Don't Be Afraid of Marriage: Pontiff to Engaged Couples

Sept. 13, 2011: Benedict XVI is inviting couples to be confident in embarking on the path of matrimony, saying they should not be afraid of the "great mystery," in which two persons become one flesh.
The Pope said on September 11when he visited Ancona to close the 25th Italian National Eucharistic Congress. He finished the one-day visit by meeting with a group of engaged couples.
After one couple addressed some words to him, the Holy Father responded with an encouraging address on the beauty of human love and awareness of the challenges it faces.
He promised that both God and the Church are close to couples as they prepare for marriage, and acknowledged that problems with finding a stable job make it difficult to take on the commitment of marriage.
"Do not lose courage in face of the needs that seem to extinguish joy at the table of life," he said. "At the Wedding of Cana, when wine was lacking, Mary invited the servants to go to Jesus and she gave them a precise indication: 'Do whatever he tells you.' Treasure these words, the last of Mary's taken up in the Gospels -- virtually a spiritual testament -- and you will always have the joy of the celebration: Jesus is the wine of the celebration!"
The Holy Father exhorted the young couples: "Do not give up on pursuing the lofty ideal of love, which is a reflection and testimony of the love of God!"