Marriage Amendment Campaign (2012, Year B)

[The key opportunities, explicit in the Scriptural readings of the day, are August 26 and October 7, as noted below; other possibilities are suggested. This list is not exhaustive; it is a prospectus for the year, indicating a range of opportunities. Nor does it imply that a homilist would employ each opportunity, which are relatively independent of each other.]

Feb. 12 – Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time; World Marriage Day

The First Reading, Psalm, and Gospel speak of healing – an opportunity on World Marriage Day to speak of the healing potential of the loving, committed relationship of marriage for the spouses, who witness to the healing love of God for the world, in imitation of Christ’s selfless love (Second Reading).

 

Feb. 26 – Lent I

The First Reading from Genesis speaks of the faithful covenant love of God, which is mirrored in married love.

Mar. 4 – Lent II

The First Reading from Genesis 22, the testing of Abraham, speaks of the blessing of children and the promise of a future for the Chosen People through their descendants; one might speak of the ongoing value of children as a blessing and a hope for the future today as well.

Mar. 11 – Lent III

The First Reading from Exodus 20 recounts the Ten Commandments; as John Paul II noted in the Theology of the Body, the sixth commandment recognizes the social importance of human sexuality, marriage, and family, which must be protected in the community’s laws. In the Gospel (John’s version of the Cleansing of the Temple), John notes that Jesus knows human nature well, an opportunity to speak to the unchanging foundation of the natural law, reflecting God’s plan for creation.

Mar. 25 – Lent V

As on Lent I, the First Reading from Jeremiah speaks to the theme of covenant love.

Holy Week and Easter provide some opportunities to recall John Paul II’s point in the Theology of the Body that Christ’s sacrificial love as our great High Priest is also the spousal love of the Bridegroom for his bride, the Church (see TOB, audiences of 8-25-82 and 9-8-82)

May 6 – Easter V

Both the Second Reading and the Gospel speak of the importance of “remaining” in Christ as branches on the vine; one might speak of the value of stability and received Tradition within the Church.

May 13 – Easter VI; Mother’s Day

Both the Second Reading and the Gospel speak of authentic love that lays down one’s life for another, and so bears fruit, as Christ shows from the Cross.

June 3 – Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday may be an opportunity to speak of how marriage, open to love and to life, mirrors the exchange of love within the Communion of Persons that is the inner life of God.

July 8 – 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Both the First Reading from Ezekiel and the Gospel address the need for individual faith to accept revealed truth. The message of truth may may be heeded or resisted, but the prophetic voice must announce the truth entrusted to it by God.

July 29 – 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Second Reading (Ephesians) speaks of the challenge to “preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”; though members of the community may disagree, and it might be easier to go our separate ways, unity in the Body of Christ is a responsibility given to us.

Aug. 19 – 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Second Reading from Ephesians challenges us: “do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord” as we strive to live the Gospel in difficult times.

Aug. 26 – 21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Second Reading, Ephesians 5:21-32, is the classic Pauline text that speaks of the “great mystery” of the spousal relationship as a sacrament of the relationship between Christ and the Church. In the Gospel, Jesus acknowledges that his teaching includes “hard sayings” and raises the question of our freedom for each person: “Do you also want to leave?” The Church’s consistent teaching on the nature, unity, indissolubility, and fruitfulness of marriage is one of the “hard sayings” of today. Like the Eucharist, these truths are a gift that invites us more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s sacrificial and spousal love. We need to choose whether we respond to that invitation, but we cannot make it something it is not.

Sept. 2 – 22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the Gospel, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees: “You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition” – an opportunity to draw the distinction between the changing trends of human societies and cultures and the consistent commandments of God.

Oct.  7 – 27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The First Reading is the classic text from Genesis about the creation of man and woman, and the two becoming one flesh. The Gospel is about indissolubility of marriage: “What God has joined together, no human being must separate.” This is an opportunity to speak of the origins of the Church’s convictions on these issues. While we must adapt our presentation of the truth to be effective in evangelization, we may not separate, select, or omit various aspects of revealed truths to be accepted in accord with the tenor of the times.

Nov. 4 – 31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time

This is the last Sunday before Election Day. The Gospel challenges us to love both God and neighbor. We may often experience a tension between these requirements of love, a challenge we respond to with prayerful prudential judgments made from an informed conscience.