Praying for Marriage
As we await two
crucial Supreme Court decisions about the definition of marriage, their
importance can not be overstated. In the
battle for marriage, we have had victories and defeats. We have been told that same-sex “marriage” is
inevitable, but even in the midst of that analysis, it was beaten back in
liberal Illinois.
The Supreme Court,
if it denies states’ rights in the marriage controversy and creates a universal
right to same-sex “marriage,” as it did with abortion in 1973, will alter the
nature of the battle forever.
As Catholics we
know that no political body can create a right for either abortion or same-sex
“marriage,” but it can affect laws with regard to these things and shape
culture for generations.
It is easy for us
to get discouraged over the breakdown of culture and the family, and even throw
our hands up in despair, but we must resist the temptation to do so. We must also understand the implications of
the Supreme Court’s decision.
If the court gets
this wrong, unlike abortion, which eventually we will win back in the law, with
marriage it would be almost impossible to do so. There will be no place to go in which
marriage is still rationally defined and nowhere from which to start a cultural
revolution.
It is true that the
Church will never cave on this issue; neither will most evangelical Protestant
groups. But we can imagine the mainline
Protestant communities falling like dominoes.
We know that we
will be victorious in the end, but there is no guarantee that the United States
of America will be around to witness that victory, nor do we know how many
casualties there might be along the way.
With all this at
stake, we must pray in anticipation of the Supreme Court decision. And if it does go badly, we must continue to
pray. After all, all things are possible
with God. What seems hopeless to human
wisdom is not beyond His power.
I suggest a novena
to St. Valentine, who gave his life defending the Sacrament of Matrimony against
the Roman Empire. May his prayers join
with ours to implore Jesus, the Divine Bridegroom, to touch the hearts of the
Supreme Court justices so that the institution of marriage, the foundation of
civilization, may be preserved.
