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Show THE STARTING "oiNT OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME j Christian Marriage That Union of j Hearts and Lives Instituted j by God. Here is an effective passage from the eloquent pastoral letter of the recent re-cent Australian Plenary Council: "Thf: foundation ;iml starting point of the Christian home is the Christian marriage that union of hearts and lives which God instituted in Eden, and which the Redeemer of our fallen race restored to its original design and raised to the dignity of one of His seven sacraments "Where the doctrine of Christ on marriage, as interpreted and defended by. His Church, is not held, not only is the ideal Christian femily out of question, but the gravest j drngers threaten the entire fabric of society. Those, on the other hand, who aim at the full realization of the ideal Christian family will look on marriage vith ihe eyes of Christ and Hia Church, and "they will run no risks of not securing their own united and enduring en-during peace and the true welfare of the offspring- that'God may send them, instead of rushing blindly into a life ur.lon through the instinct of a thoughtless passion, they will well consider the choice that may help them to make a union of minds and hearts, to lead a united life in this life as a preparation for an eternal union in heaven.' "The Catholip ' who wishes' to establish estab-lish a home such as we contemplate will make it a chief point in his choice that his life partner share his faith. Forbidden to him will be those unions, unfortunately frequent among us in Australia, 'where the interests of faith are set aside for sordid interests or wordly advantage, in which those whom God's ordinance has joined together to-gether cannot worship at the same altar -nor -unite -with' their ehiMren in praying to their Father in heaven. His aim should be : to create in his heme a sanctuary of domestic peace and Christian virtue, not a school o indifferentism and worldliness. His idea of the inauguration of married life agrees with Tertuliian's, who said, seventeen, hundred years ago: 'Who can express the happiness of that marriage which the Church approves, which the sacrifice (the Mass) confirms, con-firms, and which blesing seals? Angels An-gels announce it. and the Father ratines.' rati-nes.' ('ad uxorem lib. 2 cap ult'). "We would impress on the minds of both clergy and laity the necessity of leaving nothing undone to enhance the sanctity of marriage. The places where it cannot be, as it should be, celebrated with the nuptial Mass are now very few in Australia. We beg of the clergy to b instant in missions of parochial instructions, in setting before the people peo-ple the high ideals ofdhe Church on marriage, and the beauty of them. Once the people become familiar with them, the blot on our Catholicity of I mixed marriages will soon- be removed, re-moved, and these undesirable unions will be thought of by. such oniy as are Catholics merely in name."' |