The readings this Sunday focus on the sacrament of marriage.
The first reading from the book of Genesis explains how marriage is a human reality “the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate:’”. We see how God’s original plan of creation came to fruition as he formed woman out of man:
‘This at last is bone from my bones
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.’
In other words man and woman are to be of the same nature “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body”. Using similar words Jesus elaborates on this meaning in the Gospel when he explains how God’s plan for marriage from the beginning was for an indissoluble and faithful relationship between man and woman “They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.”
In welcoming the little children Jesus challenges us to develop a child-like trust and simplicity in our own faith. We are reminded that as children of the heavenly Father we are invited to welcome each other in gentleness and love “I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”.
Reflecting on today’s readings we remember that it is God who unites us in marriage and family. Marriage is a covenant – an intimate communion of sharing of life and love. We are reminded that marriage and family life is a call to self-giving and that the love and respect we share within our own families reflects upon our love for the wider Christian community. As Pope Benedict XVI said:
“We are called to receive and to pass on the truths of faith in a spirit of harmony, to live our love for each other and for everyone, sharing joys and sufferings, learning to seek and to grant forgiveness…God created us male and female, equal in dignity, but also with respective and complementary characteristics, so that the two might be a gift for each other, might value each other and might bring into being a community of love and life. It is love that makes the human person the authentic image of the Blessed Trinity, image of God”.
(Pope Benedict XVI Milan, 3 June 2012)
