Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church in Deltona shared a recent message from the pastor on the subject of marriage. 

Fr. Christopher Hoffmann noted that in the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians we read about the beauty of marriage. The sacred bond between a man and a woman is meant to help us understand the bond of Christ and the Church.

"It is there that a husband sacrifices his own wants and needs to protect and defend his wife and children," Hoffmann said in the church's Oct. 25 bulletin. "The wife on her part nurtures the man and the family. As each partner sacrifices for the other they find they are not poorer for it, but richer."

Marriage is also a way through which the individuals receive both grace and blessings from the Sacrament of Matrimony and grow in holiness. 

"We know that God has designed marriage to be between a man and a woman for life," Hoffmann said in the bulletin. "He designed marriage for the procreation of human life too. Yet, not every couple can live up to this vision. I have seen the pain of divorce when a couple is not able to sustain their marriage. I have helped couples who are infertile and long for a child they won’t have."

Marriage is under a great deal of stress in the modern day. From the separation of sex and pregnancy to the idea that divorce is a right we have, this sacrament is under fire. 

"Parenthood makes a couple’s sexual relationship fully accountable to society beyond the couple," Hoffmann said. "Governments grant privileges to couples because couples have children. It is that simple." 

On the other hand, homosexual relationships are not able to fulfill a marriage because they lack true sexual complementarity and the possibility of new life.

With regard to what Pope Francis recently said about homosexual relationships, Fr. Hoffmann stated that he believes the pope was not trying to change Church tradition or the nature of marriage; but rather was advocating for decent treatment of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation.