Date: Sunday, October 04, 2015
When Pope Francis addressed families gathered in Philadelphia, he left the prepared text to speak directly from the heart. His animated words in Spanish were translated immediately by Msgr. Mark Miles who is a hit in social media. The Pope said once a girl asked him a question: “What did God do before he created the world?” Pope Francis replied: “God loved!” Human potential and capacity to love are realized in family and married life. Scripture reveals that we are made in image and likeness of God. Before the Pope spoke, couples and families came forward to give witness publicly on the importance of family in society. One young couple from Australia became a bit overwhelmed and tongue tied. When the husband forgot what he was going to say, his wife reminded him. When she forgot what she wanted to say to the Pope, her husband quietly whispered to her what she was going to say. Their mutual support in a tough circumstance (e.g. speaking before the Pope and a vast audience) said more than their words.
For Catholics marriage is a sacrament, a sign, of the deeper mystery of God’s love and mercy for us in Jesus Christ. Unity and relationship in marriage mirrors Oneness and Trinity in God. In the Gospel according to St. Mark, Jesus acknowledges the practice of divorce in the Jewish community (and also in Greek and Roman society) but he points to the original intention of God for marriage to be a life commitment. Conjugal love, lived in fidelity to God’s original plan, is one of the principal manifestations of the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. Sadly, some/many marriages end in separation and divorce. How can we separate what God has joined?
We cannot forget the difficult words of Jesus in the Gospel that set the high spiritual and moral expectation of the indissolvability of marriage but we also remember Jesus who forgives, heals and restores the broken to right relationship with God and the community. The up-coming Synod on the Family at the Vatican will grapple with the teaching of Jesus on marriage as a life commitment and the example of Jesus who welcomes those who fail with compassion. Is there a way to respect the integrity of the marriage covenant and also find a path/process to reconciliation and Eucharist for those in a second marriage without an annulment? Recently, Bishop Malone sent a pastoral letter to the Diocese explaining the annulment process and also announcing the removal of all fees that covered part of the cost. Copies of the Bishop’s letter are available at the entrances to Church.
Once an usher during Mass found a ring and gave it to me. I thought it was a play thing for a child. I asked if anyone had lost a ring? A person, a couple in the front of church, discovered a wedding ring missing from a finger and they raised their hands. The metal of the ring had become malleable. It had slipped off because of loss of weight. Before me I saw a married couple deeply in love and growing old together. I felt that I was in the presence of God. Indeed, they had become a Sacrament.