To those who are called to the vocations of the priesthood or consecrated religious life, I give the greatest honor. It is a wonderful gift to be called to unite yourself in such a special way with our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For many others, however, there is a different call no less special or important to the life of our Church. It is the call to marriage and family life. Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Familiaris Consortio, says, “The future of humanity passes by way of the family.” What we teach our children now is what they will carry into the future and what will, ultimately, affect society as a whole. What we live within our families, then, must reflect the love of God so when the world looks into our lives it sees a pure reflection of Christ. This pure reflection of Christ is what our children will carry out into the world, But this doesn’t begin with the children, it begins with the parents. It begins the moment two people, a man and a woman, are joined together in the Holy Sacrament of Marriage. Together they become one flesh according to God’s great design, and bring forth new life. They are given, from that moment, every grace necessary to live out God’s plan for their little family. This requires total self-denial and complete dependence upon God. Any distraction or indulgence in self-satisfaction limits God’s ability to nourish this union and will, quite possibly, lead to its destruction. Christopher West explains this theology of Pope John Paul II, so much better than I in his series, “Theology of the Body”. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses' community of persons, which embraces their entire life: "so they are no longer two, but one flesh." 153 They "are called to grow continually in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving." (CCC1644). One cannot simply be co-existent with one’s spouse. It is not possible to be sacramentally married and still separate oneself from that spouse with disordered, selfish motivations. We are called to give ourselves completely to our spouse. This is God’s design for marriage. Alexander House Apostolate , based in Austin, Texas, is a ministry seeking to help the faithful truly understand God’s design for marriage. We are honored to be affiliated with Alexander House Apostolate and Covenant of Love Marriage Enrichment Program. Under the guidance of Greg and Julie Alexander, founders of Alexander House Apostolate, we seek “to create a vibrant and positive community of married couples to gather and learn, enrich and share their lives with other couples within the parish, based on the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.” Christopher West, Theology of the Body
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