National Marriage Week is upon us (Feb. 7 – Feb. 14), which brings to mind all the beautiful tokens of love we share with each other as married couples and all those other things we do to nurture marriages. I think I’ve gained 3 pounds in the last 3 seconds just thinking about the delicious chocolate I will be consuming very soon. But also this month, as a ministry we also look ahead and begin to prepare for Lent which begins on March 2 this year.
Writing about Love and Lent is not as much of a stretch as you would think. Lent is a period of penance in which we are called to prepare ourselves and our families to enter more deeply into the mysteries of the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday) and Easter. Lent is a time to rethink married love, which after all, is not all roses and candy.
So what does fasting, prayer and almsgiving… the three pillars of Lent, and the Triduum have to do with marriage? It has everything to do with it! As married couples, the Church offers us the disciplines of Lent as a way to focus our prayer on the invitation our Lord has for us to enter into a deeper relationship with Him. As we do, we find ourselves able to love better, to love when life and relationships get really hard.
So fast, pray and give alms for your spouse, your children, and your aging parents. Fast, pray and give alms for family members who are struggling with their own marriages. Fast pray and give alms for friends and family who are suffering because of mental, spiritual, or physical illnesses. Lent is a rich spiritual time to work on our marital armor.
Finally, Lent and the Triduum give us a beautiful image for married life. In marriage we experience joy and celebrations (Holy Thursday); in marriage we experience disillusionment , pain and suffering (Good Friday), in marriage we are often in a holding pattern, not knowing what to do or what comes next (Holy Saturday); but if we persevere in our marriage with the Lord, we see the joy that comes with reconciliation and holy healing of our relationships (Easter!).
God bless you on this beautiful month of February, where we observe and celebrate love during National Marriage week, but we also buckle in for the ride our Lenten journey will take us on this year.