From the Pastor - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings this week speak to each of our domestic churches — the little churches that we call our families.

The First Reading from the book of Genesis takes us to the beginning of creation when God made man and woman. When Adam sees the woman he says, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman.’”

We can almost hear the longing, gratitude, and appreciation in Adam’s voice when he meets Eve as he says, “at last.” She was a gift because she was an equal partner to him.

This was before the fall of man, meaning sin had not entered the world. Adam and Eve only viewed each other in total acceptance and love.

Our Gospel brings us to life after sin had entered the world — a time that is familiar to us. As the Pharisees questioned Jesus about divorce, He expressed that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of man’s heart. However, Jesus was calling them to deeper holiness. He was calling them to restore the original plan God had intended for marriage, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Jesus’ words still apply to us here and now in each of our domestic churches. It is the task of families to tirelessly work to restore God’s original plan for marriage and family life — homes filled with gratitude, acceptance, and love.

It takes a daily commitment to live out our call to holiness to restore our families to this beautiful image. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2021

Pastoral Pondering – In light of our Gospel this weekend, I thought it would be a good opportunity to reflect on the Church’s teaching on marriage and divorce and to also explain, in light of the magisterium of Pope Francis, the Church’s approach to these often difficult and complex situations.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the Church’s teaching regarding marriage in paragraphs 1659-1666. Marriage is described as a covenant relationship, between a man and a woman, that is characterized by unity, indissolubility, and fecundity (openness to children). This union signified the union of Christ and the Church and is ordered toward the salvation of souls; specifically, that of the spouses and their children. In light of this the Church teaches that “Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God has joined together; the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its “supreme gift,” the child.” (CCC, 1664)

The Church then, because of the direct teaching of Christ, can never condone divorce and is always desirous of the reconciliation of the spouses. Hence, when spouses obtain a civil decree of divorce, the civil realities of marriage are dissolved. However, the spiritual reality of the marriage covenant continues. This is why “the remarriage of persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the plan and law of God as taught by Christ. They are not separated from the Church, but they cannot receive Eucharistic communion.” (CCC, 1665)

In those cases where divorce occurs, each spouse has the right to approach a Church tribunal in order to establish whether or not their particular marriage was indeed marriage as the Church understands marriage to be. The tribunal for its part will examine the facts of the individual case and seek out the truth of the matter. This is generally accomplished through interviews, written testimony, and documentary evidence. If it is established that the marriage in question was defective in some way, then the Tribunal issues an affirmative decision that would allow the spouses to celebrate marriage anew. The decision of Tribunal in this regard, does not impact the legitimacy of any children that were born of the union.

Finally, Pope Frances in Amoris laetitia uses the word accompaniment to describe the Church’s approach to those who are in irregular marriage situations. Simply put, accompanying someone means meeting them where they are and trying, with God’s grace, to help them move to where God wants them to be. Since the Church, as Pope Francis has pointed out, is to be a field hospital, we must deal with whatever ailments we are presented with and strive to offer the best and most prudent treatment for the benefit of the person’s soul and for the well being of any children.

Each parish in the Diocese of Charlotte is assigned an advocate who assists those who need to access the assistance of the Diocesan Tribunal. Here at St. Mark both Deacon Louie Pais and Rod Brostrum fulfill this role. Both are more than happy to discuss a particular situation and offer advice on how to move forward. Too often individuals fail to realize the Church’s teaching that, even though he or she is divorced, he or she is not, by that fact, separated from the Church. And, in fact, the Church desires to do all she can to restore full Communion for the salvation of souls.