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English Cardinal Vincent Nichols has told married couples that even a broken marriage remains a source of grace for those involved in it.
Cardinal Nichols was speaking at a special Mass at Westminster Cathedral in thanksgiving for the sacrament of Matrimony.
More than 500 married couple celebrating milestone anniversaries attended.
In his homily, Cardinal Nichols said Christ is actively present in every sacramental marriage; he is a partner in it and he is always faithful.
“So we have to grasp the challenging truth that even when the human relationships within a marriage denigrate and break down, something recognised in a civil divorce, there remains in that marriage the Word of Christ, given and never revoked,” he said.
From this arises a demanding and painful question, the cardinal continued: What was the grace of marriage that remains for the spouse in such a situation?
“Perhaps it is the grace of sorrow and repentance, the grace of being able to see and embrace the hurt done through that breakdown and the responsibilities that flow from it?” he said.
“Perhaps that recognition is the first step on the pathway of mercy and of conversion.”
Families are at the heart of the life of the Church, he said, and it was important to remember that neither marriage nor family was ever entirely private or self-contained.
“At every phase of marriage and family life, help is often needed from the wider family or from the Church community,” he said.
The cardinal was speaking four months ahead of the Synod on the Family in Rome, in which he will be taking part.
This week, Pope Francis chaired a meeting of the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops, working on the text of the working document (Instrumentum Laboris) for the synod.
Publication of the working document is expected within a few weeks.
The synod, to be held from October 4-25 in the Vatican is titled “The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world”.
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