Since the Gospel today is about a wedding reception, a few thoughts about today’s attitudes and practices surrounding this universal and enduring aspect of life. Recall that Jesus had to separate the 10 virgins into 2 categories. Some were wise. The others were foolish. The wisdom of the wise had to do with being prepared. What were they prepared for? In fact, they were prepared because they did not assume that everything was going to run smoothly. They were prepared for a bridegroom who wasn’t prepared. He was either lazy, unorganized or perhaps he was just detained. Perhaps, he was such a great guy, that on the way, he saw a fellow traveler and helped him change his broken chariot wheel. Whatever it was, it made him late. Whatever it was, the wise maidens were prepared for the unexpected. Obviously, life has many unexpected delays and setbacks. It’s foolish to pretend that everything always goes the way we want. This is part of the reason making little sacrifices in our daily lives gives us a virtue we all know as patience. Accepting little sacrifices helps prepare us for life’s bigger disappointments. They help us with what we call “delayed gratification.” It’s a time-tested honored virtue, that unfortunately many lack.

Did you know that Pope John Paul II has written more pages on the topic of marriage than all the previous 263 popes combined? Much of what he wrote is a collection of talks called The Theology of the Body. In these talks he frequently refers to marriage as the “primordial sacrament”. It is wise to consider why this is so important. We should contrast it with the phrase, the “source and summit of our faith”. That’s the Eucharist. But calling marriage the “primordial sacrament” indicates that although Adam and Eve didn’t have a church to go to, they had each other as husband and wife. Before the “fall” marriage consisted of only one act, the “marriage act”. But because we must believe in sin, today, marriage consists of two acts. One, in the church, the other behind closed doors. Unfortunately, our weakened state called concupiscence, often rips apart what should be bound together.

One of our wonderful American bishops has written 6 pastoral letters which need everyone’s attention. You will find Bishop Strickland’s letters at: https://www.dioceseoftyler.org. He writes.... “As your spiritual father, I feel it is important to reiterate some basic truths that have always been understood by the Church from time immemorial, and to emphasize that the Church exists not to redefine matters of faith, but to safeguard the Deposit of Faith as it has been handed down to us from Our Lord Himself through the apostles and the saints and martyrs... The Sacrament of Matrimony is instituted by God. Through Natural Law, God has established marriage as between one man and one woman faithful to each other for life and open to children. Humanity has no right or true ability to redefine marriage”.

The story behind the story of Bishop’s words is quite significant for us today. Most important is appreciating the motivation behind the bishop’s letters. Do you appreciate the declining milieu in which he writes? (I’ve always liked that word, “milieu”, I could have said “environment” but milieu always makes you sound smarter, notice I said, “smarter” not wiser). Do you see how far we’ve fallen from our Catholic ideals that a bishop has to publish a letter with such basic elementary points like this? Are you part of the recovery of the Sacramentality of marriage or are you part of the deconstruction of this primordial supernatural vision?