Mass at Casa Santa Marta with about 15 couples marking important anniversaries: 25, 50 or 60 years of married life. Pope Francis speaks to them of "the three loves of Jesus: for the Father , His Mother and the Church”. His is a faithful, persevering and fruitful love: "Jesus does not like people who choose not to have children in the name of a culture of well-being”.

Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - Fidelity, perseverance and fertility are the three "elements" for a truly Christian marriage, always keeping in mind as a model of reference "the three loves of Jesus: for the Father, for his Mother and for the Church". This was Pope Francis' reflection this morning during Mass celebrated in Casa Santa Marta. In front of the pontiff , reports Vatican Radio , there are about 15 couples who have reached 25, 50 or 60 years of marriage. An opportunity to talk about love and the sacrament of marriage.

The Pope reflected on the three pillars support the love between spouses: fidelity, perseverance, fertility. The Pope said that the model of reference is "the three loves of Jesus" for the Father, for His Mother, for the Church. Jesus' love for the latter, says Pope Francis is "great": "Jesus married the Church for love." She is "his wife : beautiful, holy, sinful , but he loves her the same". And his way of loving her highlights the "three characteristics" of this love.

"It is a faithful love; it is a persevering love, He never gets tired of loving His Church; it is a fruitful love . It is a faithful love! Jesus is the faithful ! St. Paul , in one of his letters , says : 'If you profess Christ, He will profess you, of you, before the Father ; if you deny Christ, He will deny you; if you are not faithful to Christ, He remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself!'. Fidelity is being of the love of Jesus.  And Christ's love in His Church is faithful . This fidelity is like a light on marriage. The fidelity of love. Always".

Always faithful , but also tireless in perseverance. Just like the love of Jesus for His Bride. "Married life must be persevering, it must be persevering. Because otherwise love cannot move forward. Perseverance in love, in good times and in difficult times, when there are problems: problems with children, economic problems, problems here and problems there. But love perseveres, it pushes onwards, always trying to work things out, to save the family. Persevering: the get up every morning, the man and the woman, and carry their family forward".

The third pillar, "fertility". The love of Jesus, said Pope Francis, "renders the Church fruitful with new children, Baptisms, and the Church grows with this spousal fecundity". In a marriage this fertility can sometimes be put to the test when the children do not arrive, or are sick. Faced with these tests, the Pope said, there are couples who "look to Jesus for the power of fertility that He has with His Church". While on the other hand, he concludes, "there are things that Jesus does not like", or marriages that are sterile by choice.

 "These marriages that do not want children, that want to remain without fecundity . This culture of well-being of ten years ago convinced us , 'It's better not to have children! It's better! So you can go out and discover the world , on holiday , you can have a villa in the countryside, you have no worries ' ... But it is perhaps better - more comfortable - to have a dog, two cats , and your love goes to two cats and the dog. This is true, is it not ? Have you seen this? And in the end this marriage arrives at an old age of solitude, with the bitterness of ugly solitude. It is not fertile, it does not do what Jesus does with his Church: He makes it fertile".

 

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