By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ
“This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of 'her man' this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. Genesis 2:23-24
He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” Mark 10:11-12
Piety
“It is not good for anyone to be alone.” Truer words cannot be found anywhere when we realize that the companion of life most needed is Christ. All roads of life lead to Christ. The Christ of each other’s heart is found in the goodness of love. Again and again St. John repeats that where so ever there is love God is there. The fullness of God’s love humanly speaking is the life death and the resurrection of Christ which we are all joined to by the love of our hearts. So spouses and children are the fullness of God’s love found in family and the goodness of family is the human equivalent of the mystery of Trinity. Blood relationships speak the depth of God’s love for us in the very sacrifices of members of family for each other that recall the shedding of Christ’s blood on the Cross. It is the blood shed on the cross that wipes us clean of our sins when we use the Sacraments. Family sacrifices relive Christ’s dying for us. Sacrifices that partake of the sacrifice of Christ remind us that there is no greater love than to give one’s life for the sake of another. Christ’s death gives meaning to all the sacrifices of love in our life. Love gives us a claim on the lives of each other. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us.
Study
Our togetherness with Christ grows by our study of the Scriptures. Christ tasted death for everyone that we might be consecrated to him by our gazing on the Cross of our salvation. Love cannot be forced on anyone. We have to open our hearts to Christ that his love might be one with our love for him. In Heaven we will become what we see in Christ. Here on earth we become what our love joins us to by our oneness with Christ in our sacrifices. We study Scriptures to discover how to be the presence of Christ in our lives. Christians are called not just to be like Christ, but to be real Christs. Not everyone who calls his name belongs to Christ. We must live his word to be his presence to others in our lives.
Action
The superficial oneness that is seen in our world today shows itself in divorces. Separations in family life put strains on togetherness. To ask forgiveness when oneness is offended seems logical. Yet divorces and family breakups are signs of the shallowness of the oneness that brings people together. The intimacy that comes with oneness needs to be worked on if it is to be real. We build walls up around the activities of our lives. Sharing meals together requires seeing family as a most important part of life together. It is not too much to ask family to take as many meals together each day as is possible. Making the effort to be together at mealtime makes Eucharist out of the family meal. Sharing the something special about each day opens up the heart to greater oneness. We have to become like little children with each other if we want to save family life in our country where more than half the marriages end in divorce. Children live the moment they are in with joy. We bring joy by wanting to be with each other. When separation lends enchantment, it is not because it is good for the soul to be apart from those we love; rather it is because when we come back together we realize so much more concretely how good it is to be together.
