Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
If the answer to the Pharisees’ question on marriage in the Gospel today feels a bit challenging at first, we are in good company. Mark’s Gospel tells us that the disciples continued questioning Jesus in private about his teaching. “[F]rom the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” In that very answer, though, we will find the logic we are looking for.
Moses permitted divorce, we hear, due to the “hardness of your hearts.” In other words, a law was made in response to human weakness and sin. But in the beginning it was different. In other words, God’s true plan is not one of concession to human frailty, but rather is a plan for the restoration of our fallen natures. In these words, Jesus does not simply say no to divorce, He also calls us to recognize what marriage truly is in God’s plan. Just as He worked His first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana, so Jesus in Mark’s Gospel is demonstrating that marriage is more than a civil contract that can be cancelled at any moment. Marriage is rather a grace-filled covenantal sacrament, a channel of God’s grace that corresponds to the plan of our Creator from the very beginning for the flourishing of humanity. This is why the Church teaches that marriage, as a sacrament, is to be celebrated in the church building, with the Church’s minister standing as witness. Catholics are obliged by their faith in Jesus Christ to seek sacramental marriage rather than simply a civil marriage. Further, in that sacramental marriage, Catholics, having received God’s grace, are endowed with all the grace necessary to work through the difficulties that arise in human relationship. Rather than a concession to weakness, marriage, in the eyes of the Church, is a treasure to be upheld, protected, and nurtured.
With this in mind, we are blessed at St. Pius X to offer Together in Holiness, a marriage formation series especially geared toward couples in the early years of marriage or with children still at home (though any married couple is very welcome!). In seven sessions throughout the year, couples will gather with other married couples to receive encouragement, support, and tools to grow in holiness and form families in the Catholic faith. To sign up or to receive more information about Together in Holiness, please visit https://www.st-pius.org/th/.
Three final thoughts. First, it is important to acknowledge that divorce is a source of tremendous pain for many families. If you or someone you love is enduring or has gone through this painful trial, please know that you have a place in the Church, that you matter and that there is support available to you and your family. If you would like information about the Church’s process of granting declarations of nullity, or simply could use spiritual support, please contact our parish office. Second, many couples marry in a civil ceremony for one reason or another, and so have not received the sacramental grace of matrimony. If you are interested in sacramental marriage, please contact one of the priests of the parish, and we will happily work with you toward that goal. Third, the Gospel today ends with Jesus inviting the children to come to Him. There is a reason that Mark places these two scenes – Jesus’ teaching on divorce and his welcome of children – so close to one another. Marriage in the Church’s understanding is a covenant that is total, free, faithful, and fruitful. Husband and wife give themselves to one another totally, without reserve. Marriage is a sharing of life in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, until death. It is free, that is, a gift given and received without coercion or undue pressure. It is faithful, an exclusive relationship in the most holy and sacred sense. And marriage is fruitful. This means that the marital act is always open to life – let the children come to me, and do not prevent them. The fecundity of marriage may be manifest in the birth of children, but the definition of fruitfulness is not limited to children. Married couples are fruitful in countless other ways, as their love not only builds up and sustains them in relationship, but also bears witness to the community and to the world of the power of God’s grace at work in human love.
Peace,
Fr. Sam
