, says that we are like earthen vessels, sometimes stained, sometimes broken and restored through the opening of our lives and through the giving of that life to others as ordained by the potter, our Maker. In the celebration today of the Feast of Saint James the Apostle we read in 2 Corinthians 4 of this idea of our being like earthen vessels, and no matter the condition of the vessel there lies inside a treasure, the presence of our Lord. We see this concept lived out in a special way in the sacrament of marriage. In marriage, through time we become chipped, cracked and stained but within our hearts there lies a treasure spoken of in today’s Gospel—Christ. A treasure, in the words of the song Earthen Vessels 
sung by John Michael Talbot, not made of gold. A treasure we are assured we will have to suffer and sacrifice for, “My chalice you will indeed drink.” And so it is in marriage we are called to sacrifice, and sometimes we are asked to endure much suffering. In the sacrament of marriage God calls forth earthen vessels, imperfect and fragile clay vessels, to serve him and reflect in their love and in their openness to life the mystery of His salvation and His love for us. We are called forth in the sacrament of marriage to love, and to love is to be vulnerable like earthen vessels. Like earthen vessels we are exposed to injury in many ways and through the years we endure hardship and our exteriors become old and fragile; and we become chipped and stained, but the treasure inside the marriage grows. The treasure grows within us, it grows in the lives we co-create with God, and it grows in the witness we offer to those we share our lives with. Through the intercession of St. James, may married couples, though fragile and imperfect, embrace God’s grace and live out their marriage in a way that reflects God’s Glory. Make a great day!Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Saint James the Apostle.
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