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Sharing in the Dream

Fr. Bob McDonald, SM

God has a Dream. God desires a close relationship between Himself and His People. In the Evening Prayer of the Church we read: “When you took on flesh, Lord Jesus, you made a marriage of mankind with God.”

In many places in the Old Testament, God reveals Himself as the Bridegroom pursuing us, His Bride.

In a dream, Joseph learned of God’s Dream. God had asked, Mary, his bride-to-be, to let Him take flesh in her. Joseph was invited to take Mary home as his wife, not understanding all that lay ahead. Their marriage was an important part of the Dream. Their love for each other, their trust in each other, their journey to-ward unity, would be a model for the Child who would become the Bridegroom of the Church.

The Dream goes on. Today, God calls couples to enter into a life-long journey of becoming one. A couple who stand before the Altar, and make that covenant, and strive passionately to let God’s love shine through them, become a Sacra-ment. They become a visible sign of God’s Passion for His Bride. They become a “Little Church,” the Body of Christ. The fire of their love becomes a light drawing everyone closer to Christ, the Bridegroom.

Christ and His Bride are One, just as the Head and the Body are One. As your priest, I have come to play the role of Bridegroom. I desire to be closer to you.

That is what Marriage Encounter has helped me to see. I catch fire from seeing more and more couples in love. On every Weekend I see the Dream come true. It stirs my missionary fire. It makes me want to share this vision with every mar-ried couple and priest in the world. I truly believe that this is God’s plan for re-newing the Church in our time.

With every day that passes, my desire grows stronger. There is an urgency in me to fill the next Weekend with couples and priests who will catch that fire, and pass it on to many others. They are out there waiting to be invited. Please join me in praying and working to make the Dream come true.

I love you.
Fr. Bob McDonald, SM

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