Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ludwig Müller
Part one
1)
Marriage and the family are first of all the primary forms of human
co-existence and, as such, they are part of the message of Christian salvation.
Already in the Old Testament marriage and the family were included in the
divine salvation plan when God made of Israel the elect people: the blessing
for his people is expressed above all in the promise of progeny
(Gen 1, 27) and of a natural community of men and women, of the
matrimonial fidelity which is comparable to Yahweh’s alliance with Israel.
The
act of creation is clearly closely linked to marriage: Genesis refers to human
beings as men and women, whose union responds to God’s will. From the fullness
of his love, God has made of man a creature of love.
2)
Those wishing to understand marriage, should not consider merely from the
sociological standpoint a contract by which two human beings seek to arrange a
common future for themselves. In marriage, man becomes the image of the
relationship between God and mankind and between Jesus Christ and the Church.
No State law can redefine the true value and content of the marriage bond or
subject it to its own terms. In paragraph 48 of the pastoral constitution Gaudium et spes, the Vatican Council II underlines that: “The intimate partnership
of married life and love has been established by the Creator and qualified by
His laws… God Himself is the author of matrimony”.
Already
in 1999, the German bishops had decreed: The most noble statement of the Bible
on the origin and destination of man, i.e. his origin from God and his creation
in the image and likeness of God, is expressed by the union between man and
woman. Both express indeed the mystery of their creator also in their
relationship and through their relationship, not each for him or herself, nor
the whole of mankind, but man and woman inasmuch as they are made for each
other. According to the Bible, God cannot be conceived as a solitary and
withdrawn being, because He is in himself love and exchange, relationship and
love. Therefore, we too are made for love and called to love (German Episcopal
Conference, Ehe und Familie – in guter
Gesellschaft, 1999, trad. lib.).
Christifideles Laici, in paragraph 40,
states: “ The first and basic expression of the social dimension of the person,
then, is the married couple and the
family… this partnership constitutes the first form of communion between
persons”.
3) The
vocation to marriage resides in the nature itself of men and women, who are
created in the image of God. The Scriptures confirm that man and woman are made
for each other: “It is not good that the man should be
alone” (Gen 2, 18). Woman is for man “flesh of his flesh” (Gen 2 , 23), which
in practice means that woman is his counterpart, equal and close to him. This
explains the inseparable union of the lives of both, as Jesus too points out in
explaining God’s original plan: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Mt 19, 6).
4) It
is therefore clear that the marriage bond can be intimately understood only by
the means of theology, of the doctrine of creation and of the sacraments, and
of anthropology. Two human beings who
say “I do” before God must consider also the pledge they are undertaking by
this action. These commitments refer also to their children: parents must be
they themselves the first preceptors who will lead them towards God and the
Church. Here lies the connection with the Christian idea of mankind: “When they
become parents, spouses receive from God the gift of a new responsibility.
Their parental love is called to become for the children the visible sign of
the very love of God” (Familiaris
consortio, 14).
Having
children is not an end in itself: as personal creatures of God, children are
desired and loved. Parents are therefore responsible for their physical
wellbeing and for their spiritual and religious education. As man and woman,
father and mother, they represent a reference to the content of the faith by
virtue of both parents’ natural assonance. Man goes against the Christian ideal
of humanity when he sets himself up to “creator” and he goes against the natural laws of procreation
and the education of children.
2. Teil
5) Its
divine origin removes the family from the dimension of this world. Its
principles are inferred not from social customs, but from the natural
attraction between man and woman, described in the theology of creation. This
original cell in society (“cradle of life”, cfr. also Christifideles Laici), destined above all for a function of education
and growth, must enjoy privileged protection from the State. The failed rooting
of the family in society would mean loosing all the primary structures needed
for the latter’s success. On the other hand, the family offers society a
fundamental service, i.e. the transmission of social behaviour, inclusion in
human and family relations as well as a responsible management of property. The
family’s central role in society is important to us all.
6) For
this reason, it is essential also for the clergy to devote time and energy to
the catechesis for the family. The catechesis for the family not only ties
families and children to the Church, but it also transmits the content of the
faith and the Church’s guidance on life. Let us consider, for example, the catechesis
of the sacraments: it clearly marries
together the life of families and children with the desire for God’s universal
salvation and strengthens the ecclesial community. The Church lives on this
shared responsibility for the upbringing of children in families. Christian
values, the contents of the faith and life in the faith are the elements which
the parish priest brings to families. Furthermore, personal contact with a
family is at the same time a sign of respect for the family itself.
Indeed,
the Church has been described by the Vatican Council II as “God’s family”.
Family
pastoral care will therefore play a central role in the management of a Parish.
Catechesis for the family means defining the future of the Church and of the
faith.
7) As
cradle of life, the family is the original cell for positive and human
coexistence in the entire human family: the family can counter the growing
isolation and dangerous individualistic trends within society. Although we all
live in highly populated countries, our communities have considerable
shortcomings. Few people are still willing to take on responsibilities outside
their own personal sphere. The importance and need for a social commitment
(visits to the sick, help to one’s neighbour), when there is no coverage in the
media and it is not staged for the masses, is recognised only within the
family, which becomes a sort of refuge for the elderly and the sick. Where
else, other than in inter-generational relations within the family, could the
deeply humanitarian principle expressed in paragraph 44 of Familiaris consortio be learnt: “Families therefore, either singly
or in association, can and should devote themselves to manifold social service
activities, especially in favour of the poor, or at any rate for the benefit of
all people and situations that cannot be reached by the public authorities'
welfare organization.”.
There
are manifold duties which fall within the context of family catechesis. For
this reason, the instruction of the Congregation of the Clergy The priest, and the Third Christian
Millennium teacher of the Word, minister of the Sacraments and leader of the
Community of 1999 measures the quality of catechesis on the basis of a
healthy theology, spiritual studies, elegant accurate language and the use of
the new communications’ media (Chapter II). It would be desirable for these
indications to be found in the catechesis for families. The new evangelization
starts from the individual, above all in those families which, with their
children, wish to shape their future..
I
would like to end with a citation from Familiaris
consortio (43): “The
family is thus … the place of origin and the most effective means for
humanizing and personalizing society: it makes an original contribution in
depth to building up the world, by making possible a life that is properly
speaking human, in particular by guarding and transmitting virtues and
"values."”.