Faithfulness, perseverance and fruitfulness: these are the three characteristics of the love that Jesus has for the Church, his Bride. And these are also the characteristics of a true Christian marriage. Pope Francis said this in his homily at the Mass celebrated on the morning of June 2nd in Santa Marta. Fifteen couples, with fifteen stories about married life and families begun 25, 50 and 60 years ago before an altar, gathered before Pope Francis’ altar to thank God for the milestones they’ve reached.
 
This scene, unusual for the chapel at Santa Marta, offered the Pope the occasion to reflect on the three pillars necessary to support conjugal love: Faithfulness, perseverance and fruitfulness. The reference model—he says—are the “three loves of Jesus” for the Father, for his Mother and for the Church. Jesus’ love for the latter is "great." says Pope Francis: "Jesus married the Church for love." She is his Spouse: beautiful, holy, sinful, but He loves Her all the same." Now, the way He loves her—said Francis— shows the "three characteristics" of this love: "It is a faithful love. It is a persevering love. He never tires of loving his Church. It is a fruitful love. It is a faithful love. Jesus is the faithful one. St. Paul, in one of his Letters, says that, if you confess Christ, He will confess you before the Father; if you deny Christ, He will deny you; yet, even if you are not faithful to Christ, He remains faithful, for he cannot deny Himself! Faithfulness is the very essence of Jesus’ love. Jesus’ love for His Church is faithful. This faithfulness is like a light shining on marriage. The faithfulness of love. Always." Always faithful, it is also untiring in its perseverance, just like Jesus’ love for His Bride. "So often," Jesus forgives the Church and in the same way—notes Pope Francis—in a couple it is also sometimes necessary to "ask for forgiveness," and so "conjugal love progresses": "Conjugal life must be perseverant; it must persevere. Otherwise, love cannot progress. Perseverance in love, in good times and in difficult times, when there are problems: problems with the children, financial problems, problems here, problems there. Yet, love perseveres, progresses, always trying to work things out, to save the family. Perseverant, the husband and wife get up every morning, and carry the family forward."
The third characteristic is "fruitfulness." Jesus‘ love—says Pope Francis—"makes the Church fruitful, giving Her new children, Baptisms, and the Church grows with this spousal fruitfulness." In a marriage, fruitfulness can sometimes be put to the test, when children do not come or are sick. In these trials—says the Pope—, there are couples who "look to Jesus and draw on the power of Jesus‘ fruitfulness with His Church." While, on the other hand—he concludes—"there are things that Jesus does not like," that is marriages that are sterile by choice: "These married couples don’t want children, and they want to remain fruitless. This culture of well-being convinced us ten years ago: ‘It‘s better not to have children! It‘s better! So you can go out and get to know the world, you can go on vacation, have a villa in the countryside, and be at peace‘ … Maybe it‘s better, more comfortable, to have a dog, a couple of cats, and the love goes to those two cats and the dog. Now, is this true or not? Have you seen this? Then, in the end, this married couple reaches old age in solitude, with the bitterness of bitter loneliness. It is not fruitful; it does not do what Jesus does with his Church: He makes Her fruitful."