Family In Crisis 

   “As the highest peak of love in the human order is the unity of husband and wife in the flesh, so the highest unity in the Divine order is the unity of the soul and Christ in communion." (Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen) 

   The family is in crisis in this nation, and I believe that will be the downfall of our society and nation if it is not corrected.  The family is the building block of the nation, without it no country, no society can survive.

   It has become the norm for men and women to choose to simply live together in a marital relationship but without benefit of marriage.  Without the commitment of the vows and promises of a sacramental marriage, these arrangements often fall apart for the most insignificant of reasons. 

   Furthermore, even when married, many consider it expendable if they “fall out of love.”  Rather than trying to save the marriage they simply give up and divorce.  They give up on one of the greatest blessings of God.

   The family also suffers from the rise of non-traditional “marriages”, those not between one man and one woman.  This too is evidence of the breakdown of the family.  “God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.  God blessed them and told them “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth:…” (Gen 1: 27 – 28).  Only in a marriage between man and woman can there be the fruitfulness God intended.

   Marriage is to be the image of the relationship between God and mankind.  It is to be loving and forgiving.  It is to be lifelong, a covenant between the husband and wife, recognizing that there is a third entity involved, which is God.  If it is not this it is like “…a man who built a house  on the ground without a foundation.  As soon as the river burst against it, the house collapsed and was completely destroyed.” (Luke 6: 49)

   The family is the building block of society, and it is the image of the Church.  Without it, society will fail and all of Christianity will mourn.