Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage by Kimberly Hahn

Author:Kimberly Hahn [Hahn, Kimberly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Anthony Messenger Press, Servant Books
Published: 2011-08-16T16:00:00+00:00

Transformed Thinking

“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Our minds have to be renewed so that we know the difference between what the world expects of us and what the Lord wants of us. This includes a frank discussion about what the Church teaches versus what the world presumes. Here are some primary examples.

First, the Church teaches that, as a rational act of obedience, each act of marriage should be open to life. The world assumes that, if a woman is a thinking person, she will use contraception. If that fails (that is, she gets pregnant), she will choose abortion or at least be sterilized to make contraception permanent for the future.

Second, the Church teaches that marriage is an indissoluble bond: It cannot be broken. The world assumes that marriage is not needed if two people love each other. Further, two people who do marry should be free to end that arrangement and move on to other people.

Third, the Church teaches that a couple should refrain from doing married things until they are married. In particular, cohabitation is not a trial marriage that will bless the relationship. The world says it is common sense to live together as a couple before marriage to find out about compatibility and to save money. If it does not work, then the couple can part ways without an expensive and nasty divorce.

However, cohabiting is much more dangerous than “playing house.” It is trying to live married life without the sacramental graces necessary for it to succeed. In fact, both the man and the woman thwart the graces of Confession and the Eucharist if they are still receiving these sacraments, searing their consciences and hardening their hearts.

No one enters an intimate relationship planning for it to fail; however, cutting off graces needed to succeed will insure its failure. Jesus said. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). As long as we remain connected to Jesus, we will bear good fruit. In the covenant of marriage, we will be blessed with faithful and fruitful love, and in turn we will be a blessing to our children and others around us.

We need to understand what the Church teaches and why. Unlike other denominations of Christians, who have a smorgasbord of theological and ethical choices before them, the Church has given us a unified moral teaching to understand and embrace. We cannot pick and choose what we will believe and how we will live. A woman handed me a note after a presentation: “I had an appointment for my sterilization next week. I’m going to cancel it: The cafeteria is closed!”

We need to understand the truth, so that our obedience is not perfunctory but rooted in our hearts.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.