‘Catholicism 2.0’

MADISON  Over the millennia, the understanding about the nature of marriage in the Bible has changed considerably — and even included permission for couples to divorce and remarry in the time of Moses. But it was Jesus who brought the world the fully evolved truth about marriage, including its unbreakable bond — “What God has joined together, let no human separate.” Today, the Church continues to promote those long-standing — and now countercultural — truths about marriage, including that God created it to give couples unceasing joy and a foretaste of heaven that awaits them.

That’s the hopeful message that Brian Honsberger, assistant diocesan director of evangelization, recently gave to an enthusiastic audience of Catholics, during his talk, “The Evolution of Marriage in the Bible,” at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard. He spoke about the different types of marriage detailed in the Bible and the type of marriage that Jesus calls us to practice and promote in our lives: one that is free, total, faithful and fruitful. Honsberger’s presentation was part of his new Bible-based series, “Catholicism 2.0,” which helps participants deepen their knowledge of faith.

“In the Gospel of Matthew, immediately following Jesus’ death on the cross, an earthquake tears the veil of the Holy of Holies at the Jerusalem Temple — alluding to the moment in an ancient Jewish wedding when the husband lifts the veil of his bride. It symbolizes that Jesus is marrying humanity,” said Honsberger, husband of Eniola Honsberger, diocesan director of Family Life. “Marriage in the Christian tradition is relational — with the husband, wife and children — just like the Holy Trinity — with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Couples always need to keep God at the center of their marriages, which symbolize things to come — their marriage with him as the end of their lives with total receptivity to his love,” he said.

But the Judeo-Christian view of marriage evolved over the millennia. It started at the beginning with Adam and Eve, when God ordained that man should not live alone. Later on, the Jewish laws of marriage changed, when Moses permitted divorce in an effort to protect women from their husbands. Back then, marriages were considered covenants, not contracts, and marriage therefore ended only at death. Honsberger quoted Rabbi Moses Maimonides, who suspected that Moses allowed divorce because the husbands of that era were killing their wives to end the otherwise unbreakable marriage covenant. Hence, in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus says, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but from the beginning it was not so,” he said.

Depending on the era in the Bible, the Israelites viewed marriage as a contract — a legal agreement between spouses that can be broken, when they break its terms or when it expires — or a covenant — an unbreakable and life-long promise between them made before God. In the Book of Hosea, the Lord declares his commitment to the covenant that he made with the Israelites, even though they have been unfaithful to him by worshipping other gods. By maintaining that promise, God prepares his chosen people for the long-awaited coming of Jesus and his restorative laws about marriage, Honsberger said.

In the New Testament, Jesus brought the understanding of marriage to its full evolution. In the Mt 19: 2-12, he responds to questions from the Pharisees by declaring that marriage is an unbreakable bond between spouses.

The Catholic faith teaches that a healthy, fulfilling marriage has four major characteristics: it is free — each spouse giving to the other without reservation; it is total — each spouse fully giving themselves physically, mentally and emotionally; faithful — each spouse remaining true to each other; and fruitful — each spouse open to the possibility of having children. While it promotes marriage as “til death do us part,” the Church also recognizes that illicit unions can be annulled and that spouses in abusive relationships should be able to obtain a civil divorce to protect themselves and their children, said Honsberger, followed by a question-and-answer session.

The talk about “The Evolution of Mar­riage in the Bible” continued Honsberger’s ongoing “Catholicism 2.0” series, which he debuted last fall and designed for Catholics with an intermediate or advanced knowledge of the faith. His first presentation in October focused on Soteriology, the study of salvation in Catholicism. The next session is “Where Does the Bible Come From?” and will be held on Monday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s. Then he will speak on “Should Catholics Tithe?” on Monday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m., at St. Paul’s. Honsberger will examine the many types of tithing in the Old Testament and also the financial practices that Christians in the New Testament practiced to replace tithing.

“  ‘Catholicism 2.0’ gives Catholics some of the more complex nuances of the faith, not sound bytes. It gives them big theological and historical lessons on issues that are often oversimplified,” Honsberger said. He noted that the series builds on “Catholicism from Scratch,” a St. Paul’s formation series that is geared for Catholics, who are beginning to grow in their knowledge of the faith.

One attendee of the talk was 22-year-old Rachel Merino of Catholic Campus Ministry at the College of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station. She previously attended a presentation by Honsberger about St. John Paul II’s teachings of Theology of the Body.

“Marriage mirrors the Holy Trinity. This [view] will help me in choosing a husband, who is looking for the same thing: a marriage with God at the center,” Merino said. “With ‘Catholicism 2.0,’ I’m learning new things about the faith, religion and the Bible. It’s awesome,” she said.

Chris and Peg Buck, a married couple from Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish, Cedar Knolls, said they learned about the evolution of marriage from a contact between a man and a woman — or woman’s family — to a covenant with a man, woman and the Lord. Peg Buck said, “The idea of marriage as a covenant squares with our understanding of marriage and our commitment to our own.”

“With ‘Catholicism 2.0,” it’s nice to delve deeper below superficial understanding of our faith tradition,” said Peg Buck.

[Information: (973) 377-1004 or go to http://insidethewalls.org/events/catholicism-20-where-does-the-bible-come-from.]