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Love’s Delay

My birthday present from Mom and Dad Gretencord arrived late last week.  What a treasure!  It’s Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s St. Therese, A Treasured Love Story.  In this collection of talks he gave on the centenary of her birthday in 1973, he talks about the spiritually of the Little Flower and gives us guidance to our own journey to heaven.

One of my favorite chapters thus far talks about Love’s delay.  Love is not immediate and scripture reminds us to “wait upon the Lord.”

The Lord is waiting to show you His favor. He yearns to have pity on you, and happy are all who wait for Him. (Is 30:18)

Sheen reminds us of St. Therese’s delay in entering Carmel and her disappointment.  However, handling it like a saint, she was resigned to the fact the our blessed Lord was not interested in her being there yet. 

Sheen futher points out some of the delay’s of God’s love in scripture:  Noah builiding the arc waiting for the flood while others thought him crazy; Abraham and Sarah waiting to be blessing with a child; and Martha and Mary waiting for Jesus to help a sick Lazarus who then died.

The point is we must be persisent in our love even when there is a delay.  “So the Lord sometimes does not give us all that we want.  But even when we do not receive it, we can find a divine answer…”

After reading this chapter and reflecting on my single life, and Adam and my married life, I see Love’s delays and I rejoice in God’s divine plan and how perfect it is.

Pray for Conversions

I was listening to Relevant Radio last night on the way to a meeting and it was an encore presentation of Searching the Word–a Q&A on the Catholic Church and its teachings.  They were discussing marriage and family.  A caller was asking about the frequency of anulments being granted by the marriage tribunals–e.g. it seemed to him that everyone who applied for an anulment in his diocese was granted it.  The guest mentioned that he believes the problem of the anulments being granted does not lie in the anulment process or marriage tribunal, but rather in the marriage preparation process. 

 Living a Catholic marriage–one that is free, faithful, fruitful and total–one that is the total self-giving of oneself to your spouse–one that is a genuine image of the Holy Trinity–one that is life-giving and selfless–is not easy.  In fact it is downright counter-cultural.

Shortly after I arrived home I received a call from a young lady who is getting married in September and attend the Natural Family Planning Basic Information Session that Adam and I presented back in February.  She called because she has been off the pill and feels drawn to use NFP in her marriage but is concerned–concerned it won’t work.  On top of that, their marriage preparation person and their sponsor couple at their parish–and all her friends–encouraged her to STAY ON the birth control pill.

Needless to say, the young woman was confused.  She had a lot of questions not only about the method and its effectiveness, but about what the Church really teaches.  I answered her questions to the best of my ability.  And I encouraged her pray about it and recognize that God is giving her a great grace and with it will come great grace in her marriage. 

So, please pray not only for her, but for all those involved in marriage preparation.  Pray for the courage and perserverence of couples who’s conscience is being sufficated by a culture of death.   Pray for the conversion of couples and leaders involved in marriage preparation who may be slightly off the Church’s mark on conjugal love.  And pray for all marriages that they may all be a sign of life-giving love.