Throughout the year, the Church in the United States calls the faithful to reflect on the need for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. As a community of believers, we are asked to consider the essential role that priests, deacons and religious sisters and brothers have in the life of the Church and to pray for those who have responded to God's call to vocation.
But this month, in a very special way, we are asked to pray for the men and women who have said "yes" to the vocation of marriage, a calling that has profound meaning not only for the life of the Church, but for the whole of our society. February is when we celebrate World Marriage Day, which honors the lifelong commitment made between husband and wife. With its permanent theme, "Love One Another," World Marriage Day underscores our belief that God created all men and women and calls some to love and support each other in the covenant of marriage. Their love becomes manifest in the children they bring into the world and the many other ways that they contribute to society.
We believe that every marriage matters, because each comes from the hand of God. As such, the married state is truly a vocation, requiring a constantly renewed commitment and a reliance on God's grace to sustain it. Just as a priest, deacon or religious pursue experiences and formation to enrich their vocations, so too must couples find ways to strengthen their marriages and their fidelity. As the theme of World Marriage Day indeed conveys, loving one another is a daily decision - simple but challenging.
These are messages that have relevance to all married couples - whether they are Catholic or of another faith tradition. Every married couple has been called to a unique vocation, and every one must expect to invest time, effort and sacrifice in order to reap the benefits of an abiding, fulfilling and successful marriage.
In recognition of this need, the Church has put together a valuable resource that reaches out to all married couples everywhere. Introduced last June, "For Your Marriage" is a comprehensive campaign that features a website www.foryourmarriage.org and public service announcements on radio and television stations nationwide. Part of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage, the campaign's initial message asked "What have you done for your marriage today?" through website postings, billboards and broadcast spots.
Through our Office of Family Life/Respect Life, the Diocese of Trenton is joining this effort to call attention to the gift of marriage and to connect married couples with wonderful resources that help them to protect and develop their vocation. Our own diocesan newspaper and website are focusing on marriage throughout the month, and raising awareness about the ongoing national campaign, which could not have come at a better time.
It would be hard to imagine a period in history when the institution of marriage faced as many challenges as it does today. There are powerful influences in our everyday lives that question its meaning and denigrate its importance as a foundation of our society. Work schedules, the demands of raising children and coordinating their many activities, and the insidious temptation to put other people and things before one's spouse and family all conspire to weaken the fabric of marriage in our country. Add to that the natural tendency we humans seem to possess to take what we have for granted, to forget to be grateful for what we've been given, and especially to fail to recognize that we have to work to keep what is worthwhile. One can easily see why, in such a difficult culture, we need to take extraordinary measures to support and protect marriage.
In the Catholic Church, it can be said that every vocation - including that of the lay, single state - brings its own set of unique challenges and joys. We also know that each person is called to a vocation and that God needs us to discern that calling in our lives and respond affirmatively.
But we also must acknowledge the critical place that the vocation of marriage has in the life of the Church. Our catechism teaches that the Christian family, which is rooted in the sacrament of Marriage, gives life to the "domestic Church" where God‘s children first experience faith education and prayer. By experiencing the love of their parents in the heart of the married home, children come to understand the special way that God shares his love with us and the dignity that is inherent in the married state.
During this month when love and marriage are held up and celebrated, we all must respond in prayer and thanksgiving for what the vocation of marriage brings to the Church and the world. And we should carry that support and sense of celebration throughout the year as each of us consider every day how well we are responding to the vocation to which God calls us.
Contact Us:
Office of Family Life/Respect Life
Diocesan Pastoral Center
PO Box 5147
701 Lawrenceville Road
Trenton, NJ 08638-0147 Phone: 609-406-7400 ext. 5558 Fax: 609-406-7403
E-mail: family@dioceseoftrenton.org
Director: Linda Richardson
Throughout the year, the Church in the United States calls the faithful to reflect on the need for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. As a community of believers, we are asked to consider the essential role that priests, deacons and religious sisters and brothers have in the life of the Church and to pray for those who have responded to God's call to vocation.
