Reflection on August 25, 1982

https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/jp2tb90.htm

Christ as the head of the Church which is the body. The two are organically connected and cannot be separated. Just as the husband is the head of the wife who is the body, the two cannot be separated. They are, as we have already seen from the beginning, one flesh. Thus the marriage bond, the conjugal union, the vows, the commitment, join husband and wife together in one body, one flesh, a head and a body. Why does the Catholic Church not accept divorce? It would be saying that a body can be beheaded and still survive. It would be saying the head does not need the body, the body doesn’t need the head. Once the two are joined, they are not to be separated. Separation of the body from the head would lead to death. But I don’t think the problem in our culture is divorce as much as it is marriage preparation. If people knew more about the commitment before marriage, they would think more and not get married unless they were truly committed. Not that people shouldn’t get married, they should. They should just be better prepared. Marriage is already declining because people see it as unnecessary, they are cohabitating more, being sexually active before marriage, having multiple partners. All of these things have negative effects on the culture. Traditional marriage, entered into by a man and a woman that are educated on its importance and its indissolubility, is what the culture needs.

SJPII is talking about the sacramentality of marriage as it relates to baptism, as Christ washes the Church of its impurity, so the husband is to wash the wife. I was unclear as to whether this “washing” takes place during the wedding as a new baptism (sacrament changes the two, two become one flesh, part of that is the washing clean) or if it is something that the husband is supposed to continue to do. The husband, as the head, is to continually wash the wife clean of what stains her. It is the husband who is to sanctify his wife, making her ready for God, to present her at the end of all things as worthy to enter Heaven. Boy, I don’t know if I come close to that. I know I am doing better than I used to, but when you think that you are to be continually baptizing your wife by your actions as a husband, to be continually purifying her in preparation for God, continually drawing her away from what takes her away from God, it is a lot to think about and commit to. It is a lot to digest and reflect on. It is a lot to reflect on in your own actions and what you are doing to guide your wife. I have never seen a marriage as a constant baptism of purification, but I will try to draw on that the next time I know I am not being a good head.