It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God.

Marriage is in trouble everywhere, especially in our country with over half of marriages ending in divorce. Our culture, so influenced by Hollywood and materialism, has set about creating a society which no longer values marriage and the family in favor of one which glorifies selfishness, greed, and offers false idols for us to worship instead of God………(Randy Hain:  co-founder of the Annual Atlanta Catholic Business Conference)

Gospel Text: (MT 19:3-12)

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying,

"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?"

He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning

the Creator made them male and female and said,

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother

and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?

So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate."

They said to him, "Then why did Moses command

that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?"

He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts

Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,

but from the beginning it was not so.

I say to you, whoever divorces his wife

(unless the marriage is unlawful)

and marries another commits adultery."

His disciples said to him,

"If that is the case of a man with his wife,

it is better not to marry."

He answered, "Not all can accept this word,

but only those to whom that is granted.

Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;

some, because they were made so by others;

some, because they have renounced marriage

for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.

Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."

No two human beings are made for each other. Every human being is made for God. Marriages are not made in heaven. There are no prefabricated marriages. They are made right here on earth, day by day, by the sacrifices both persons are called upon to make. And marriages are not made by what comes naturally. That is important, of course, but marriages are made by what does not come naturally and that is self-sacrifice.

Marriage is a career. And like all careers it demands long preparation, hard work and self-sacrifice. Marriage is not only a career it is a multiple career. Teaching, for example, is a great career. However, there is no teaching done anywhere, in the elementary, secondary, college or post graduate systems, not all of it put together that can come close to the teaching that is done in the family.

The purpose of the family is to raise human beings. And the function of the Christian family is to raise Christian human beings. And this cannot be subordinated to any other project. There is no substitute for it.