Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
(Thessalonians
4:1-8; Matthew 25:1-13)
Occasionally
someone clamors, “The Church should get out of the marriage business.” Marriage does seem like a sordid deal at
times. A person entering marriage may be
immature. The desire to annul an
unsuccessful marriage may promote perjury.
However, marriage is hardly a business.
It involves the intimate relation between a man and a woman. Besides procreation, the relationship should enhance
the couples’ appreciation for God. Both readings
today concern the seriousness of this sacrament.
St. Paul
urges the Thessalonians to seek marriage partners of virtue. He wants them to avoid choosing a mate for
looks and also to refrain from lewd acts within marriage. The gospel parable uses marriage as a symbol
of the coming of Christ at the end of time.
Because he will take only a righteous Church as his bride, the
Church must prepare herself for him with works of mercy. By implication, then, every couple should
prepare themselves carefully for marriage.
Marriage is
suffering in many parts of the world.
Young people increasingly do not marry.
Many marriages end in divorce. We
need to promote strong marriages by modeling chaste behavior and by helping
young adults discern whom and when to marry.
