Good morning. “I will pray for you.” is a promise made by another that they will fondly keep us in their heart and in their prayers. It is what we read of Jesus doing for each one of us in today’s Gospel. More importantly, He is not praying that we be well, or that we be good, or wise, or safe, but that we are one. He prays that we may come to know this oneness that He Himself knows in the relationship of the Holy Trinity. We too desire to have this same sense of oneness with each other in marriage.
This desire for oneness is seen in these lines from The Jewelers Shop 
by Karol Wojtyla: “As we ate dinner, Francisco quietly slipped the diamond on my finger. Or so he thought. Though we hadn't uttered a sound, the act which he performed, replete with such universal symbolism, reverberated throught the busy cafe, and, to his embarrassment, all conversations, in whatever language, subsided, and all eyes were on the two of us. Smiles and misty eyes were seen everywhere, and I held my breath, at the sheer power of that life-changing moment. That beginning of eternity. Of oneness. Of new life.”
This oneness we all long for with our spouse is about more than experiencing a physical closeness, it is about being open with each other and allowing ourselves to be truly vulnerable to one another. We attempt to know this sense of oneness with each other through our words together, through our physical closeness together, through the sharing of our joys, fears, and sorrows together, and through a knowing glance from time to time. Alas, the oneness Jesus desires for us can ultimately only be experienced in heaven. Our humanness prevents us from consistently experiencing the oneness we do periodically experience and come to know as husband and wife.
The oneness we experience on our journey as married couples will culminate in heaven. But meanwhile we walk on a journey together striving for that fullness Jesus desires for each one of us. This oneness finds its source in God and as married couples we should help each other experience and know this oneness. One way of doing this is through simply sharing with each other what is on our hearts and what is on our minds and together handing over to God whatever fears, worries or uncertainties we may have. We should pray together. Read scripture together. Keeping our marriage centered around God assures us that we will live our lives for the other. As we celebrate the feast day of Our Lady, Help of Christians, may our Blessed Mother, who stood at the foot of the cross, serve as a model for all married couples for overcoming their fears. May we experience the closeness and fullness that can only be known with God being at the center of our lives. Pope Benedict, in Deus Caritas Est, notes that we can only experience the fullness of another person through the unity of soul and body, that neither spirit nor body alone can love, that only through the blending of the two together can we fully have a sense of oneness together. So, take care of each other’s soul. Pray for each other. Make a great day!
by Karol Wojtyla: “As we ate dinner, Francisco quietly slipped the diamond on my finger. Or so he thought. Though we hadn't uttered a sound, the act which he performed, replete with such universal symbolism, reverberated throught the busy cafe, and, to his embarrassment, all conversations, in whatever language, subsided, and all eyes were on the two of us. Smiles and misty eyes were seen everywhere, and I held my breath, at the sheer power of that life-changing moment. That beginning of eternity. Of oneness. Of new life.”This oneness we all long for with our spouse is about more than experiencing a physical closeness, it is about being open with each other and allowing ourselves to be truly vulnerable to one another. We attempt to know this sense of oneness with each other through our words together, through our physical closeness together, through the sharing of our joys, fears, and sorrows together, and through a knowing glance from time to time. Alas, the oneness Jesus desires for us can ultimately only be experienced in heaven. Our humanness prevents us from consistently experiencing the oneness we do periodically experience and come to know as husband and wife.
The oneness we experience on our journey as married couples will culminate in heaven. But meanwhile we walk on a journey together striving for that fullness Jesus desires for each one of us. This oneness finds its source in God and as married couples we should help each other experience and know this oneness. One way of doing this is through simply sharing with each other what is on our hearts and what is on our minds and together handing over to God whatever fears, worries or uncertainties we may have. We should pray together. Read scripture together. Keeping our marriage centered around God assures us that we will live our lives for the other. As we celebrate the feast day of Our Lady, Help of Christians, may our Blessed Mother, who stood at the foot of the cross, serve as a model for all married couples for overcoming their fears. May we experience the closeness and fullness that can only be known with God being at the center of our lives. Pope Benedict, in Deus Caritas Est, notes that we can only experience the fullness of another person through the unity of soul and body, that neither spirit nor body alone can love, that only through the blending of the two together can we fully have a sense of oneness together. So, take care of each other’s soul. Pray for each other. Make a great day!
Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians. As we turn to our Blessed Mother today in prayer let us ask for her intercession in our battle for religious freedom in our country.
No comments:
Post a Comment