FAILING FAMILIES
Tom told his
friend Alex, “I am going to divorce my wife.”
Alex asked, “Why?
Whose fault is it?
Tom said, “50% of the fault is
my wife’s.”
“Then whose is the
other 50%?” Alex asked.
Tom replied, “That
is her mother’s !”
A little boy was studying his lessons at home. His mother was cooking in the
kitchen. He asked her, “Mommy, can divorce come before marriage?” She said,
“Never.” He continued, "But Mommy, see this book. Here divorce appears before
marriage."
She examined the book and explained with a smile, “But that is a dictionary, dear. It never happens in real life.”
A teacher asked
the students of a Sunday school to list the seven Sacraments
in a note book as part of a test. One student spelt
matrimony as ‘MATRIMONEY’. The teacher asked him why he made this
mistake. He replied, “It is not a mistake. That is the way it should be
written, because many people consider ‘MONEY’ to be the most important component of married life. Financial
problems may disturb a family. Differences in opinion and outlook
are natural when two different persons live together. Problems
can be solved easily by a free and frank
discussion in an atmosphere of love. Instead, minor
problems may grow and assume larger dimensions when others
get involved in it and complicate the situation. Many quarrels which
start on minor issues may flare up, leading to violence or divorce.
Man was created in the image of
God. The first family was created by God in the image of heaven. It is God’s
wish that every family should remain as a heaven of happiness. Real happiness results only when there is close
co-operation and mutual respect between partners. Otherwise the better half becomes the bitter half. In several oriental
Christian churches, during the sacrament of matrimony, the priest adorns both
the husband and the wife with the matrimonial ring. It symbolizes that the
spouse is received from God. Matrimony is thus a union of three - the husband,
wife and God. Marriages are conceived in heaven and celebrated on earth. The
ideal family is an image of heaven.
Husband and wife are equal
before God and have equal rights and responsibilities to make their family a
heaven of happiness. They should render hearty support to each other even
during disappointment, disability, discomfort, distress, disease or
disaster. Matrimony is a sacred sacrament, a source of divine grace.
Marital partners participate in God's act of creation. Their attitudes and
actions should be complementary and not contradictory. The five letters in
the word ‘FAMILY’ represent the first letters of the words in the meaningful
phrase- ‘Father And Mother In Love, Year-round’.
Marital
love is a great gift of God. It should be active year-round. It should be active,
constant, continuous and equally strong during all seasons of the year - lasting
till the last moment of life.
To the Pharisees’ question
about divorce, Jesus answered, “Man must not separate, then, what God has
joined together” {Matthew 19: 4 – 6, Mark 10: 9}.
…………………………………………………………………………
© By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Former
Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue,
Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu,
Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally, Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public
School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Alfeen Public
School, Kanjirappally, Kerala, India. For more moral stories, parables and
anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit
our web-sites:
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