Beatitudes for married couples

Much is being said and written about marriage and married couples. One would tend to conclude a priori that marriage today is in an irreversible crisis.

Whether this is the case or not, the saddest conclusion is that several married people are in crisis. They know it and they mostly have themselves to blame for it.

Many begin by corroding the Christian principles and values of married life. They easily fall into the game of hide-and-seek with their conscience, miss out almost regularly on prayer, dread any appeal for sacrifice when needed and are so sure of their day-dreaming that what they need for real happiness is a 'second partner'. Their second marriage would be the ideal one!

It has to be admitted that when God is put aside in marriage, the inescapable conclusion is that marriage will gradually lose much of its God-given sense of happiness, fidelity and real friendship. Indeed married couples have to reflect in depth that God first appeared on the scene of human history in the role of a matchmaker.

What human mind can fathom the depth of love and joy that filled the heart of Adam and Eve in what had to be the first marriage ceremony? It has to be admitted that the concept of marriage originated entirely with God. It was God who determined the way in which Adam and Eve were to relate to each other. The end purpose of their relationship was perfect unity.

When Jesus came to earth to make God known to man, his attitude toward marriage was in perfect harmony with that of the Father. Jesus as the Father opened human history with a marriage; so did Jesus open his public ministry at the marriage in Cana.

Regrettably, nowadays, various concepts and illusions may seriously undermine the biblical foundations of marriage. Secular humanism, for example, presents marriage as a kind of social contract in which the partners are free to dictate their own terms and conditions and to modify - or abrogate them - at will if their feelings change.

No doubt those who approach marriage on this basis will never experience either the physical or spiritual fulfilment that Holy Scripture promises to those who follow its pattern. The passage of time has taught married couples that those entering marriage unprepared and ill-matched are doomed at best to endless frustration, and more often than not to total failure.

On the other hand, a Christian couple, who have allowed the Holy Spirit to mould them and lead them along the biblical path that leads to the wedding ceremony can look forward with confidence to a married life of fulfilment and mutual delight, in richer and in poorer, in better and in worse. Life itself was never meant to be a perpetual bed of roses without thorns.

Our candid advice to all married couples is to reflect on what are the Beatitudes for Married Couples:

¤ Blessed are the husband and wife who continue to be affectionate, considerate and loving through all the days of their life together.

¤ Blessed are the husband and wife who are as polite and courteous to one another as they are to their friends.

¤ Blessed are the husband and wife who have a sense of humour, for this will be a handy shock absorber.

¤ Blessed are they who love each other more than any other person in the world, and who joyfully fulfil their marriage vow of a lifetime of fidelity as husband and wife.

¤ Blessed are they who thank God for their blessings and who set aside some time each day for the reading of the Bible and prayer.

¤ Blessed are they who never speak harshly to each other and who make their home a place of mutual encouragement and love.

¤ Blessed are the husband and wife who can work out their problems without interference from relatives.

¤ Blessed are the husband and wife who dedicate their lives and their home to the advancement of Christ and his kingdom.