By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted October 4, 2024

(See the readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Marriage is a gift from God to humanity. Man and woman were made for each other. They unite in a bond of love in which they share an intimate friendship. The commitment they make is a pledge of steadfast love, putting the other first. God gives them a share in his creative love as they bring forth children and form a family. In the sacrament of marriage this love witnesses to divine love, a love that is steadfast in good times and in bad, comprehensive in sickness and in health and enduring until death do us part.

So many people today have a very wide view of what marriage is, what its purpose is and who can even enter into this covenant. It can be very confusing in the midst of all the opinions that go around.

The readings for this Sunday, challenging for many who are formed in our current cultural context, call us back to a basic understanding of this great gift. The understanding is rooted in Christ Jesus, the Lord of life and love. His words today on divorce is primarily a teaching on marriage. The indissolubility of the marriage covenant is a reflection of God’s love which never goes away, can never be broken.

Surely there are times when a married couple cannot live together and should separate; perhaps the clearest example is in the case of an abusive relationship. However, Jesus’ focus here is not on these situations but on the Father’s plan, his vision, for marriage.

Jesus references the creation story from Genesis where marriage is addressed. The passage to which he refers is used as the first reading for Sunday’s liturgy. Man and woman are created for each other. While they share the same humanity there are differences between man and woman so that they complement each other in the covenant of marriage. They become companions for life, and they share a unique friendship between themselves.

The love they share is not just for themselves because they can, together, share in God’s creative work as they bring forth children. The love they share continues to be poured out of themselves as they care for, feed, nourish and educate their children. The love they have also overflows outside of themselves as their love witnesses to something greater than themselves or their family: the love of God for every human being.

Married couples have a share in the missionary work of the Church. Not in the sense of foreign missions, but right in their own home. They hand on the Good News of God’s love. They proclaim this message first to each other. When they love, they proclaim God who is love. When they forgive, they proclaim his mercy. When they sacrifice themselves for the other, they proclaim the Lord crucified. When they tend to each other in illness, they proclaim the God who heals. When they comfort one another, they proclaim God’s tender compassion. When they correct one another in truth, they proclaim God’s word. When they care for the poor and needy, they proclaim God’s compassion. When they introduce their children to Jesus and instruct them in his way, they proclaim the Lord of Life.

Married couples, in their lives together, have an important role in the missionary work of the Church.

I’ve met so many married couples along the way who, not perfectly, but beautifully witness to this love. You can see the different stages from young couples in the early years when the romance is still fresh, through the years of raising children, to the empty-nester years, and to the time of grandparenting. In couples who have kept that love fresh by giving of themselves in new ways, and receiving the other’s love with ever present gratitude, you see a vibrancy and vivacity that does not dampen with age but only grows stronger.

Encountering these couples who are happy together, at any age but especially ones that time and the challenges of life have refined, is truly a blessing – and a reminder of God’s love for each and every one of us.

Marriage is a gift. It is a gift from God for all humanity – not that all are called to married life, but that all share in the blessing that married couples bring to the world. The gift of marriage is rooted in God’s love. He created us in love, redeems us in love and sanctifies us in love.

The love of husband and wife reflect this love, God’s love, in the simple day-to-day routines of life. And for that we are grateful.

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.