“What God has joined, men must not divide.”

“May God, who has begun this good work in  you, now bring it to fulfillment.”

Most people will hear these words at one point or another, whether in their own  Nuptials, Ordinations, or Religious Professions.  It is important, because it shows that God must be involved in your life.

“What God has joined, men must  not divide.”

“May God, who has begun this good work in  you, now bring it to fulfillment.”

Both of these statements show that God is involved in all things.  God brought the bride and bridegroom together, just as he brought that man or woman to lie prostrate before the Altar during the Litany of Saints.  God brings us together.  He creates a new family, for, as Genesis states “Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh.”  In a Nuptial Mass, the Man and Woman leave their respective families and create a new one.   A man leaves his family, marries the Church, and his parish or community becomes his family.   A woman leaves her family, marries Christ, and her religious community becomes her new family.   For the women religious, this new family can be so new that they are given a new name!  We all have families, and we will all leave our families at one point or another, for our new families.

Let us remember that we cannot divide these new families, for God, in his infinite wisdom, has started this good work in all of us and will bring it all to fulfillment.