[StBernard] THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE, ICON OF GOD'S LOVE FOR HUMANITY

[Westley Annis]

THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE, ICON OF GOD'S LOVE FOR HUMANITY 

Vatican City, 2 April 2014 (VIS) - Pope Francis concluded his series of
catechesis dedicated to the Sacraments by speaking about marriage. "A
sacrament that leads us to the heart of God's plan, which is a plan of
alliance with his People, with all of us, a plan of communion". To explain
this, he quoted a phrase from the Book of Genesis: "So God created mankind
in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he
created them. - That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united
to his wife, and they become one flesh". "The image of God is a married
couple, man and woman, not only man, not only woman, but rather both. This
is the image of God: love, God's alliance with us is represented in the
alliance between man and woman", he said.

"We were created to love, as a reflection of God and his love. And in
matrimonial union the man and woman realise this vocation, as a sign of
reciprocity and the full and definitive communion of life". When a man and
a woman receive the Sacrament of marriage, "God is, so to say, 'mirrored' in
them, he imprints in them the features and indelible nature of His love.
Marriage is the icon of God's love for us. Indeed, God too is communion: the
three Persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have always lived
and live for ever in perfect unity. And this is the mystery of marriage: God
makes married couples into one existence. The Bible uses a strong term: it
says one 'flesh' only, so intimate is the union between man and woman in
marriage. And this is the mystery of marriage: God's love that is reflected
in the couple who decide to live together".

Francis mentioned that, in his Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul emphasizes
that Christian married couples reflect the great mystery of the relationship
that Christ establishes with the Church, which means that "marriage responds
to a specific vocation and must be considered as a consecration. The man and
woman consecrate themselves in their love. Married couples, thanks to the
Sacrament, are invested with a genuine mission, that of making visible,
starting with simple and ordinary things, the love Christ has for His
Church".

"The plan inherent in marriage is a truly wonderful! It is expressed in the
simplicity, and also the fragility, of the human condition. We are well
aware of the many difficulties and trials there may be in the life of a
married couple. ... The important thing is to keep alive the link with God,
which is at the basis of the matrimonial bond. When a husband prays for his
wife, and a wife for her husband, the bond remains strong; each one prays
for the other. It is true that married life has many difficulties: work,
there isn't enough money, there are problems with the children ... and often
the husband and wife become irritable and argue amongst themselves. There
are always arguments in marriages, and at times even plates are thrown. But
we must not be sad about this: this is the human condition. And the secret
is that love is stronger than the moments in which we argue, and I therefore
always advise married couples never to let the day draw to an end without
making peace. There is no need to call in the United Nations peacekeepers. A
little gesture is enough: a caress, see you tomorrow, and tomorrow we start
afresh. This is life, and we must face it in this way, with the courage of
living it together. Married life is beautiful, and must be protected".