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eMatrimony.org Supporting, Encouraging, and Challenging the WWME Community |
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| Resources - Miscellaneous Marriage As Sacrament Fr. Bob McDonald This morning I felt the joy of Easter as I looked at my people celebrating the Eucharist. The Eucharist is one of the Seven Sacraments. We say that Jesus gave us several signs of His great love for us, His bride. In the Eucharist, we believe He is really pre-sent, and that in Communion we receive His Body and Blood. We say that these Seven Sacraments give grace. That means that they have the power to heal, to make right, to forgive the past, and give us help on our journey with Christ through suffering and death, and bring us back to life with Him. Marriage is one of these Sacraments. When a man and woman stand at the altar in the presence of the priest, the representative of the believing community, the Church, they begin a journey of becoming a visible sign of the presence of Christ. Husband and wife, by their vows, make a covenant. It is a life-long commitment to love each other, as Christ loves His people. Their covenant love reflects and makes present the covenant Christ made with His peo-ple when He laid down His life on the cross. Their love becomes a source of grace for the renewal of the Church. That is what I was seeing at the Easter Mass. I saw couples whose love has given life to the Church, and to me personally for over fifty years, and still inspires me. I kept looking out at all my people, and saw the Spirit of God living in their eyes, their eagerness, their faith, their fidelity, their love. My joy kept rising as I realized that the Resurrection is happening right before my eyes. Jesus is truly alive in both the Eucharist and in the Sacrament of Marriage. I thanked God for calling me to be His priest, standing in for Him to let His bride know about His great love. ALLELUIA! I love you. – Click here for a printable version [PDF, 5KB]
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