Marriage is a beautiful vocation which is "written into" our human nature. Most human beings are called to marriage, because as humans we find our fullest human completion in that covenant of love, that special union between a man and a woman. This mutual love of a man and a woman is an image of God's love for humanity and of Christ's love for the Church. The purpose of marriage is twofold: the mutual support of the spouses and the procreation and raising of children.
The Sacrament of Matrimony has a special dignity as a sacrament. Husbands and wives are called to live out their baptismal call to holiness through their self-giving love to each other and to their children. Their "way" to holiness is with and through each other. By virtue of their Baptism, married couples are lay members of the Church. They are called to: "seek the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God's will…. The laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives" (Lumen gentium, #31).
To sum up, married spouses are called to find salvation and help each other to grow in holiness, to give life their children and then to raise their children with love, educating them in their faith. An essential part of their vocation is to sanctify the secular—to bring Christ into every aspect of human life and work in which they are engaged.
The love of spouses and parents requires great generosity, patience, and self-sacrifice. A mother and father's love is exclusive and particular: centered on God, that love is to be primarily expressed through love of one's spouse and children. In his general audience addresses, Pope Francis lists the virtues that spring from a family spirit—virtues which are especially nurtured in the family and which our world desperately needs—loyalty, sincerity, trust, cooperation, and respect.
Pope Francis has a particularly direct and grounded way of speaking about the vocation of the family. He reminds us frequently that the family is called to forgiveness and to share its love beyond itself, to be inclusive: to extend the mercy of God to all of those who are abandoned, who do not have a home, who do not "belong." He encourages families to live their vocations because in so doing, these family values "spill over" into the world.
Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love. That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to grow in faith.
God creates each person in his image, but it is in the union between one man and one woman that God's image is most clearly made visible. How do I understand the beauty, strengths, and challenges that are inherent in married life? Do I feel invited to reflect the love of God through marriage with…?
"It is not good that the man should be alone." I am not called to live my vocation to love alone. How is Jesus inviting me to bring forth new life and to build communion in the world?