The Marriage God Wants for You: Why the Sacrament Makes All the DIfference

Over the years, the celebration of Valentine’s Day has become a huge business for the greeting card, flower, candy, and jewelry industries. If you talk to people in love—whether young or old—you can sense a certain pressure on them to find the perfect gift. They want to find an item that sums up their love and expresses it perfectly.But is there really a gift that can do such a thing? While many people may remember their favorite gift, you’ll find very few who can recall every single Valentine’s Day present.It’s my privilege as a bishop to celebrate significant anniversaries with couples who have enjoyed many years together. Every year, in every church I’ve served as bishop, we have observed a special day with a special Mass for couples marking a significant “jubilee”—a twenty-fifth, fiftieth, sixtieth, or even seventieth anniversary. We typically host this Jubilee Mass in a church that can accommodate a crowd—many couples with their many generations of offspring. It is a day of profound love made abundantly visible, a day of astonishing joy.When I talk with these couples after Mass, I often ask them what they’ve learned through the years and what moments they remember most fondly. Sometimes people will mention a material gift—diamonds or roses—but usually only in passing.I am struck by how many say that the gifts that mean the most are small gestures and quiet, ordinary acts done in love. I hear about the moment of discovery when one spouse suddenly realizes how much the other sacrifices each day. I hear about difficulties endured with a smile. I hear about one person secretly scrimping and saving so that another—or others in the family—can know a greater joy. I hear, again and again, about the quiet, constant giving of time, attention, consolation, and affection, all for the sake of that special someone else.Rings and bouquets are beautiful, but they are not nearly as memorable as an action that rises spontaneously and decisively from the heart... Most people would agree that marriage today is in crisis. What is usually overlookedeven by those married in the Churchis that God intended marriage to be a sacrament. The Lord wants couples to rely on his promise to be present in their day-to-day lives, and he wants to give them the grace to live out a covenantal love that mirrors the love of the Trinity. Rather than simply a defense of marriage, this book presents the good news about sacramental marriage. Cardinal Donald Wuerl uses his years of pastoral experience and his gift of teaching to give hope and courage to both engaged couples and those married for many yearsand to anyone thinking about the meaning or vocation of marriage. Features short vignettes written by married couples living out their vocation in the good and hard times. Useful for marriage preparation or for any Catholic confused about the debates on marriage going on today.