The redefinition of marriage in Canada has caused so much scandal and confusion that marriage, as a concept, is in danger of becoming bankrupt. As the terms of the debate strain under the weight of politics and punditry, the only sure and irrefutable argument for marriage has become marriage itself.
Of course, the beauty of marriage is its own defence. When two people of the opposite sex commit themselves, first to each other and then to the children that come naturally from such a union, many contrary elements are brought together in harmony: male and female, love and friendship, joy and sacrifice – all through the commitment of the two spouses to live as one flesh.
The mystery of man and woman has an answer and, although the answer cannot be told, in marriage, it can be touched. The complementarity of the sexes is revealed in its fullness only in marriage.
This story of the union of one man and one woman should be the prologue to every human life. It is the birthright of every child to inherit a legacy of virtue and fidelity, to be conceived, born and brought up in a habitat of love.
For what better school is there than the family? Should one trust a judge who has not learned justice from a father and mercy from a mother?
Marriage must be defended but, more than that, it must be lived. It must be shown to a culture that has forgotten its meaning and is blind to its rewards. When asked to display her riches, Cornelia, the ideal of Roman motherhood, gathered her children and said, “These are my jewels”.
If we cannot understand this answer today, what riches we have lost.
