the simplicity of children to receive the grace of
his blessing.
Preached (in Spanish) at Our Lady of Lourdes
Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
