He is mindful of his covenant for ever… Psalm 105:8

A contract is a mutually beneficial agreement entered into by two parties. The contract can be broken when it is no longer beneficial to one of the parties. In contrast, a marriage covenant is a lifelong agreement entered into by two parties and God that can never be broken. The Hebrew word for covenant is berith, derived from a root which means “to cut.” Entering into a covenant in the Old Testament involved the ritual of cutting or dividing an animal into two parts with the contracting parties passing between them to seal the agreement. Both parties vowed an oath that it be done unto them as was done to this animal if they violated the terms of the agreement.

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Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Today the Church celebrates World Marriage Day, giving honor to husbands and wives who faithfully live out their covenant in the Sacrament of Marriage. Two days from now, our culture will celebrate love on Valentine’s Day. Advertisers work hard convincing us that love is all about warm, fuzzy feelings, cards, candy and flowers.

Christian husbands and wives are in a unique position to show the world what real love is. True love is the total gift of self for the betterment of another. It involves sacrifice. Love is doing what is right even when it does not feel very good. Love is meeting the needs of someone else before your own needs. We can love because God first loved us. The perfect image of this unconditional love is Jesus nailed to the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Ask God for the grace to be able to love your spouse in this self-sacrificial way.

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Last week, we summarized St. John Paul II’s vision of marriage preparation where parents have the primary responsibility to prepare their children for marriage (remote preparation from birth to young adult). The example of their marriage, both good and bad, shapes their children’s understanding of marriage and shows them how to live out this important vocation. Is your marriage a good and holy example for your children? If some areas could stand improvement, do not lose heart. It is never too late to start living your marriage as God intends, loving your spouse as Christ loves His Bride, the Church.

But what is love? The word is used in so many different ways today that it has lost its true meaning. We say that we “love sports,” “love traveling,” or “love to eat.” The intimate union of a man and woman in the martial embrace has been reduced to “making love.” This same phrase is also used to describe sex between any number of consenting adults, or between adults and children, or even between children, including individuals of the same sex. It is no wonder that our society is confused on the true meaning of love.

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Back in November of last year, we issued a clarion call to pray for marriages and families. We encouraged you to organize a prayer ministry at your local parish in support of this challenge.

Our home parish, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, Michigan is doing just that. In his homily for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Pastor Fr. John Riccardo reflects on events from the past year and proposes that parishioners continue to set aside Wednesdays as days of fasting and prayer for marriages, families, priests and religious.

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For the past 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has consistently taught that marriage is permanent, exclusive and fruitful (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1603-1605). In addition, the Church has taught that divorce (from a valid marriage) and remarriage is committing adultery (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2384). Many want the Church to change its teaching so that the divorced and remarried can receive Communion. However, the Church does not have the authority to change God’s design for marriage as revealed in sacred Scripture, taught by the early Church Fathers and interpreted by the Magisterium.

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