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”.
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