There is a term known as "marriage" that has been tossed around quite a bit recently by the US government and politicians. Just for some clarity let's look up the definition of the word "marriage" in the dictionary. In my book it says, and I quote, "marriage – (noun) the formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife." In other words, two persons of the opposite-sex are formally committed to one another and are united by a wedding ceremony and legally binding contract. Within this union the husband and wife are bound together by their vows of everlasting love. This gives the couple the opportunity to bring about new life into this world under the promises that they shall remain together as a family. In essence, it means the two shall become one flesh out of love for each other.
Pope Francis recently affirmed this as the church’s
teaching of marriage between one man and one woman in his 82-page encyclical,
originally started by Pope Benedict XVI, stating, “This union is born of their
love, as a sign and presence of God’s own love, and of the acknowledge and
acceptance of the goodness of sexual differentiation, whereby spouses can
become one flesh and are enabled to give birth to a new life.” (Click here to read more.) As you can see,
the union of marriage is meant for the purpose and intention of creating life;
which in turn, creates a family.
Keep in mind, if God wanted two persons of the same
gender to be united He would have only created one gender in the first place
that could reproduce homosexually or asexually. But that is not the case. Instead,
God created two beautiful genders of the human race that compliment one another
with their bodies to produce life. Naturally, a man and a woman are meant to come
together on a very intimate level for reproduction. This physical bond between
husband and wife is essential for any marriage to thrive. If the marriage is
not consummated then it lacks in fulfilling the wedding vows. And although true
love is not always physical, the physicality of love is a big part of romance—especially
within a marriage. This special type of romantic bonding is found only in the
relations between a man and a woman.
Along with that, a child raised from a
traditionally married couple is also secured with a relationship between parents
of both genders. It is very important for the growth, well-being, and physiological health
of the child to have both a mother and a father figure to look up to. With
that said, God has clearly given us the perfect example of a typical family
demonstrated by His own Holy Family. The Holy Family is made up of a (male) husband,
(female) wife, and child that we all know as Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Christ,
respectively. Even though Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father, he was Mary’s
earthly spouse and helped raise the Christ Child with Mary. As Jesus grew up
within the family He learned life lessons from both of His loving parents and
carried out the fruits of their love in His ministry on earth.
This is how the family unit is meant to be—a
supportive and loving union containing a husband, wife, and child/children. However,
satan wants to twist the holiness of marriage and change it so it no longer
revolves around true love or the family. Marriage is the glue that binds
families together. If we let satan break apart marriage through divorce or the
dilution of a true marital union, between husband and wife, it breaks apart the
family. Just as Blessed Pope John Paul II said, "As the family goes, so
goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." This is the
devil's plan—to destroy marriage, in turn, destroying the family and our whole
world as we know it.
That is why we must pray for our Church the
sanctity of marriage to be upheld in the United States and in the rest of the
world. People need to be reminded of the beauty and holiness of marriage
between one man and one woman. Marriage is supposed to be a beautiful, sacred,
and holy experience of two lovers joined intimately by Christ's love. Marriage
is an institution, founded by God, to unite a male and female in the sanctity
of their love for one another. That is why marriage is considered to be a
Sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church known as Holy Matrimony. I, myself, hope
to one day be married in the Catholic Church with the man I love under the
Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. I believe many other people want this too! In
order to preserve and protect the sanctity of Matrimony we need to uphold our
values as Christians and be steadfast and true to our beliefs on marriage.
Below is a passage taken from the statement of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops response to the Supreme Court's decision on DOMA on June 26, 2013:
Today is a tragic day for marriage and our nation. ...The common good of all, especially our children, depends upon a society that strives to uphold the truth of marriage.
Marriage is the only institution that brings together a man and a woman for life, providing any child who comes from their union with the secure foundation of a mother and a father.
Our culture has taken for granted for far too long what human nature, experience, common sense, and God’s wise design all confirm: the difference between a man and a woman matters, and the difference between a mom and a dad matters. While the culture has failed in many ways to be marriage-strengthening, this is no reason to give up. Now is the time to strengthen marriage, not redefine it.
When Jesus taught about the meaning of marriage – the lifelong, exclusive union of husband and wife – he pointed back to “the beginning” of God’s creation of the human person as male and female (see Matthew 19). In the face of the customs and laws of his time, Jesus taught an unpopular truth that everyone could understand. The truth of marriage endures, and we will continue to boldly proclaim it with confidence and charity.
