Sunday, October 6, 2024
In June 2023, the Thriving Center of Psychology surveyed about a thousand Gen Z and Millennials, ages 18 to 42, who are currently in a relationship but unmarried. The survey revealed some alarming statistics: 40% think marriage is “an outdated tradition,” 85% do not think marriage is necessary for a “fulfilled and committed relationship,” and 72% aren’t interested in getting married. More startling is a statistic of a 69% decline in Catholic marriages over 50 years between 1969 and 2019 by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a research center that conducts social studies of the Catholic Church.
With fewer young people willing to enter into the sacrament of Marriage, the Readings for this Sunday focus on marriage, family, and the nature of love. They call our attention to the sacrament of marriage, instituted by God as a plan for humanity from the time of Creation. Like calls to the priesthood and religious life, marriage is a vocation initiated by God and responded to by individuals. It is an invitation for people to discover and fulfill their unique purpose in life according to His divine plan. From the ground, God created man and woman to cling to each other and become one. Today’s Gospel reinforces the unity and indissolubility of marriage. The Pharisees, at a time when marriage was often arranged and patriarchal, asked Jesus, ”Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife? They were testing him.” (Mark 1o:2). During that era, divorce for Jews was liberally granted. The Pharisees knew marriage legislation according to the Torah: “When a man, after marrying a woman, is later displeased with her because he finds in her something indecent, and he writes out a bill of divorce and hands it to her, thus dismissing her from his house” (Deuteronomy 24:1). The Pharisees were also aware of John the Baptist having been killed by Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, after his outspoken condemnation of Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias. So, in asking Jesus about divorce in Judea and under Roman authority, they hoped His answer would implicate Him. Jesus responded that Moses allowed divorce because of the “hardness of hearts”. He said, “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.” (Mark 10:6-8). Jesus’ teaching, as it often does, challenges own and societal norms.
Some marry before they are ready to commit, others find it impossible to stay in very unequal or abusive unions. Sadly, not all marriages last, even after long periods of working towards reconciling differences. Like all lasting relationships, marriage is dynamic, with married couples committed to a lifelong covenant leading them to deeper love and partnership over time. With God’s guidance, marriage is a commitment that demands genuine love, dedication, constant effort, cooperation, selflessness, and sacrifice.
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.