Starting from a positive hypothesis: marriage is indissoluble

Marriage is a huge controversy right now. It also happens to be a subject of academic exploration for me presently. So, here is another extract from a position paper on marriage as a sacrament I recently wrote. It is offered as beginning from a positive hypothesis, which is the only Christian starting point. There will be a follow up on the other essential property of marriage: unity.

"The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptized," this is how the church defines marriage in the first paragraph of Canon 1055. Marriage has two essential properties "unity and indissolubility" (Canon 1056). In Christian marriage these two properties "obtain a special firmness by reason of the sacrament" (1056).

The scriptural view of marriage leaves no doubt about its indissolubility. In scripture, we first encounter marriage in the second chapter of Genesis as part of the second creation narrative found in the first inspired book. In this narrative woman is fashioned by God out of the rib of man as a "suitable partner" (2.20). Hence, the two are flesh of one another’s flesh and bone and of one another’s bone. This is truly what the sacramental bond of matrimony is. The sacramental nature of marriage is taught to us by Jesus himself in his dispute with some Pharisees. Jesus is asked by the Pharisees if it is legal for a man to divorce his wife (Mark 10.2). Jesus answers a question with a question: "What did Moses command you" (10.3)? They responded correctly by saying that Moses permitted a man to divorce his wife simply by writing "a bill of divorce" (10.4). It is crucial to note that there was no question about whether a woman could divorce her husband, under the law of Moses she could not. Nonetheless, Jesus levels the playing field, but he does so in a striking and unexpected way, by looking deeper into the law. He tells the Pharisees that Moses only allowed them to divorce due to "the hardness of [their] hearts," but that it was not so from the beginning (10.5-6). He then quotes Genesis: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), and the two shall become one flesh," he then adds the words that immediately follow the exchange of vows in the Rite of Marriage, "[w]hat God has joined, men must not divide" (2.24; Mark 10.7-8; par. 25). Stated clearly, "Christians are called to be faithful witnesses in a world where commitments are too often unfulfilled" (Preparing for Marriage in the Diocese of Salt Lake City 1).

Rebecca, writing over on Faith's Mystery, has some sobering observations about the passage of Proposition 8: California Prop 8 Backlash. On a not so unrelated note, today is Dorothy Day's birthday. Here is a quote taken from Deacon Greg's lovely post, written by one of her biographers, Jim Forest, on this Christian woman: "Dorothy was sometimes criticized for being too devout a Catholic. How could she be so radical about social matters and so conservative about her Church? While she occasionally deplored statements or actions by members of the hierarchy, she was by no means an opponent of the bishops or someone campaigning for structural changes in the Church. What was needed, she said, wasn't new doctrine but our living the existing doctrine. True, some pastors seemed barely Christian, but one had to aim for their conversion, an event that would not be hastened by berating them but rather by helping them see what their vocation requires. The way to do that was to set an example."

Tomorrow is the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Doin' the Jimmy Carter

This is just too cool not to post on a Friday because it's all about the dancing. The real question, the one asked on Politico by Daniel Libit, is "Can 'The Daily Show' Survive Barack Obama?"

A charism for the Church and for the world

Today I received, via e-mail, a letter from Fr. Carrón to members of Communion and Liberation, which is also posted on-line. The letter was about his experience participating in the recently concluded Synod of Bishops, which took as its theme: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church. Along with several other celini, I posted his intervention at the synod.

What I want to pick-up on from the letter is the takeaway, which arises from a three-part consideration of the history of our charism, given by the Spirit to Fr. Giussani, which is a "charism for the Church and for the world":

"Today we are called to become more aware of the aim for which the Spirit gave a charism to Fr. Giussani: to contribute along with all the baptized to the building up and renewal of the Church for the good of the world. Following His usual method, God gives grace to one person so that through him it may reach everyone. We shall be unfaithful to the nature of our charism if the gift we have received is not shared with everyone, inside and outside the Church. So each one of us must find out in his own circumstances how best he can contribute to the good of the Church. There are many ambits in which many of us are making Christ present with astonishing freedom and boldness. This presence of ours in real places where man's life goes on must not fall short. At the same time, though, we are asked at times to collaborate inside the Church, too. Many of you have been giving this contribution for some time—as catechists in the parish, by charity work and other forms of collaboration— and we must be found more and more available where our presence is asked for and welcomed. This contribution cannot but be in accordance with the nature of our charism, which finds its complete expression in witness."

I also want to write a little about School of Community and what it is. School of Community has been described as "a weekly catechetical gesture". The school lasts an hour, but there is often fellowship before and/or afterwards. Through the reading and discussion of texts in light of our experiences, School of Community aims to give participants "a clearer understanding of the nature of the Christian fact". The texts are by Msgr. Luigi Giussani or from the teachings of the church. Presently we are just beginning to read Is it Possible to Live this Way?: An Unusual Approach to Christian Existence, vol 2, Hope, by Giussani.

Fr. Carrón tells us that we only require three things for School of Community:

1. Our heart
2. the books of Father Giussani (ie, the method) and
3. Christ.

It doesn't depend on anything or anyone else, so we have our freedom, and no one can limit us or our freedom to do it because I have all I need and you have all you need.


Four Points To Work On in School of Community

An intelligent reading of the text, attentive to the way it relates to things, to the judgments it generates, to the reasons it gives.

Communication of your experience (everything can be brought in), in comparison with the text.

A culture that develops. Your motivations and criteria must spring up from within the nature of the experience and not from outside. The more you penetrate into the event that has made us grow, and the more you follow, the more intelligent you become.

The synthesis made by the leader. He communicates how his experience has developed during the event that is the School of Community.



(Thanks to Paul over on Communio from whom I borrowed heavily for my description of SofC and the CL US website, particularly the School of Community page)

Barack H. Obama, President of the U.S.

By an overwhelming majority in the electoral college, Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. It is important to keep in mind that his victory in the popular vote is not as big as that in the electoral vote college, though a convincing one. He is elected in a critical time for our country and for the world. Let's pray that he is up to the task. There are concerns, as there are with any leader, but let us pray for him, especially as his decisions effect fundamental issues, like human life, marriage, and family.

Rocco, writing over on Whispers, offers a few thoughts on Vice President-elect Joseph Biden, who is the first Catholic vice president of these United States.

As Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete said back in 2004:

"We do not have the problem, or the mission, to construct a bridge between faith and politics. We do not have this problem. To have this problem and to attempt to solve it, already violates our humanity. Every single attempt to build this bridge has been a weakening of faith, or a betrayal of the Incarnation. And historically, there have been many attempts."

More on marriage

In their 2006 statement on marriage, Married Love and the Gift of Life, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops observed that couples "considering marriage yearn for certain things". At root their longing is the human longing for unity, for completeness, for happiness. The object of their desire, whether they know it or not, is well-expressed by the Psalmist: "As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God" (Ps. 42.1). In his Exposition on Psalm 42, St. Augustine opines that the one yearning for the face of God is not "one individual," but the "One Body," which is "Christ’s Body," the church.

Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete asks how do we see the church’s unity "with our eyes" and "grasp it with our hearts as a reality, as a verifiable fact of life, as a unity that makes us long so strongly for a vision of the face of God" (Traces, vol. 8 2008, pg. 51)? His answer, taking a cue from Genesis (2,24), is found in the fifth chapter of St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians: "'For this reason a man shall leave (his) father and (his) mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church" (5.31-32). It is through holy matrimony that "the unity between God and His people becomes a visible reality in this world" (Traces, pg. 51).

This is an edited extract of a position paper on marriage I have been working on this month.

Marriage and memories

This serves two purposes: a follow-up to a post over on Is It Possible? and a belated Friday traditio because Fred and Ginger in Shall We Dance? is worth passing along. Since it is All Souls, it is also a paen to those with whom I used to watch such movies. Here's to your memory Verena and Isabelle!

All Saints Day

Holy Mary, Mother of God- pray for us
All holy men and women- pray for us

Today is a day which we remember all saints, but especially those holy women and men who are known only to God. Their anonymity makes them particularly beloved of God in whose radiant light they dwell, which enables them to intercede for us.