From the Bishop
Marriage: Called to the Joy of Love
“There is within each couple a divine energy of love.” “World Marriage Day” began in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1981 and grew out of the experience of couples engaged in the “Worldwide Marriage Encounter,” a movement founded in Spain – “Encuentro Conyugal” – by the late Father Gabriel Calvo (1927-2021), who devoted his entire priestly ministry (1952-2021) to the pastoral care of married couples and families. “There is within each couple,” he reflected, “a divine energy of love. It has to be released by a deep sharing between husband and wife, through the communication of their feelings and of the whole of their lives together. It cannot be done in just one moment.”
A Message from
BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M. Pope St. John Paul II imparted his apostolic blessing to “World Marriage Day” in 1993, and it has been celebrated in the world’s dioceses ever since. Its purpose is to honor husbands and wives for their mutual sacrificial love and fidelity, embodied in “their own special Sacrament.” The Church has always believed and taught that marriage is the “image” of the union of Christ with his Church. The late Pope noted that “marriage is an act of the will that signifies and involves a mutual gift which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls with whom they make up a sole family, a ‘domestic Church.’” That expression continues to be widely used and applied. Here in our own Diocese, following the lead of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “National Marriage Week” and “World Marriage Day” help us to focus on building a “culture of life and love” that begins with supporting and promoting marriage and the family. The theme for this year’s celebrations is “Called to the Joy of Love.” The USCCB has produced a document “Pastoral Framework for Marriage and Family Life,” which can be viewed on its website: usccb.org/topics/marriage-and-family-life-ministries/pastoral-framework-marriage-and-family-life-ministry. Our Diocese has also produced excellent resources on its website: dioceseoftrenton.org/marriage-strengthening-initiative. Every year in October, I celebrate
Corpus Christi Church, Willingboro. Staff photo
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his year, the Church in our country and in our own Diocese celebrates “National Marriage Week” (Feb. 7-14) and “World Marriage Day” (Feb. 13) in tribute to husbands and wives as the foundation of the family, the basic unit of society. When we think of marriage, words like love, faithfulness, trust, sacrifice, forgiveness and perseverance and many other values come to mind. For us in the Church, the idea of Sacrament and covenant embraces all those expressions as we consider the loving and graced relationship of one man and one woman in a union that is faithful, fruitful and forever. No other partnership equals this blessed gift of our Creator, present from the beginning of the world.
PRAYER FOR WORLD MARRIAGE DAY Father William Dilgen, SSM Father, as we prepare for World Marriage Day, we thank you for your tremendous gift of the Sacrament of Marriage. Help us to witness to its glory by a life of growing intimacy. Teach us the beauty of forgiveness so we may become more and more One in Heart, Mind, and Body. Strengthen our dialogue and help us become living signs of your love. Make us grow more in love with the Church so we may renew the Body of Christ. Make us a sign of unity in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Brother. Amen.
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February 2022
THE MONITOR MAGAZINE 5