(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, during which he continued his catechetical reflections on the nature and purpose of marriage in the order of creation and in the Divine plan of salvation. This week, the Holy Father focused specifically on Christian marriage as a Sacrament: an efficacious sign of God’s love for each and every person, for all humanity and for the whole world, a means of grace, and a genuine way of living our common baptismal call to holiness.“Christian marriage is that sacrament which builds up the community of the Church and of society,” explained Pope Francis through an interpreter in the English-language synopsis of the main catechesis, which he delivered in Italian. “Marriage has been inscribed in creation’s design by God, and, by his grace, countless Christian men and women have lived married life fully,” he continued.
The Holy Father went on to describe marriage as an act of faith in God’s plan for humanity and an act of selfless love. Drawing on the writings of St. Paul the Apostle, the Pope focused especially on the duties of husbands to their wives, saying that married love is an image of the love between Christ and his Church, and that a husband is therefore to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, by giving himself completely for her. “When a man and a woman marry in the Lord, they participate in the missionary life of the Church, by living not only for themselves or their own family, but for all people,” explained Pope Francis. “Therefore,” the summary continued, “the life of the Church is enriched through every marriage which shows forth this beauty, and is impoverished when marriage is disfigured in any way.”
Pope Francis concluded his remarks by saying that every couple which faithfully and courageously lives the grace of this sacrament assists the Church in offering the gifts of faith, hope and love to all people, and helps others to experience these gifts in their married lives and their families. He prayed that married couples everywhere live this mystery ever more fully, trusting in God’s tenderness and the Church’s maternal care.
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