Marriage (and Children): The Primordial Sacrament, by Jack Rigert

By Jack Rigert, Catholic Exchange, August 9, 2024

Jack Rigert is a co-founder of the John Paul II Renewal Center, the host of the “Become Who You Are” podcast, a writer, and speaker. Jack was a professional chef and entrepreneur who owned restaurants, real estate, and a financial service company. Dramatic “encounters” with Jesus Christ at his dying brother’s bedside and again in the Eucharist at his brother’s funeral, brought him back into the Church after a twenty-year absence.

Dear Grandchildren,

What a gift you all are, each unique and unrepeatable, yet united as family and sustained by love.

Today I write to you about marriage and children, the Primordial or Original Sacrament. This is a letter that some of you are not yet old enough to read or understand and that’s okay. When you’re ready, this letter will be waiting. In it you will find a timeless truth: the awe and wonder of marriage and children as it was in the beginning. The original model that, despite the effect of the sins of fallen man (men and women), is still the basic building block or cell of every human society throughout history.

Furthermore, it is good to remember, despite the folly and pride of modern man who would like to think otherwise, he did not create marriage any more than he created himself. There was a time, not long before you were born, that this was obvious to everyone.

You on the other hand, are growing up in an unprecedented time in human history. A time when man has redefined marriage, demanded the right to kill their own children, and can no longer define what a woman is. All of this has shaken the very foundation of human civilization all over the world, and you, the most innocent and vulnerable, are experiencing the brunt of the resulting chaos. …