MARRIAGE
“‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I am speaking about Christ and the church.” -Ephesians 5:31-32
It’s an understatement to say that marriage is important. As St. Paul says, God instituted the Sacrament of marriage to be a tangible sign of His love for us, His Bride, the Church. Furthermore, it was designed by God to communicate our design and our destiny through the desire of our hearts to be in union with one another. It’s mind-blowing.
If marriage is designed to be a huge flashing arrow pointing us to God, then it makes perfect sense why it’s so aggressively attacked. “If we want to know what's most sacred in this world, all we need to do is look for what is most violently profaned.” — Christopher West. This attack started all the way back in the garden.
So, marriage is hard. And it doesn’t stop there. Because if we are Christians, then it means we are Christ followers. It’s easy to follow Christ into the resurrection, but we are also called into Christ’s Passion. Marriage isn’t excluded from that. As joy-filled as the Sacrament is, it’s meant to refine us, stretch us, and help us grow in love and communion with the Lord. If we can allow marriage to lead us through the cross, we can have great hope of following Christ into the resurrection.
This is GOOD NEWS. We may just need a little help along the way. Below are two resources we can’t recommend enough…
Theology of the Body has been instrumental in our journey of preparing for and living out the Sacrament of Marriage. Christopher West, and all the men and women at the TOB Institute, have our deepest gratitude for the work they do in spreading St. Pope John Paul II’s life-changing teaching.
The Messy Family Project is a new addition to our resource list, but we have fallen fast in love with their mission as well! They have all kinds of creative ways to help married couples and families live out our Catholic faith with joy.
