|
In the
light of this heavenly marriage, we can see earthly marriage as a time of
perfecting ourselves: a preparation for eternity. Here we drown our
selfishness with selflessness. Here we make right use of our God-given human
freedom and free will by ordering it towards serving the other in radical
self-gift. Adam and Eve's sin of disobedience cost us Paradise, but - "Oh
happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a
Redeemer!" - Christ's victory over sin won us more blessings than those lost
through Adam's sin (CCC 420). We are now offered divinity through an eternal
one-flesh union with the God-Man drawing us right into the divine Communio.
He's Preparing You
Make no mistake; you are in preparation for
marriage. For most, matrimony is the Sacrament preparing you for the eternal
marriage with Christ. For others, it is beginning the eternal marriage with
Christ directly through consecrated celibacy (priest, religious, or
consecrated laity). This celibacy "for the kingdom" cannot be reduced to a
personal rejection or renunciation of sex. It is a marriage (free, full,
faithful, and fruitful), a one-flesh union with Christ, here and now, in
anticipation of the eternal wedding. The preparation for both Matrimony and
consecrated celibacy, though, begins at the moment of our conception until
the moment of our vow, right in our own family.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "It
is imperative to give suitable and timely instruction to young people, above
all in the heart of their own families, about the dignity of married love,
its role and its exercise, so that, having learned the value of chastity,
they will be able at a suitable age to engage in honorable courtship and
enter upon a marriage of their own" (CCC 1632).
The sacred duty of parents is the procreation
and education of children. This education is both in faith and reason - "the
two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth"
(Fides Et Ratio, Introduction). The essence of maturity is the
internalization of our formation. The external rules, structure, or ethic
taught in our childhood steadily becomes the internal ethos of an adult.
Imperfect obedience driven by fear must become perfect obedience driven by
love-love of God and love of neighbor.
Continue article on next page
Return to start of article
|
|
