Faith Matters

Ray and I met at church.  Our courtship revolved around activities at church. We both are really interested in many aspects of our Catholic faith. And honestly, I think this has saved our marriage on mulitple occasions.

Marriage is tough. Add kids, bills, jobs, expectations, etc, etc, etc, and you have a recipe for some major stress.  It's only natural to let your guard down around those closest to you and unfortunately, all too often, we take our stress out on our family.  It's not right, but it happens.

I honestly believe that the Sacrament of Marriage is abundant in God's Grace.  I am so grateful that in those difficult times, that we have a well spring of Grace available at our disposal.  After all, Jesus made it very clear that He will help marriages in John 2:1-11, the Wedding Feast at Cana.  At the urging of His Mother, Jesus changed ordinary water into extraordinary wine.  He will do this for us in our marriages, if we invite Him. 

Now another interesting point to this story~ it is His Mother that intercedes for the couple. Mary asks Jesus to help and JESUS DOES WHAT HIS MOTHER ASKS.  How cool is it that we have Mary interceding for us before the Alpha and Omega?  It is VERY cool!

We try and pray the rosary every night as a family.  We also try and incorporate our faith throughout the seasons of the church and in our daily life.  This has made a huge difference in the life of all of our children as well as in the life of our marriage.  During Advent, Ray, Bec, and I prayed the Marian Consecration of St. Louis DeMontfort. This consists of 33 days of prayers and then the consecration is prayed on the 34th day. We consecrated on December 8. This also happens to be the day that Ray proposed to me in 1999. 

Having Mary intercede for our marriage is very important.  We both have our individual love for Jesus's Mother, but as a couple, we rely on Mary begging Jesus to change our everyday water into wine that will flow into all aspects of our family and our children.  We actually have a running joke that our relationship with Mary puts us into the "Mary Tube" taking us and our prayers straight to Jesus, like the outside tube at the bank.

I love that Ray and I share our faith. It makes all the difference!