Weddings are Beautiful Happenings

My husband & I recently attended our first weddings of the summer. We have a lot of weddings this summer, which I think everyone goes through that period of time when it seems weddings are every weekend of the summer, it still seems like a lot to us!!

As we watched each couple exchange vows I thought back to our own wedding. I thought back on how

Cake from one of the Weddings

much preparation goes into the day, how many decisions have to be made beforehand, how many people you want to be a part of your special day, how fast it seems to go, but most importantly I thought back on everything that had lead me to be sitting next to the man that I am today.

The man I am sitting next to was the man that I was called to be with for the rest of my life. When you are able to experience that kind of love, there is something that you can't explain about the amount of joy you receive. As I watched these couples I hope so deeply in my heart that they will be able to experience the joy that my husband and I have through marriage. If marriage is your calling, it is so beautiful to be able to have that kind of love with your best friend, your spouse. You share so deeply in everything, in spiritual, in physical, in current, in future, in ups, in downs....everything.

Table Centerpieces at one of the weddings

Although I have only been married for a year and a half, I recommend reminding yourself how lucky we are to be able to share everything with that one special person. Remembering to tell each other how much each of you means to the other, remembering to compliment the other in their accomplishments and support them in their talents, remembering to love at all times as you move further into the marriage and to tell them of the great love you have for them!

Prayers to all of the newlyweds we know and to those preparing to be newlyweds soon!!

The Four Most Beautiful Days in the Church

These past four days are the most beautiful days in the church. My husband I spent these past few days reflecting, praying and celebrating. What you may ask are we celebrating? If you are not religious or don't believe in God this may not be the blog article for you, but I don't discourage you from reading it. If you are, than you probably already know why I say this! Three of these days are a season in the church itself known as the Paschal Triduum and then Easter. We will get to that shortly. Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely love Christmas. Everything about it, the preparation through Advent, the goodwill, the scents, the scurrying, and of course the birth of our Lord. As much as I love celebrating the birth of our Lord, it does not compare to celebrating what we do during these four days. We prepare for 40 days with penance, prayer, reflection and almsgiving for these last four days.

These four days are so wonderful to me because it is where we as Catholics get the Sacrament of the Eucharist from. The Eucharist is what are entire religion is formed around. Without the Eucharist there would be no Mass. Jesus shares supper with his disciples saying "Take and eat, this is my body" and "Drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins," "Do this in memory of me".....so we do again and again......in every Mass, but most especially on Holy Thursday we share in not only that, but the other parts of that same night Jesus shared with his disciples. During the Mass the priests wash the feet of the people exactly the same as Jesus washed his disciples feet. After Mass Jesus is exposed and we pray and wait, exactly how after the supper Jesus went to pray and wait until finally he was taken. These next two days are the only time in the year that Mass is not celebrated in the Catholic church. He is taken from us just as Jesus was taken and turned over by his own people.

As my husband and I sat in Mass watching people get there feet watched and then sat in the presence of the Lord afterwards tears came to my eyes as I thought about how Jesus must have felt to wait and plead that this not be the will of the Father, that there be some other way. You suddenly start to reflect on your last 40 days, and on what you thought was hard and realize how it doesn't even compare to that night and the days following. How much did he have to love us for that. How much would we do for someone we love?

Good Friday is not my favorite day of the year and yet I wouldn't ever want to give it up. This is the day we

 remember and reflect on the Crucifixion. After Jesus was handed over by his own people he was sentenced to death with Crucifixion. Growing up my church use to do living stations which was powerful to me as a youth. It brought me closer to what actually happened that day and what was sacrificed for every human to ever live. This Good Friday my husband and I walked and meditated on the Stations of the Cross at Mother Cabrini Shrine on Lookout Mountain. There are crosses with the Stations of the Cross along steps up the mountain and as we walked them I thought about Jesus walk through the crowd as he was carrying his cross up the mountain. Would I have been one to turn against him or been waiting to wipe his face to show him some sort of love in return? How often do I join the crowd today and how often am I that person that wipes his face? As we finished the Stations, we headed to attend the Good Friday Service at our parish. A beautiful day of prayer and reflection.

Holy Saturday I sometimes feel bad about. Of these three days I always seem to reflect and pray much less. It seems like the main stuff is done, whats left, right? The older I have gotten though the more I realize how it is still just a continuation of the Triduum. It is in fact something of great importance and deserves just as much attention as the previous days. My husband and I spent Holy Saturday reflecting most especially on the gospels in the bible on the burial of Jesus, where they described how they wrapped Jesus in white linens, how they sat outside the tomb after a stone was rolled in front of it, and how Pilate made sure it was guarded so that no one would steal the body. When evening rolled around I grew anxious of what was to come. We listened to a talk by Father Shea from Bismarck who talks in depth about the Way of the Cross, which was a great reflection before bed! Holy Saturday is a tough night to sleep though.

Alas! The Resurrection! Easter Sunday is a glorious celebration of the Resurrection! Without the Resurrection religion would cease to exist. There would be no salvation. Easter we spent celebrating and celebrating! We celebrated through the Eucharist at Mass! We celebrated with family! We celebrated with prayer and thanksgiving! The beautiful thing is we have 50 days of celebration in the Easter Season! As St. John Chrysostom says, Christ has destroyed death, and now is the feast of faith, (read more on that here) and feast is exactly what we did! Happy Easter Blessings and Love to All during this great Season!

Dating in Marriage

Italian Dinner Date

Last night my husband and I went out on a dinner date. This is nothing new to our relationship. We have been going on dates since we moved from the friendship stage to the relationship stage, but something got my mind going last night. Dates within marriage are important to me. We don't have any kids yet so that makes date night a lot easier and I am sure a lot more often for the time being. Knowing my husband, date night will not end once we have kids, but I am guessing it might slow down.

I fall in love with my husband more and more everyday. It is the small things like "date night" that move my heart. He is a man of faith and values. He puts our relationship at the forefront as do I in return. I always think of this verse:

"Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of the fleeting life that is granted to you under the sun. This is your lot in life, for the toil of your labors under the sun" -Ecclesiastes 9:9

What a beautiful way to be able to continue to celebrate our marriage covenant we entered on our wedding day. These dates also allow us to have really great conversations about everything going on which feeds the ever so important communication part of marriage. I look forward to the many dates we still have yet to share as our life long union continues.

Washington DC for an Investiture

The National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

We got to experience something so beautiful recently. We went to the Investiture of The Servants of the Lord and the Virgin Matara because we had a friend who was being named and would be entering the order. The ceremony happened to be at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. It was incredible to witness such an amazing woman entering a vocation that she has been called to by our Lord. The ceremony Mass included the naming (Sister Mary Star of Evangelization) and her receiving her veil. I cried through some of it and laughed with Sister afterwards. So excited for her and praying for her!

The Sisters Singing for Us

Since we were also in DC we had the privilege to catch up with some old friends that live south of DC. What a great weekend it turned out to be. God has endless, abundant blessings!