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THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE
On
the Sunday the gospel present Jesus’ words on the sacrament
of marriage. To this, Pope Benedict XVI gave his Papal address before
reciting the midday Angelus with the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s
Square.
Below is a translation of the Holy Father’s message by Zenit.
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Dear
Brothers and Sisters:
This
Sunday, the Gospel presents us Jesus' words on marriage. To the
question if it is lawful for a husband to repudiate his wife, as
established by a precept of the Mosaic law (cf. Deuteronomy 24:1),
he responded that it was a concession of Moses because of "hardness
of heart," while the truth about marriage goes back "to
the beginning of creation," when, as is written in Genesis,
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" (Mark 10:6-7; cf. Genesis 1:27; 2:24).
And
Jesus added: "So they are no longer two but one. What therefore
God has joined together, let not man put asunder" (Mark 10:8-9).
This was God's original plan, as the Second Vatican Council also
reminded in the constitution "Gaudium et Spes": "The
intimate partnership of married life and love has been established
by the Creator and qualified by his laws, and is rooted in the conjugal
covenant. ... For God himself is the author of matrimony" (No.
48).
My
thought is directed to all Christian spouses: With them I thank
the Lord for the gift of the sacrament of marriage, and exhort them
to remain faithful to their vocation in each stage of life, "in
joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness," as they promised
in the sacramental rite.
May
Christian spouses, aware of the grace received, build a family open
to life and capable of facing together the numerous and complicated
challenges of our time. Their testimony is particularly necessary
today. Families are needed that do not let themselves be drawn by
modern cultural currents inspired by hedonism and relativism, and
that are willing to realize their mission in the Church and in society
with generous dedication.
In
the apostolic exhortation "Familiaris Consortio," the
Servant of God John Paul II wrote that the sacrament of marriage
"makes Christian married couples and parents witnesses of Christ
'to the end of the earth,' as authentic 'missionaries' of love and
life" (cf. No. 54). This mission is oriented both to the internal
life of the family -- especially in mutual service and in the education
of children -- as well as the external: the domestic community,
in fact, is called to be the sign of God's love to all. The family
can only fulfill this mission if it is supported by divine grace.
For this reason, it is necessary to pray tirelessly and to persevere
in the daily effort to keep the commitments assumed on the wedding
day.
I
invoke the maternal protection of the Virgin and of Joseph her spouse
on all families, especially those going through difficulties. Mary,
Queen of the Family, pray for us!
At
the end of the Angelus, the Pope greeted pilgrims in several languages.
In English, he said:
I
warmly welcome the English-speaking pilgrims who are here today.
Throughout this month of October we remember in a special way Our
Blessed Lady. We ask for her prayers for our loved ones and for
ourselves. May her Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, bless
all of you during your stay in Rome.
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| LIVES
OF THE SAINTS |
MARCH 1
St. Felix II
St Felix II, the pope is an ancestor of the future Pope St. Gregory the Great who lived from 540 to 604. 
MARCH 2
Blessed Charles the Good
Count Charles of Flanders, was called "the good" by the people of his kingdom. They named him for what they found him to truly be.
MARCH 3
Blessed Katharine Drexel
Blessed Katharine was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 26, 1858. Katharine's mother died when she was a baby.
MARCH 4
St. Casimir
St. Casimir was born in 1458, son of Casimir IV, king of Poland. Casimir was one of thirteen children.
MARCH 5
St. John Joseph of the Cross
St. John Joseph of the Cross was born in southern Italy on the feast of the Assumption, 1654. He was a young noble, but he dressed like a poor man.
MARCH 6
St. Colette
St. Nicolette was named in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra. She was born in 1380. Her loving parents nicknamed her Colette from the time she was a baby.
MARCH 7
St. Perpetua and St. Felicity
St. Perpetua and St. Felicity lived in Carthage, North Africa, in the third century. It was the time of the fierce persecution of Christians by Emperor Septimus Severus.
MARCH 8
St. John of God
St. John was born in Portugal on March 8, 1495. His parents were poor, but deeply Christian. John was a restless boy.
MARCH 9
St. Frances of Rome
St. Frances was born in 1384. Her parents were wealthy, but they taught Frances to be concerned about people and to live a good Christian life.
MARCH 10
St. Simplicius
St. Simplicius became pope in 468. Sometimes it seemed to him that he was all alone in trying to correct evils that were everywhere.
MARCH 11
St. Eulogius of Spain
St. Eulogius lived in the ninth century. His family was well-known and he received an excellent education. While he learned his lessons, he also learned from the good example of his teachers.
MARCH 12
St. Fina (Seraphina)
St. Fina was born in a little Italian town called San Geminiano. Her parents had once been well off, but misfortune had left them poor.
MARCH 13
St. Euphrasia
St. Euphrasia was born in the fifth century to deeply Christian parents. Her father, a relative of the emperor, died when she was a year old.
MARCH 14
St. Matilda
St. Matilda was born about 895, the daughter of a German count. When she was still quite young, her parents arranged her marriage to a nobleman named Henry.
MARCH 15
St. Zachary
St. Zachary was a Benedictine monk from Greece who lived in the eighth century. He became a cardinal and then pope.
MARCH 16
Blessed Torello
Blessed Torello was born in 1202, in Poppi, Italy. His life as a child in the village was ordinary and uneventful. But after his father's death.
MARCH 17
St. Patrick
St. Patrick was believed born in fifth-century Britain to Roman parents. When he was sixteen, he was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland.
MARCH 18
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
St. Cyril was born around 315 when a new phase was beginning for Christians. Before that date, the Church was persecuted by the emperors.
MARCH 19
St. Joseph
St. Joseph is a great saint. He was Jesus' foster-father and Mary's husband.
MARCH 20
St. Cuthbert
St. Cuthbert lived in England in the seventh century. He was a poor shepherd boy who loved to play games with his friends.
MARCH 21
St. Serapion
St. Serapion lived in Egypt in the fourth century. Those were exciting times for the Church and for St. Serapion.
MARCH 22
St. Deogratias
St. Deogratias was ordained bishop of the City of Carthage when it was taken over by barbarian armies in 439.
MARCH 23
St. Turibius of Mongrovejo
St. Turibius was born in 1538 in Leon, Spain. He became a university professor and then a famous judge.
MARCH 24
Blessed Didacus
Blessed Didacus Joseph was born on March 29, 1743, in Cadiz, Spain. He was baptized Joseph Francis.
MARCH 25
ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD
The time arrived for Jesus to come down from heaven. God sent the Archangel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth where Mary lived.
MARCH 26
St. Ludger
St. Ludger was born in northern Europe in the eighth century. After he had studied hard for many years, he was ordained a priest.
MARCH 27
St. John of Egypt
St. John was man who desired to be alone with God was to become one of the most famous hermits of his time.
MARCH 28
St. Tutilo
St. Tutilo lived in the late ninth and early tenth centuries. He was educated at the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Gall.
MARCH 29
St. Jonas and St. Barachisius
King Sapor of Persia reigned in the fourth century. He hated Christians and persecuted them cruelly. He destroyed their churches and monasteries.
MARCH 30
St. John Climacus
St. John was believed born in Palestine in the seventh century. He seems to have been a disciple of St. Gregory Nazianzen.
MARCH 31
Blessed Joan of Toulouse
In 1240, some Carmelite brothers from Palestine started a monastery in Toulouse, France.
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PHOTO OF THE MONTH |
Tour
of the Relics of the Passion
(International Center
for Holy Relics)
www.HolyRelics.org
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| REFLECTIONS |
 “Jesus’
Baptism”
Why did Jesus, the sinless one sent from the Father in heaven,
submit himself to John’s baptism? John preached a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke
3:3). In this humble submission we see a foreshadowing of
the “baptism” of Jesus bloody death upon the
cross. Jesus’ baptism is the acceptance and the beginning
of his mission as God’s suffering Servant (Isaiah
52:13-15; 53:1-12). He allowed himself to be numbered among
sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father’s
will. Out of love he consented to this baptism of death
for the remission of our sins. Do you know the joy of trust
and submission to God?
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