August 22. MARRIAGE WEEK 1, 21st Sunday.  Husband and Wife are like Jesus and the Church.  Fr Rodney had decided that during these weeks he would focus his homilies on the sacrament of marriage and its practical aspects. He started by saying, “In the last century much has changed in the roles of men and women, within their marriage and in all aspects of life.  Women’s liberation has given women far greater freedom, but has also had a great impact on the men.  Each couple has to resolve the balance for themselves in all the areas of their relationship, their roles, their work, money, time and friends. Who is the boss in your home?  How comfortable are you both with the situation? Among animals in nature too it is interesting to observe the roles of the male and female. Sometimes it is he and sometimes she who appears to be the boss and their commitment may or may not be for life.  I invite you to give this important scripture passage serious attention.

‘Give way to one another in obedience to Christ.’  Ephesians 5: 21-32.

Pope Francis.   Every forms of sexual submission must be clearly rejected. This includes all improper interpretations of the passage in Ephesians 5:22 where Paul tells women to be subject to your husbands.  The passage mirrors the cultural categories of the time, but our concern is with the revealed message that it conveys. ‘Love excludes every kind of subjection whereby the wife might become a servant or a slave of the husband.  The community or unity which they should establish through marriage is of a reciprocal donation of self, which is also a mutual subjection.  JPII 1982) AL156  

Questions for SHARING AND ACTION  – for couples, individuals or groups. 

  • What does (my) marriage in the Catholic Church really mean to me?
  • How can I support married couples for the good of the Church and society?
  • As a married couple what contribution are we making to Church life?  Are we acting responsibly, to one another,  our  children and the community?
  • Is there something we can learn from the roles of male and female in animal families?

Conclude with a moment of prayer

For more on the MARRIAGE IN OUR WORLD OF FAMILIES programme go to https://marfam.org.za/category/family-matters/?swcfpc