Reflection on August 11, 1982

https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/jp2tb88.htm

Wives are not to be slaves to their husbands. If that is the understanding that people take of this Scripture, then they are not seeing the whole. Although they are to be subordinate, that does not take away any of their dignity. And the way it needs to be seen is in the context of a relationship with Christ. Husband and wife, both, are to have a deep understanding and strong relationship with God so that they can fulfill these roles in the way that the Scripture describes. If that relationship with God is not there, then yes, the idea of subordination can and probably will be abused. The husband is to love the wife like Christ loves the Church. That is not a love that would force of person in a slavery or persecution, but one that wants what is best for the other, will sacrifice for the other. Both sides are subordinate to each other then. But without an understanding of Christ and His relationship with the Church, the analogy is lost.

It feels like I go back to this point that the decline in marriage follows the decline of God in the public view, but it seems to fit here as well. If we are to understand the relationship between a husband and wife, the subordinate and the sacrifice, then we must have knowledge of Christ and the Church. If you take Christ out or distort His relationship with the Church, you will misunderstand and distort the analogy. For those in the world that deny God or have no use for religion, marriage will become less and less a necessary thing because sacrifice and subordination are negative things that have no benefit to them whatsoever. They are self centered and only care about what feels good at that moment. But even to the Christian, the one that says they don’t need religion, or the non-denominational, how do they interpret this analogy? When the analogy is husband to wife as Christ to the Church, but your view of Church is something abstract, how can you get any semblance of a correct interpretation on the analogy? The analogy only works if there is One Church the Christ is committed to because Christ teaches a husband is only to have One wife. Any understanding that multiple churches can all be Christian and feel the understand fully the union in marriage is trying to fit square pegs in rounds holes.