Feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicity

Good morning. In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a culture of self-worship, where much of one’s time and energies are targeted toward attending one’s own wants and desires. “It’s all about me!” A clear illustration of this is seen within social networking; it is less about networking with others and more about getting others to network with me. We see this self-obsession lived out in marriage with partners treating one another as objects to be used and valued only as they are able to attend to each individual’s needs. The pursuit of love becomes a pursuit of self. We read in today’s Gospel that this self aggrandizement comes with a price, in fact Jesus makes it clear that each of us are called to serve, that “whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” The absorption with self in marriage, for that matter within society in general, leaves no room for respect and appreciation for others, or for the common good of the marriage (or society in general). And so it is in marriage, we are called to serve one another, as we cannot truly find and appreciate ourselves but through serving one another. This tendency toward being self-absorbed, to direct our lives in a direction apart from God, from the source of life is self-destructive. To live and serve God we must, in the words of Blessed Pope John Paul II, seek to find God in one another; we must come to know that “God is revealed in the communion between man and woman, for this communion images the love that God himself is.” Where is love? Look to your spouse. Make a great day.

 Today we recall the good lives, gifts, and works of Saints Felicity and Perpetua.