Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. Let your work be seen by your servants and your glory by their children.

I haven’t posted since Saturday morning, the day of our 33rd Wedding anniversary.  Prayer has been a very important part of my life and I would like to share a prayer that I’ve heard countless times over my life having played at countless weddings since 1980 my sister Janice’ was my very first one.  As many times as I’ve heard this prayer, it really hit me on Saturday morning as Msgr. blessed my wife and I and offered this prayer to us during his blessing.  Take some time to reflect on this prayer and the vocation of marriage that many of us have been called to.  The following has been copied from the website lordcalls.com…

The Nuptial Blessing is a beautiful prayer of blessing in the Catholic wedding ceremony. It takes place after the bride and groom have exchanged their consent and so have become husband and wife. In this blessing, the celebrant (priest or deacon) extends his hand over the married couple and prays for them, and asks that God give them special graces, including fidelity, the blessing of children, and a long life together.

This excerpt is taken from the English translation of The Order of Celebrating Matrimony – Option 1 for the Nuptial Blessing. These words of the Nuptial Blessing are really worth mediating on by married couples specially when you find it difficult to fulfill your responsibilities pertaining to your vocation. Engaged couples who are preparing for their wedding should also ponder on these words as they prepare to receive the Sacrament.

O God, who by your mighty power
created all things out of nothing,
and, when you had set in place
the beginnings of the universe,
formed man and woman in your own image,
making the woman an inseparable helpmate to the man,
that they might no longer be two, but one flesh,
and taught that what you were pleased to make one
must never be divided;

O God, who consecrated the bond of Marriage
by so great a mystery
that in the wedding covenant you foreshadowed
the Sacrament of Christ and his Church;

O God, by whom woman is joined to man
and the companionship they had in the beginning
is endowed with the one blessing
not forfeited by original sin
nor washed away by the flood.

Look now with favor on these your servants,
joined together in Marriage,
who ask to be strengthened by your blessing.
Send down on them the grace of the Holy Spirit
and pour your love into their hearts,
that they may remain faithful in the Marriage covenant.

May the grace of love and peace
abide in your daughter,
and let her always follow the example of those holy women
whose praises are sung in the Scriptures.
May her husband entrust his heart to her,
so that, acknowledging her as his equal
and his joint heir to the life of grace,
he may show her due honor
and cherish her always
with the love that Christ has for his Church.

And now, Lord, we implore you:
may these your servants
hold fast to the faith and keep your commandments;
made one in the flesh,
may they be blameless in all they do;
and with the strength that comes from the Gospel,
may they bear true witness to Christ before all;
may they be blessed with children,
and prove themselves virtuous parents,
who live to see their children’s children.

And grant that,
reaching at last together the fullness of years
for which they hope,
they may come to the life of the blessed
in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

What really struck me on Saturday was the verse of the prayer that said the strength of marriage was not forfeited by original sin nor washed away by the flood.  Marriage is so essential to the life of the Church, it is so essential to the mission of God that not even the most devastating things in life can breaks its holy bond.

Do something great for our Lord today – renew your love for your wife; renew your love for your husband.  Reflect on the covenant you swore before God and cherish the man or woman God brought forth for you.  Love your children and your share your faith with them.  Do this and I guarantee you it’s going to be a great day.

God’s will, not mine, be done.

Be not afraid; just have faith.

Jesus, I trust in You.

He must increase; I must decrease.

Lord, if You wish, You can make me clean.

But you man of God chose righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness.  Compete well for the faith.

Eternal God, in Whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion – inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us so that in difficult moments we may not despair nor become despondent but with great confidence, submit ourselves to Your holy will which is Love and Mercy itself.