Mark 10: 2
The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him.
I've often heard from priests that one of their joys is officiating at a wedding. Seeing the love shared between the two serves as a true witness to the love of God for us in our world. But in today's world, these long term relationships are slowly becoming less frequent. In some parts of the country, the rate of divorce is as high as 50%. We have seen a trend toward more couple living together before marriage to see if it can work before actually taking the step to marriage. Some reason that it makes more sense economically; others want to have a strong relationship, but don't want to make the commitment to marriage. It's less painful and easier to break the relationship when it's outside of marriage than if it were an actual marriage. In Mark's gospel, chapter 10 we see the Pharisees pressing Jesus about the legalities of marriage and divorce. He taught them that, "what God has joined together, no human being must separate." There are many reasons why couples divorce. Lack of communication, financial pressures, differences of opinions on things. Maybe the relationship was built on a foundation of physical attraction vs. a deeper love. If you have been away from the church because of a relationship that went bad, or that you're ashamed, or that you don't think that the church will accept you back because you were married outside of the Church or have not received an annulment....Do not let these be excuses to stay away. Our Lord wants you to come to him. Come back to the church today.
