Holy Family

Holy Family

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Feast of Saint Conrad of Piacenza

Good morning. Jesus in the Gospel this morning reveals to the Apostles what is to become. But the Apostles miss the point of the Transfiguration and have their focus on what is. How true that is for all of us. We often forget that life is but a journey. So too as married couples we can get caught up in wanting to erect our own tents and we lose track of the bigger picture, of where the journey is to take us. We can easily get caught up in what is instead of what we are to become. One of the constant challenges we all have living in a culture that measures life by the amount of stuff we accumulate is maintaining a balanced relationship with that stuff. It is often the case that couples lose track of each other when the focus is upon stuff and when circumstances change and their capacity to maintain their accustomed relationship with stuff falters so too their marriage. When a couple’s commitment becomes disordered and they allow themselves to become focused more upon the things of this life instead of what awaits us, things can quickly crumble when the circumstances change. Our Saint for today offers each of us an example of how we need to avoid having our lives directed by the things of this world. Saint Conrad lived a comfortable life but gave it all to the poor to dedicate his life to prayer and live as a hermit. It is not my suggestion that we all become hermits but that we all could learn to live more simply. Most all of us could likely benefit from making adjustments in the importance we place upon stuff. We all need to remind ourselves that the stuff of this life is entrusted to us and that everything in our lives, including our marriage, is a gift to be given back to the One who provides it. True wealth comes in the accumulation and perfection of love and not stuff. A truly happy marriage comes from caring about each other and realizing that whatever stuff we have means little if we don’t have each other to share it with. Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts and works of Saint Conrad of Piacenza.

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