St. Paul (Acts)

Brethren, I speak to you of a mystery, one long hidden and now revealed: the sacred bond of marriage, which is not only a covenant between man and woman, but a sign—a great mystery—of Christ and the Church.

Have you not read what was written from the beginning? “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound—and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church (Eph 5:31–32). Marriage, therefore, is not a mere arrangement of convenience or flesh, but a holy participation in the love by which our Lord gave Himself up for His Bride.

Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her—not in word only, but in deed, laying down His life that she might be sanctified, cleansed, and made glorious, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. This is no shallow affection but the full offering of self, sealed in the obedience of the Cross.

Wives, submit to your husbands as the Church submits to Christ—not in fear, but in reverence. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Yet understand, this headship is not lordship of domination but of sacrifice, of service, of love that stoops to wash feet and dies to give life.

Do not be deceived, brethren. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Marriage is a covenant, not to be broken, a reflection of the eternal union between our Lord and His holy Church. Just as Christ is ever faithful, even when we are faithless, so must husband and wife remain bound in love, through hardship and joy, that they may bear witness to the fidelity of God.

This union is fruitful, not only in children, but in holiness. For in the daily trials of life, through forgiveness and patience, the married grow in sanctity. Their home becomes a small Church—a domestic Church—where the Gospel is lived, and the love of Christ is taught, not only with lips, but with lives.

So walk in love, as Christ loved us. Submit to one another out of reverence for Him. Be imitators of God, and let your marriage proclaim the mystery of divine love, until the day when all things are consummated in Christ, and the great marriage feast of the Lamb is revealed to every tongue and tribe and nation.

Grace be with you all. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, the Total Gift of Self is not a suggestion—it is the way of Christ, the way of the Cross, the way of love. It is to lay down everything—your body, your time, your comfort, your plans—and say with your whole life: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

When I met Him on the road to Damascus, I was thrown to the ground—not just in body, but in pride. And in that blinding light, I saw that to follow Jesus is to die to self and to live entirely for Him. Not partway. Not conveniently. Totally.

Look at Him—Jesus, who gave Himself for us while we were still sinners. He held nothing back, not even His own blood. That is the measure of love. That is our model.

So if you marry, do so as Christ loves the Church—fully, faithfully, fruitfully, and freely. The husband gives himself for his wife; the wife gives herself to her husband. This is not a transaction. It is a sacrament—a sign and participation in the great mystery of Christ’s self-giving love.

But whether you are married or single, rich or poor, young or old, the call is the same: Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Rom 12:1). This is your spiritual worship. This is the Total Gift of Self.

When I was shipwrecked, stoned, imprisoned—none of it stopped me. Why? Because love compelled me. Christ compelled me. And when you give yourself totally to Him, no suffering is wasted, no act is too small, no moment is meaningless.

The Total Gift of Self is not just for the brave or the strong—it makes you brave and strong. Because you no longer live for yourself, but for the One who died and rose for you.

So I urge you—run the race. Fight the good fight. Pour yourself out like a drink offering. And when the end comes, you will know you have loved as He loved: with everything.

Brothers and sisters, hear this mystery: from the beginning, God made them male and female—not in rivalry, not in opposition, but in union. This was not by accident, nor by mere necessity of flesh. No, it was the plan of the Most High, who formed humanity in His own image. As it is written: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). And so it was—male and female He created them, in the image of the triune God.

This unity is not simply of body, but of heart, of will, of love. It is a reflection of the divine communion—the eternal fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three Persons, one God. So too, man and woman, though distinct, are called to become one flesh (Genesis 2:24), one covenant, one life. In their love—when it is pure, when it is self-giving—they proclaim something greater than themselves: the mystery of divine love poured out.

I have seen with my own eyes what this love can do. I have walked the roads of Antioch and Corinth, and there I have met women like Lydia, who opened her heart and her home to the Gospel, and men like Aquila, who alongside his wife Priscilla, toiled for the Lord’s kingdom as one. Their unity in mission flowed from their unity in love. This was no sentimental affection. It was a bond forged in prayer, in sacrifice, in Christ.

Yet let us be clear: unity does not mean sameness. The hand is not the eye, nor the ear the foot, but all are of the body (1 Corinthians 12). The Spirit bestows many gifts, and likewise, God has endowed man and woman with unique graces—not for competition, but for cooperation; not for pride, but for the building up of the one body.

And now, beloved, I urge you to live this unity not only in marriage, but in every relationship. For when you bear with one another in patience, when you choose love over pride, mercy over judgment, then you reflect the love that has no end.

This is no mere ideal. It is the Gospel lived. For Christ, the Bridegroom, gave Himself for the Church, that she might be radiant and spotless. In this gift of self, the deepest meaning of love is revealed: to pour oneself out for the other, even to the cross.

Brothers and sisters, hear this: the covenant of marriage is not a contract between two, but a holy bond before God—a mystery, reflecting the union of Christ and His Church. What God has joined, let no one tear asunder.

Do not be deceived by the customs of the age, which chase after comfort, abandon the cross, and mock commitment. For love is not found in ease or emotion alone. It is found in faithfulness. The kind that endures suffering. The kind that bears wrongs. The kind that stays.

Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church—giving Himself up, not when She was perfect, but when She was still lost. Wives, love your husbands with reverence and grace, not as servants, but as companions in holiness. Let both offer themselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.

This kind of faithfulness is not small. It is heroic. It is the daily dying to self for the sake of another. It is enduring hardship and persevering in hope. It is forgiving not once, but always. For we do not reflect Christ by power or perfection, but by patient, enduring love.

Some of you are suffering in your marriage. You feel wounded. You feel unseen. Know this: God sees. He is near to the brokenhearted. And in some grave situations, it may be necessary to step away for a time, not to dissolve what was made holy, but to preserve life and seek healing. Separation, in such moments, is not abandonment of the vow but a shield raised in hope. A circuit breaker, that the fire may not consume the house.

Yet do not walk the road of faithfulness alone. Pray. Enter into conversation with the Living God. Cast your cares upon Him. Let your hearts be renewed by the Spirit, that you may find strength not your own. For prayer is the breath of faith, the fuel of love, the voice that cries, “Lord, help me to love as You love.”

And do not forget the power of resurrection. We are a people of the risen Christ! Death is not the end. Neither is failure. God brings life from the grave. He makes all things new. Even marriages that seem lost.

Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed. Be faithful in small things. Be faithful in suffering. Be faithful as He is faithful. For when your love endures, when it reflects the self-giving love of Christ, it becomes a light in a darkened world—a testimony to the God who never leaves, never forsakes, never fails.

To Him be glory, in your homes and in your hearts, both now and forever. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, bought at a price (1 Cor 6:19–20)? Then honour God with your body—yes, even in its fruitfulness, for fertility is not of man’s design, but of God’s. It is His gift, His blessing, and His call to participate in His creative love.

From the beginning, it was written: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28). Not as a burden, but as a benediction, spoken into the hearts of man and woman, who were made in the image of God and joined together as one flesh (Gen 2:24; Eph 5:31). In this union is revealed a great mystery, not merely of bodies but of Christ and His Church.

Yet I fear, as the serpent beguiled Eve with his cunning (2 Cor 11:3), so too the world now deceives the hearts of many. It whispers: “Your design is flawed. Your body must be managed. Your fertility is a problem to be solved.” So many, having ears, do not hear. They treat the body’s generative power as an illness to be suppressed, its cycles as errors to be corrected. They seek not communion, but control.

Contraception, my beloved, is no mere tool—it is a sign of mistrust. It is like a man who, when offered a precious gift at the feast of Christmas, shoves it aside unopened. What offense does this cause to the giver? So it is with God, who knows us better than we know ourselves. To reject fertility is to say, “You do not know me, Lord. I know better.”

But what does the Scripture say? “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children like olive shoots around your table” (Ps 128:3). And again, “May the Lord give you increase, you and your children” (Ps 115:14). Children are not burdens, but blessings; not weights, but witnesses to God’s generosity.

And let us not forget the woman clothed with the sun (Rev 12), who cries out in labour even as the dragon seeks to devour her child. Her struggle is not shameful—it is glorious. For fertility, like the faith, is battle. It demands trust, endurance, and sacrifice. But oh, the reward!

This is why the Church teaches rightly about Natural Family Planning. It is not abstinence born of fear, but discernment guided by love. It honours the rhythms of creation and the dignity of the marital bond. It requires a husband to know his wife—not only in passion, but in patience. It asks both to submit themselves to the Lord’s timing, not their own.

Therefore, I urge you, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2). Trust the Giver. Honour the gift. Walk in holiness. For in receiving fertility with gratitude, you walk not as children of the flesh, but of promise. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, hear this: marriage is not a contract written in ink, but a covenant sealed in the life of Christ. As a man cleaves to his wife and the two become one flesh, so Christ has joined Himself to His Church — never to abandon her, but to love her to the end.

When a husband and wife enter this Sacrament, they enter a friendship with Christ Himself. He does not stand apart, watching from a distance, but walks beside them on the road, showing them how to love with a patience and mercy beyond their own strength. Without Him, love falters in the storm; with Him, it becomes steadfast as a pillar in the temple of God.

You know the “fight or flight” that rises in the human heart when trials come. But I tell you: stand firm. When hardship strikes, do not flee the field. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. If one falters, the other must lift them up. To show solidarity with a spouse in suffering is to stand where Christ stood — at the side of the weak, the wounded, the poor in spirit.

If children are given, see that they are raised not merely in your own likeness, but in the likeness of God. Your marriage is the soil in which their faith will grow. Speak truth to them. Let your home be a place of life and love, a living icon of the Holy Trinity. Just as the Father loves the Son, and the Son returns that love in the Spirit, so must husband, wife, and child dwell in a communion that reflects Heaven itself.

Do not forget: you have been given free will, and with it the power to bless or to wound. Choose daily to serve your beloved, even when it costs you. Love is not proved in comfort but in sacrifice.

I have run many roads and faced many dangers, yet I tell you this: marriage is a race worth running to the finish. Christ, the Bridegroom of the Church, is the prize — not only for one, but for both, together. If you endure, if you forgive, if you love as He has loved you, you will cross the line hand in hand, welcomed into the marriage feast of the Lamb.

Therefore, I urge you: hold fast to one another. Let no wind of trial tear you apart, for the Lord Himself has joined you. And what God has joined together, let no man separate.