This Issue

• Catechetical Sunday
• For Principals and School Boards
• For Educators
• For Parents
• Forming Adult Faith
• Compendium Corner

Catechetical Sunday – September 19, 2010 Matrimony: Sacrament of Enduring Love

"The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. . . . God himself is the author of marriage." The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes. These differences should not cause us to forget its common and permanent characteristics. Although the dignity of this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity, some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures. "The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life."
          Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1602

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting the Second Vatican Council, emphasizes that the family, as a domestic church, receives its strength and life by participating in the life and worship of the larger Church of which it is a part:
It is here [within the domestic church] that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way ―by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity‖ (LG, no. 10). Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and ―a school for human enrichment‖ (GS, no. 52). Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous—even repeated—forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one‘s life.
A family matures as a domestic church as it ever more deeply immerses itself within the life of the Church. This especially means that fathers and mothers, by their example and teaching, help their children come to an appreciation of the need for continual conversion and repentance from sin, encouraging a love for and participation in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Moreover, since it is Christ‘s presence within the family that truly makes it a domestic church, their participation in the Eucharist, especially the Sunday Eucharist, is particularly important. In the Eucharist, the family joins itself to Jesus‘ sacrifice to the Father for the forgiveness of sins. Furthermore, it is in receiving Holy Communion that the members of the family are most fully united to the living and glorious Christ and so to one another and to their brothers and sisters throughout the world. It is here, in the risen and Eucharistic Christ, that spouses, parents, and children express and nurture most fully the love of the Father and the bond of the Spirit.
                                        Marriage:  Love and Life in the Divine Plan
                                        United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

God who created man out of love also calls him to love—the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.
The Church teaches that marriage is an authentic vocation, or divine call. As a vocation, marriage is just as necessary and valuable to the Church as other vocations. For this reason, all of us should pray that men and women will enter into marriage with the proper understanding and motivation and that they will live it generously and joyfully.
As with every vocation, marriage must be understood within the primary vocation to love, because humanity ―is created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love.In Baptism, God calls the faithful to grow in love. This vocation to love, in imitation of God‘s infinite love, is also a vocation to grow in holiness, for greater participation in God‘s love necessarily entails a greater participation in God‘s holiness. The Second Vatican Council teaches that ―all the faithful, whatever their condition or state are called by the Lord—each in his or her own way—to that perfect holiness by which the Father himself is perfect.Within this universal vocation to holiness, God calls some men to the priesthood or to the diaconate, other men and women to the consecrated life. For the vast majority of men and women, however, God places this universal vocation to holiness within the specific vocation of marriage. Those whose circumstances in life do not include marriage, ordination, or consecration are nonetheless also called to discern and make a personal gift of self in how they live a Christian life.
Marriage:  Love and Life in the Divine Plan
                                 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The testimony given by couples living the Sacrament of Marriage is a concrete testimony. The grace given by God does not operate in another world; it operates in daily life. Life is a journey and a daily struggle. The love of Christ accompanies us on this road and aids us in this struggle, giving us new strength to encounter in our “today” the joy that Christ showed forth as he gave himself freely for the life of the world. The Lord himself speaks of this: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. . . . love one another as I love you” (Jn 15:11-12). Daily, a husband dedicates himself generously to the good of his wife, and she dedicates herself daily to his good. This generosity is an expression of the intimate union between themselves, and it shows itself in their daily sacrifices. Above all, this generous love shows itself in their ability to forgive one another. The marital union creates for the couple a road that leads to sanctity, because sanctity consists in our participation in the generous love of Christ Jesus.
Marriage: Sacrament of Enduring Love
By Most Reverend Daniel Flores Bishop of Brownsville, Texas

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For Principals and School Boards

• Read the US Bishops Pastoral Letter on Marriage, Marriage:  Love and Life in the Divine Plan.  Utilize the Study Version,  containing a glossary of terms.
• Invite your diocesan family life office to a gathering to provide resources on marriage to the school board and school personnel.
• Visit the USCCB website for Catechetical Sunday for resources and ideas.
• Extend personal invitations to Catholic School teachers to participate in Catechetical Sunday at your parish.
• Visit the foryourmarriage.org website, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, for a wealth of resources on marriage, marriage preparation, parenting, etc.

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For Educators

• Visit with your principal or school board members to identify Catholic couples in your community, especially alumni of your school, who have been married at least 25 years.  Invite them to come and visit your classrooms and meet your students, sharing their life and stories in the classroom.
• Visit the foryourmarriage.org website, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, for a wealth of resources on marriage, marriage preparation, parenting, etc.
• Meet with other educators to teach the same grade levels and discuss resources that can be shared with students.

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For Parents

• Visit the foryourmarriage.org website, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, for a wealth of resources on marriage, marriage preparation, parenting, etc.
• Order Follow the Way of Love: A Pastoral Message of the U.S. Catholic Bishops from the USCCB Publishing website.
• Celebrate the couples in your extended families who have been married 25 years or more.  Organize a family celebration to honor their commitment to love, fidelity and family.
• As a couple, plan on at least one or two things you can do during the coming months to celebrate and re-affirm your marriage commitment.
• Visit the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry’s website for resources on adolescent development.

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Forming Adult Faith

“Forming Adult Faith” includes suggestions from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA) on how to promote ongoing faith formation among the adults in your school community.

There are several sections in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults that address marriage.
                Part II:  The Sacraments.  Chapter 21:  The Sacrament of Marriage

Ideas and suggestions on how to use this chapter for your individual and group reflections can be found online and in the Reader's Journal for the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.

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Compendium Corner

“Compendium Corner” provides a list of questions and answers in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that are related to this month’s topic.  (The number before the question is the question number in the Compendium.)

• Review the questions and answers in preparation for your class.
• Consider how to use appropriate questions and answers as part of your lesson plan.

Develop learning activities that help youth and young adults learn this information by heart

Part II:  The Sacraments
Chapter 21:  The Sacrament of Marriage
                337.  What is the plan of God regarding man and woman?
                338. For what ends has God instituted Matrimony?
                339. How doe sin threaten marriage?
                340. What does the Old Testament teach about marriage?
                341. What new element did Christ give to Matrimony?
                350. Why is the Christian family called the domestic church?

To obtain a copy of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, visit www.usccbpublishing.org or call 800-235-8722.

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