Marriage Renewal

Marriage is a path to sanctity. Couples who work hard to reciprocate this gift from God with responsibility and commitment, embracing the joys and setbacks that go with it with the eyes of faith come out living a full life. They learn to be grateful with every year of renewing their love for each other. An increase of virtues like patience, humility and a forgiving heart become manifestations of growth in their love that some newly-weds are still trying to work out. Couples who renew their vows are a sight to see. Twenty-five, thirty, forty, fifty years and even those who can barely walk to the altar, is really an awesome sight to see. The youth should look up to these married couples as models of relationships that last, ever faithful to their vows since they were still wrinkle-free.

The Sacrament of Matrimony is a channel of grace. The same is true with the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Penance. These Sacraments nourish and sustain us in our journey to sanctification. Sad to say, many couples neglect the importance of tapping these Sacraments and often find themselves in the dark, deprived, and worst, in despair. Such relationships deteriorate and may lead to perdition. It is well to take heed of what Jesus taught, “To those who have more, more is given and expected. And for those who have less, even that shall be taken away.” This teaching holds true with grace. When we receive grace from the Sacraments, we need to correspond to it, so that generous with our conversations with the Lord and consistent with our daily tasks, we can discern what the Lord wants from us. These concrete gestures using our freedom well bring out the best of our humanity. Loving, then, becomes natural and enduring to spouses, truly, the wedding renewals are a manifestation of a supernatural enterprise. (Johnny Sulit)