"Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."
Forever will I pray that goodness reaches all of us.
Jesus reminded his listeners that we must pray for those who harm us. Who would we categorize as the ones who hurt or malign us without placing our closest family members first. Most of the severe attacks are the ones we live with or depend upon for our life sustenance. This may sound too sharp for a spouse to say but as we look at the divorce rate peaking at over 50 % there must be a deep flaw in the “I Do” response at weddings.
What is the basis for anger to rise up among marriages when two people who promise to remain until death go to pieces after only a very short time? There is no doubt that the loss of God’s presence within too many homes has a lot to do with the disruption of vows and their meaning. One spouse whose love grows cold can relate why their attraction to their husband or wife has crashed due to several reasons. After any one of these attributes appears visibly it becomes the material of destroying a family and the ones who are hurt the most are children, if there are any.
Sexual indiscretion is usually the number one factor, and even Moses taught that divorce would be allowed if that occurred. “When a man, after marrying a woman and having relations with her, is later displeased with her because he finds in her something indecent, and therefore he writes out a bill of divorce and hands it to her, thus dismissing her from his house.” (Dt 24: 1).
Today, when two litigants face each other in divorce court, the reasons as to why they are here is of little importance. The question that is asked is what community property is there that must be dissolved or split between the parties This becomes a far cry from Deuteronomy and the commandment between two of God’s people.
This factor presents a different aspect towards the validity and sacredness of Holy Matrimony. There are different approaches towards the sanctity of marriage and the many different manners of what the sacrament really means. First, it is the only sacrament that the couple gives to each other without the need of a clergyman. He becomes the official witness that validates the union of these two spouses, and is not the one who performs the act of marriage. Then, there is the civil allowance of two people going into the woods or another place of their choice and professing the words of promise without anyone present. In most jurisdictions a document must be secured as a legal binding entity. What was expected by everyone else turns into a do it yourself ceremony.
Where do we look to find any spirituality as what we hold sacred and be an assurance of our including God when we decide to just do everything by ourselves? It has become a society of living our lives without God or any semblance of faith placing the thought of Christ and his mandates into limbo. That was the term at one one time when a baby who died without baptism was sent without any judgment from God.
The Catholic Church still is a Sacramental Institution and lives by the dictates of the Magisterium. To reject these articles of faith in the Catechism of the Church places us at a distance from the teaching that has held us together for 2,000 years. Finding God without these proponents will be difficult if we truly are Catholic. Does denying our adherence to these articles in the CCC become a problem of entering heaven? No, but then if we decide to follow our own direction where will our allegiance to our creator who suffered for our sins lead us? We can say we are Roman Catholic as we approach heaven, but will he accept us on the day of judgment? It isn’t the name of our church that will matter, it will be the faith we have lived with that is the prime factor of our journey into heaven. All souls will have the opportunity to accept God’s love, but only those who really believe in Christ and the Trinity will find a resting place with God.
Ralph B. Hathaway