Marriage, Unique for a Reason: 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

   In today's first reading, taken from the 2nd chapter of Genesis, we are presented with the deepest and most mysterious reality of been human. The fact that we have been created to be in relationships. God our father and creator shows how well He understands the human condition when He declares “it is not good for man to be alone”. Human loneliness is not natural to us, and it is not part of our eternal destiny.
   Every creature in this earth although good enough to be our companion, will never be able fill the void of loneliness we carry in our hearts. So, as the last act of His creation, God gives the first man the
ultimate companion, the first woman, someone like himself, but different. Someone who could understand and relate to his spiritual hunger, to a degree that in their union they can become “One flesh”.
   This first reading is just a representation of a story which repeats again and again in history. In fact, I am sure that everyone here has experienced or will experience this type of loneliness which can only be
removed by meeting “that special person”.

  When people think they have found that special person it is natural for them to want for their union to be permanent; so they publicly express their desire to be known as life mates, as husband and wife. The Church has always recognized these types of unions as good and natural. But the Church also recognized very early in our history that Christians are called to a deeper type of union. A union which when
entered by two baptized persons reflects the very interior life of God which is self-giving
and self-revealing and always open to life. This union can only be entered by two baptized Christians, a man and a woman, and can only be entered freely and with complete understanding of what their responsibilities are. When done for the right reasons and with openness to life these unions receive great graces, and are what we call Sacramental Marriages.
   So today’s first reading is all about God, men, and women and the mysterious life affirming and life giving union which is Sacramental Marriage. Today’s gospel on the other hand brings us back to the sad
reality of our fallen nature and the fact that sometimes because of our human failures marriages end in divorce. Now Jesus is very clear in this reading, what God unites in sacramental marriage man can not dissolve; this bond can not be broken! And I think Pope Francis said it very well a few days back when he said “there is no such thing as Catholic divorce”
   Now we find ourselves with a dilemma, if I as Catholic thought that the day of my wedding I had freely expressed my desire to be bonded by God to another person and now because of our mutual failings I find myself alone again...What is left for me to do? Well the first thing is do
not despair, you are not alone. Although there is no such thing as a Catholic Divorce, the fact is that, many people (and here we might need to include ourselves) on the day of their wedding were not capable or willing to freely enter this type of spiritual bond.
   You might not know this but I’m an advocate to the marriage tribunal of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, I deal with a lot of Catholics who are trying to rebuild their lives, after their divorce; and experience has
taught me that, in the culture in which we live, with what our children see about marriage in the media, what they learn in schools and even by what they experience in the divorce of their own families, the sad reality is... there are many, many people that are not capable of entering Sacramental Marriage the day of their wedding because of they live with a warped idea of what the Church means when she says "marriage". So after their divorce they find themselves lost, hurt and afraid.
   Today is respect life Sunday, in a few minutes we will have someone speak about what we are doing here at St Michael in favor of the protection of all life, from conception until natural death. So I will like to focus now on what are we doing for divorced Catholics, which in my mind is part of our commitment to minister to all life.
   First I would like to mention again that I’m an advocate for the Marriage tribunal, so if you would like to investigate this process you could talk to me or Fr Mike. In addition to this we have the 12 week
Catholic Divorce Survival Guide for Separated and Divorced program which is just starting, and meets on Mondays at 7pm in room 109 . We also have the Monthly Divorce Recovery Ministry Meeting, an ongoing support group for those struggling with the pain of Divorce and meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month in the Conference Room. We Also have the Single Again Fellowship Events (SAFE) which are every other month outings for separated, divorced and widowed Catholics. In fact, I’m told that the next one will be on Saturday, October 17th. For all these we have a fantastic team composed of our coordinator, Irene Cochran, Stacey Ford our DRE and myself . All of us are willing to
listen and walk with you in this process of healing.
   The teachings of the Church about marriage are beautiful. Sadly (and I’m the first to admit this) we have done a horrendous job at teaching why marriage is a unique gift from God for those who enter into this
union. But we are fixing that, so if you would like to explore these beautiful teachings, if you would like to find healing from a broken marriage, I invite you to take advantages of these opportunities here at St
Michael, and always remember...You are not alone. God bless you all