Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
The gospel reading today provides an excellent look into the hope of a heavenly future. In this narrative, we see Jesus accosted by the Sadducees, who are merely seeking proof that there is no resurrection through the lens of marriage. However, Christ uses this same lens of marriage to reveal the even greater reality of life in heaven. He tells us that “…those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.” To many, this statement can seem quite shocking, even possibly scandalizing. After all, marriage is one of the most important sacraments of the Church! However, Jesus is not trying to downplay the beauty of marriage by saying that it will not exist in heaven, but rather demonstrating how marriage prefigures the beauty of heaven. This point is key to the proper understanding of the sacramentality of marriage. It has been reflected on by numerous Catholic intellectual giants, most notably St. John Paul II in his Theology of the Body. In this work, he reminds the reader that when marriage is properly lived out on Earth, it becomes a mirror through which we can see the spousal love of Christ for his bride, the Church! In this understanding, Christ’s words become much easier to process, for we see that the only reason that marriage naturally ends in this life is so we can experience the even greater unity that we share through our union with Christ in eternity. Thus, when the marriages of this world pass away, we will have the fullness of love from Christ, the eternal bridegroom of the Church.
Reflection by Patrick, seminarian
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections