A Noble Purpose

What a wonderful and joyous occasion to witness the beginning of a sacramental marriage! While on vacation, we went to a cousin's wedding at St. Patrick Cathedral in Ft. Worth, Texas. It was a true blessing to witness the bride and groom offer their sacramental vows to one another in such a holy and beautiful cathedral. Everything about their wedding drew my heart to worshiping God through His Son, our Lord, in the Eucharist. It was such a joy to be in the presence of Christ in such a beautiful and holy place.

As the father of the bride offered his daughter to be given in marriage, I could sense the presence of the bride's mother who had died nearly five years ago due to early onset Alzheimer's disease. The bride's mother, my husband's aunt, was a devout Catholic woman who dedicated her life to her Lord and to her family. The bride's mother and my husband's mother are the oldest two girls of thirteen children. They grew up in a small village in Wisconsin with several houses, a bar, and a beautiful old Catholic Church! Oh, how wonderful to grow up so close to Jesus in the tabernacle.

The Old Testament reading was from the book of Tobit. In Tobit is the beautiful account of the Archangel St. Raphael sent to aid in the healing of Tobit's blindness and to heal Sarah's grief on losing seven husbands, each dying before consummation of their marriage. Unbeknownst to each other, both Tobit and Sarah had cried out in anguish to God at the same time, and in God's great Mercy He answered their prayers of grief and sorrow with blessing.

In the prayers of Tobit and Sarah, they praised God and cried out with faith in His Mercy despite being deeply grieved in spirit. The Archangel St. Raphael led Tobiah, Tobit's son, to Sarah and they became husband and wife. Then they returned to Tobit and God healed his blindness.

Before consummating their marriage, Tobiah and Sarah prayed together, begging for God's mercy and deliverance. I have always loved this prayer since the first time I heard it. What a humble and wise way to begin a marriage:

Blessed are you, O God of our fathers,
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
praise you forever.
You made Adam and You gave him his
wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race
descended.
You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone;
let us make him a partner like himself.'
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a
happy old age.

They said together, "Amen, amen," and
went to bed for the night.

~Tobit 8:5-8

Last year, a friend gave me a book about St. Raphael by Angela Carol. In the book, it is mentioned that St. Raphael is, among other things, the patron of happy and holy marriages. May St. Raphael guide us along in our journey, encourage us in our faith and in our marriage, and aid us in opening our hearts to God's healing power. St. Raphael, pray for us!