Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Mark 10:2-16 or 10:2-12 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)
And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
And in the house the disciples asked him again about
this matter. And he said to
them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries
another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she
commits adultery.”
[And they were bringing children to him that he
might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and
said to them, “Let the children come to me; do
not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does
not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and
blessed them, laying his hands on them.]
Pope Benedict XVI with young friends
I have been involved with Worldwide Marriage Encounter since 1981, initially in Canada and then from 1984 until 2017 in the Philippines and now in Ireland. The most important reality that I have come to see very clearly through Marriage Encounter is that the relationship between husband and wife in the Sacrament of Matrimony is the foundation of the Christian family.
About sixteen years ago we in Worldwide Marriage Encounter in Bacolod City, Philippines, held a family day. One of the last activities was for the pre-teen children. They were asked to share what they loved most about their parents. One boy, aged about ten or eleven, told us that what he loved most about his parents was that they were always together.
He didn't mean, of course, that they were tied to each other 24/7. But he saw that for his father and mother the most important reality in their lives was to be husband and wife and he felt drawn into the love that they had for each other. Jesus in today's Gospel quotes from today's First Reading: Therefore a man
shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh (Genesis 2:24).
In my closing remarks at the family day I picked up on what the boy had said and pointed out that he had articulated that the foundation of the family is the relationship between husband and wife. If that relationship is sound the other relationships in the family will normally be sound too. Children won't feel left out but rather will feel drawn into the love their parents have for each other, the very love that brought them into life in the first place. In God's plan, it is as husband and wife that a man and a woman are called to become father and mother. It is God's plan that their children be drawn into the love they have for one another. This is the foundation of the family. And perhaps this can give us some idea of the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity where the Father, Son and Holy Spirit draw us into the circle of their life, having given us life through our parents.
A young journalist, a single man, happened to be present at our family day that afternoon and approached me afterwards. He had never heard marriage being described that way before and really wanted to know more. For him it was truly an experience of hearing the Good News for the first time in this context.
It is God who joins together a man and a woman when they exchange their marriage vows. In the Sacrament of Matrimony they are giving Jesus Christ himself to each other. This is far more than a 'blessing by the priest', as so many misunderstand the Sacrament. It is the bride and groom who confer the sacrament on each other, who give Jesus himself to each other. This is such a profound and sacred union, as Jesus teaches us so clearly today: What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. Today's gospel is very clear on that. Jesus spells out what the sin of adultery is: Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.
So often in visiting Catholic schools in the Philippines I was struck by the fact that so many students in their teens knew by heart the words that the bride and groom exchange: For better, for worse; for richer . . . These words, etched into their hearts, express their deep-down sense of the words of Jesus in the gospel today, God made them male and female . . . so they are no longer two but one flesh. They also express their dreams and aspirations for their own future, dreams and aspirations that have been placed in their hearts by God himself. For to such belongs the kingdom of God.
Enrico and Chiara:
loving spouses and parents, witnesses to joy
Here is an extract from an article by Marie Meaney in Crisis Magazine in 2014, Chiara Corbella: A Witness to Joy.
In worldly terms, Chiara Corbella’s life (1984 - 2012) was not a success story: two children dying shortly after birth, herself ravaged by an aggressive cancer, which killed her at the young age of 28, leaving a beloved husband and a small son behind. This is not the kind of material dreams are made of. Yet when one listens to the testimonies of her friends, husband, and spiritual director, and hears more about her story and looks at her radiating, beautiful face on photographs and in video clips, one can’t help but feel that hers was an extraordinary life. Each saint has a special charisma, a particular theme, some facet of God, which he reflects, due to his particular character, call and story. Hers, I’d say, is to be a witness to joy in the face of great adversity, the kind which makes the heart overflow despite the sorrow over loss and death.
Meet Chiara Corbella Petrillo: A Story of Joy &
Hope
The full article on Enrico and Chiara and their children by Marie Meaney is here. Google 'Chiara Corbella' or 'Chiara Corbella Petrillo' to discover much more about God's love for all of us through couples like Enrico and Chiara.
The cause for the beatification of Chiara was opened on 2 July 2018 in the Diocese of Rome. She now has the title 'Servant of God'. Pergiorgio Greco in that same article quotes Chiara's husband Enrico. Francesco was their third child, the only one to survive. [Emphases in the original article.]
The sacrament of marriage is crucial to understand Enrico and
Chiara. Enrico said, ‘A few months before she died, while she was already a
terminal patient, she said to me, “The one I feel saddest to leave is you, Enrico, not Francesco. I
chose you, and I wanted to grow old with you.”’ He then added, ‘If
you love your child more than you love your spouse, you are not living up to
the promise you made to Jesus on the altar: to love your spouse above all.’ Their friend Cristiana explained, ‘Chiara was very neat:
there was the Lord, there was herself, there was Enrico, and, that way,
everything acquired its true rhythm. Until the end.’
I cannot help but think that a world that has accepted a grotesque parody of marriage between two persons of the same sex in the name of 'equality' as a 'right', a parody that is an affront to God the Creator who made them male and female and an affront to nature itself, desperately needs to know married couples like Enrico and Chiara. A world that values unborn children only in terms of 'viability' desperately needs to know parents like Enrico and Chiara.
Only when you truly love you will realize nothing really
belongs to you because everything is a gift. [Letter from Enrico and Chiara to Francesco].
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Worldwide Marriage Encounter
Worldwide Marriage Encounter is the largest pro-marriage organization in the world and promotes Weekend experiences for couples who want to make their good marriage even better.
Retrouvaille
Retrouvaille is the name of a programme designed to help heal and renew marriages. The French word Retrouvaille, simply means 'rediscovery'. The programme offers the chance to rediscover yourself, your spouse, and a loving relationship in your marriage.
This website gives links to information about Retrouvaille weekends in different European countries, in the USA and in the Philippines.
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(15 March 1938 - 24 September 2021)
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Columban Fr Gerard Bellew who died last week. You will find his obituary here.
Solas na bhFlaitheas ar a anam uasal - The Light of Heaven on his noble soul.
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