July 7.  Arranged marriages.   The group discussed how their own marriages had come about.   Some had been free and some had partners chosen for them.  That does still happen in some case even forced child marriages, but overall our children nowadays are much more free in their thinking and arranging their own marriage partners.  Is that always a good thing?”  Petunia asked. “I wish they would listen more to their elders,” Abel said. 

Reflect, share, act. Scripture:    Read the story how Abraham planned to arrange a marriage for his son Isaac in Genesis 23 and 24.    “Abraham said to his servant, ”Go to my country and to my kindred and take a wife for my son Isaac.”  Pope Francis. Some societies still maintain the practice of polygamy, in other places arranged marriages are an enduring practice.  Many countries are witnessing a legal deconstruction of the family, tending to adopt models based almost exclusively on an individual’s will.  It is right to reject older forms marked by authoritarianism and even violence, yet this should not lead to a disparagement of marriage itself.   AL53