Our readings this weekend focus on marriage. Many are in this sacred covenant and are familiar with these readings, maybe they were even read at your own wedding! Marriage is a give and take relationship, as most relationships are. You celebrate and share times of great joy but also of great challenge and hardship. It is not an easy vocation, but it is a rewarding one. I spend time preparing couples for the sacrament of marriage, as it is good to have a foundation going into this life-long covenant. We talk about many of the needed foundational things in a married relationship: communication, conflict-resolution, finances, children, faith, personalities, etc. Couples are filled with joy and excitement, and I many times wonder if they fully understand there will be challenges mixed in with those good times. Our readings remind us that we are two separate people but are challenged to become one flesh: to really lean on the other in those joys and struggles and fully share with each other. Some challenges for each of us that are in the vocation of marriage are: how do I pray for my spouse daily? How can I show God’s love and fully accept the other, no matter what? Maybe things are in a period of great joy and God is showering His abundance…but maybe that is not the case right now. How can you let God enter your relationship and use these Scriptures to strengthen you this week?