Mental Prayer for March 5, Marriage, Most Holy

Mental Prayer Meditation Helps

Presence of God

Grace I Ask: To understand what makes marriage holy and to reverence this sacrament.

The Idea: God set out to create man in His own image. But God is love. God first created Adam, but Adam was lonely and incomplete. And then God created Eve to fill this loneliness, for He saw that it was not good for man to be alone. Adam and Eve needed each other, as every man and woman since, to cure their loneliness, and to complete each other so that together they might share in God's power to give new life. For this reason marriage has always been sacred and holy even among pagans.

But Christ made marriage holier still by making it a sacrament - a sacred and holy marriage between a baptized male and a bpatized female). In other sacraments the minister (bishop or priest) confers the sacrament on the receiver. But in matrimony the priest is only a special kind of wit­ness. The bride and groom confer the sacrament on each other. The first wedding gift a Catholic husband gives his Catholic bride and her first gift to him is an increase in sanctifying grace that is meant to last all their lives.

My Personal Application: Do I think of marriage as a sacrament at all? That is, do I think of marriage as a way for me to become holier, more like God Himself? A priest's glory is his sacra­mental power to say Mass and give God's grace to men in confession and Communion. In matri­mony I can share that glory by giving my Catholic spouse God's grace of this sacrament.

I Speak to God:Whether I am a long way off from this sacrament or if I am already married, teach me more about this gift of Holy Matrimony. It may be difficult to realize how it may affect me now, and in the future. Help me prepare with an attitude of reverence for the union you have blessed so richly. Never let me cheapen marriage with a wrong attitude or conversation.

Thought for Today: "He who loves is born of God; for God is love."
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Adapted from Mental Prayer, Challenge to the Lay Apostle
by The Queen's Work,(© 1958)