CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE. BISHOP OF LICHFIELD'S PASTORAL LETTER.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 26, Issue 10, 1 October 1936, Page 2

CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE. BISHOP OF LICHFIELD'S PASTORAL LETTER.

The Bishop of Lichfield publishes the following pastoral letter "to all those who desire to be married m any church of the diocese." It is printed m the August number of the Lichfield Diocesan Magazine. "I wish you all possible happiness m the life which you will spend together. God is the great Giver, because God is Love; you may thank Him for His goodness m giving you to each other, and it is His will that you should live together m a happy partnership which will double your joys and halve your sorrows. "You desire to be married m church, and the marriage service is intended for those who accept the teaching of Jesus Christ. It is a very solemn service, and those who seek for God's blessing on their union bind themselves by solemn vows. Each partner takes the ether 'for better for worse . . . till death us do part.' 'Till death us do part' means that, until one of the parties dies, the other is not free, for any cause whatever, to take another partner. "I am sure that you intend, as an honest man and woman, to keep these vows. You cannot be among those who think of marriage as a sort of experiment to be brought to an end at the desire of either party. Those who are not prepared to keep these vows may be married not m church but at a Registry Office. The civil marriage before the registrar is, indeed, a marriage as valid as a marriage m church, a real contract which binds those who make it. But marriage m church pledges a man and woman by vows which are solemnly made before God and man. You will make those vows m a spirit of undying love and loyalty to each other. "It is natural and right that you should look forward with the hope that God may give you the gift and -heritage of children. You will pray for that gift m the marriage service. It is a wonderful thing to be allowed to co-operate with God m bringing

into the world children of His own destined for eternal life. If God should withhold from you this gift, then there is a clear call to offer your time and your work for the help, of others. But it cannot be right to enter upon marriage with the intention of not having children. "In the most intimate relationships of married life there is need of careful self -discipline and of thoughtful consideration, the one for the other. If there should be really good and worthy . reasons for limiting the family, the right means towards that end is self -control. That way may, indeed, be very difficult, but as Christians we know that God is always ready to give us grace and power sufficient for us. "Indeed, marriage, like every other great thing m life, makes strong demands on those who enter into it. It calls for unselfishness, and (sometimes) for real self-sacrifice. God, Who blesses your marriage, will help you to keep your love true and unselfish. And if trouble come, remember that God our Father, will never allow us to be tried beyond our powers, if we will look up to Him and seek strength equal to our needs. . "It is a great and wonderful thing to be made one. In a true partnership nothing is kept back. Share your thoughts and your hopes one with another. Above all, do not be afraid to speak to one another about the highest and greatest things. Pray together, and come to Holy Communion together. If God gives you children, you will remember that the health of their souls, is as importand as the health of their bodies, and the right growth of their character will depend more on what you are, than on what you say."