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After fifteen years of marriage, we have learned how important spousal prayer and living a sacramental life is to our vocation. But we have been reminded over and over again recently of the graces available to us. We have been encouraged more than ever to incorporate these great sacraments into our marriage and family life, through books, homilies, and talks. God is certainly trying to get our attention!
One of these recent talks we heard was geared towards families, where the speaker quoted St. John Paul II as saying that prayer and the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation are the “infallible and indispensable” means “to form the Christian spirituality of conjugal and familial life” (originally in the pope’s general audience on Wednesday, October 3, 1984, and then included in the book Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body).
Since marriage and the Eucharist have a special connection — in that both are a foretaste of heaven, and both involve sacrifice and communion — we’re going to focus on the Eucharist today.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The Eucharist is the ‘source and summit of the Christian life.’” If you’re married, that means the Eucharist is also the “source and summit” of your married life. Many holy men confirm this, including St. John Paul II who says, “The Eucharist is the very source of Christian marriage” (Familiaris consortio, no. 57).
While reading Robert Cardinal Sarah’s book for married couples, Couples, Awaken Your Love!, I thought it was very interesting that the first two chapters are about the Eucharist. You can listen to all of the best marriage advice in the world, but if you are not centering your marriage on God, specifically in the Eucharist, you will not have the graces needed for your vocation. Cardinal Sarah tells couples that the Mass and Eucharistic Communion “is the source of their married life, and therefore, of their family life.” He continues: “There is no authentic married life without the Mass, without the Holy Eucharist” (page 17).
The Eucharist is a gift for marriage
Do we realize the great gift we have in the Eucharist? Do we believe that it truly is the source of our married and family life? Do we express our gratitude to the Lord for this great sacrament? (After all, the word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek word that means “thanksgiving”.) Have we turned to the Eucharist as the source of grace while navigating the trials of marriage?
I don’t mean to oversimplify the solution to all marriage problems, but I daresay we may be underestimating the graces of the Eucharist. Our pastor recently said in a homily that through the Eucharist, the impossible becomes second nature. So that means we can overcome any weakness, vice, or addiction. Through receiving Holy Communion, we become more like Christ. And when we become more like Him, we love as He loves.
When you’re at a crossroads in your marriage and family life, go to the Eucharist. Make the Eucharist the center of your life. The Church has recorded over 100 Eucharistic miracles that confirm the presence of Jesus — Body, Blood, Soul, & Divinity.
But how many more miracles of the heart have there been? How many marriages have been strengthened through the Eucharist? How could the Eucharist strengthen YOUR marriage?
How we can make the Eucharist the center of our marriage
As Catholics, we have an obligation to attend Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation. But instead of seeing it as an obligation, let’s see it as a gift. We don’t have to receive Jesus in the Eucharist — we get to receive Him. It is truly a gift. He wanted a way to be with us always.
Sunday Mass should be the climax of our week, as our family all receives our Lord in Holy Communion together. And that’s not our only chance to incorporate the Eucharist in our married and family life. We can attend daily Mass. We can spend time with Jesus in an adoration chapel or any Catholic Church.
I’ve always loved this quote from Venerable Fulton J. Sheen in his book Three to Get Married:
“Two glasses that are empty cannot fill up one another. There must be a fountain of water outside the glasses, in order that they may have communion with one another. It takes three to make love.”
(We have a print with this quote for you!) That fountain is the Eucharist. Build your marriage and family life around the Eucharist, and you will have sustenance for the journey.
