October 31, 2012 (Psalm 4:7)
‘You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.’ (Ps. 4: 7)
One of the things I witnessed early on in my faith was the generosity of married couples who loved Jesus and who together overflowed with joyful self-giving. They revealed the ‘common good’ of marriages, healthy ones, at least; they generated new life and gave it away generously.
Annette and I benefited from their witness generally and the many gifts they gave us specifically. Together, we too have experienced the call and the capability to become generous. Throughout the years, we have sought to give away joyfully what the Lord has entrusted to us. We can see now a variety of people from around the world who have gone on to multiply the essence of what we gave them.
What joy! Freely we have received, freely we give away. To this day, ministering and married together for 32 years, we ‘with joy draw water from the well of salvation.’ (Isa. 12: 3) Spring up, O well!
‘I was young, and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.’ (Ps. 37: 25, 26)
‘In Your generous love, make us generous. May the graces You have multiplied in our marriages grace many. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we confess our sins of cowardice and compromise. We have violated Your holy commands in regards to what we have done to our bodies and to other bodies. And in our compromise we have become cowards, unwilling to stand for what we know to be true for the dignity of all. We ask that You might have mercy on Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington; uphold marriage in these states, and in our nation, as the Supreme Court prepares to rule on ‘gay marriage.’
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