I still remember the day when I stood before the Altar of God and solemnly vowed to love the woman I chose to be my partner for the rest of my life. That was more than 25 years ago, and today we remain as one in the presence of the Church and our community as a striking testimony to what God’s grace, conferred in the Sacrament of Matrimony, can accomplish in a husband and wife. Carefully guarding and using the divine treasure that was poured out upon us during that fateful day, we can only humbly look up to God’s goodness, watchfulness, faithfulness and plan for us. That two unique individuals can live this long together is, in itself, a miracle.
We live in a world today that has great need of the living sermon and what examples of fidelity, truthfulness, and love can do. To say that living together was easy, spontaneous, and free-flowing, would be plainly and simply untrue. The married way may not always been easy and the road can be long, rugged, and winding and you will have to persevere and endure suffering. Marriage brings a sacramental grace that allows two human beings to carry their cross together, not separately. You learn to give more than you get and learn to put yourself in the other’s shoes.
It is “couple power,” the first lesson I learned during the first hour of our marriage encounter. Facing life together made us dauntless in the face of many problems, big and small, struggles and overwhelming difficulties known only to ourselves and hidden from others that could have made our marriage something entirely different than what it has actually been.
We have every reason to believe that our marriage, as imperfect as it is, still resembles Christ’s love for His spotless Bride, the Church. We have discovered, and continue to learn, that in our married life, we can help each other grow in holiness and patience and that true peace, dignity, happiness and oneness are realities within our reach, together, in Christ alone.
It is “couple power,” the first lesson I learned during the first hour of our marriage encounter. Facing life together made us dauntless in the face of many problems, big and small, struggles and overwhelming difficulties known only to ourselves and hidden from others that could have made our marriage something entirely different than what it has actually been.
We have every reason to believe that our marriage, as imperfect as it is, still resembles Christ’s love for His spotless Bride, the Church. We have discovered, and continue to learn, that in our married life, we can help each other grow in holiness and patience and that true peace, dignity, happiness and oneness are realities within our reach, together, in Christ alone.