Recently the bishop of Shrewsbury spoke up staunchly in favor of the union of marriage and urged his congregation to do the same, during a homily delivered on February 15th. Providing some compelling arguments in favor of holy matrimony, the Rt Rev. Mark Davies spoke before a mass for married couples at St. Columba’s Church recently, contending that the increasingly taboo subject of marriage was damaging to society.
The Bishop implored his congregants, comprised of married couples celebrating a range of anniversaries, some celebrating up to 65 years of marriage to one another, to speak up in favor of marriage and to support it. Bishop Davies called upon the Church to, “rebuild a culture of the family based on marriage.” He pointed out that teachers are often now afraid to teach the traditional marriage model to students, in part as a measure of respect to students’ backgrounds, but due in large to the trepidation and taboo nature that marriage has adopted as of late, according to Davies.
Davies elaborated further, stressing the urgency of the issue, contending that,”the Church may well find herself amongst the last voices in society whole-heartedly speaking for the family based on the strong foundation of the lasting, life-giving, faithful union of one man and one woman.” Davies explains that the breakdown of families is not only financially but socially harmful to our society as a whole, but more specifically for young people who are experiencing and being shaped by splitting families. Davies even addressed the shifting landscape in politics, urging our political leaders to hold true to the values of the traditional family model.
The message is really driven home as the mass was held before a wide range of couples, who’s combined years of marriage was said to total over 2,500 years cumulatively, really highlighting a poignant note about the age old institution of marriage. You can read the full copy of Bishop Davies’ sermon here.
