mystery of marriage

As we reach our 1st anniversary, I found this reflection on marriage I wrote right before our marriage.  What a beautiful reminder of the covenant we entered one year ago.

Marriage is rooted in Sacred Scripture and one of the most beautiful part of the Catholic teachings on marriage is that is calls a husband and wife to be a sign of Christ's love in the world. 

Marriage is a sacrament.  It is "a saving reality and a symbol of Christ's love for his church."

When preparing for marriage, we were told that this sacrament was not only special because it would unite us as husband and wife, beginning our lives together as one, but also because it was a sacrament that we get to minister.  We are the ones who come freely to the sacrament together and enter into this covenant with God.  The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant (CCC #1624).  We come freely-the Holy Spirit seals the covenant.  

Through this sacrament, God's love is present in the newly formed family! How amazing is that! Through this sacramental bond the new husband and wife are brought grace, or divine grace.  With this grace, they can be living through and with Christ, to be faithful partners and strong parents. 

"Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is therefore appropriate that it should be celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church" (CCC #1631).  Furthermore, yes God is everywhere. He is with us always.  I know He is with us in the car and on the street and He would be with me in a vineyard.  For me, marriage is a covenant.  How beautiful to begin your lives together in the presence of your God. 

Where did you get married?  Did you choose a beautiful church or an exquisite outdoor setting?

due day

As "due day" approached, I began looking towards the saints for added prayers.

There are so many great saints who will intercede for pregnancy, childbirth, and infants.  Of course, the Blessed Mother is one of these great saints, as she carried Jesus in her womb.  A few other saints to ask to pray for you were new to me.  I found it interesting that several of these saints were men!

St. Gerard is often associated with pregnancy and became a saint I asked for prayer often.

As due date arrived, I prayed for a healthy and safe arrival for our son.  For a healthy labor, I looked to St. Anne.  The mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus is often asked for intercession in labor.  St. Erasmus (another male saint) is often asked to intercede during labor. Due to the nature of his persecutions, St. Elmo is patron saint of all abdominal pains. A few other patron saints of childbirth include St. Margaret of Antioch and St. Ursus of Aosta. 

I soon found out that I would need a Cesarean Section due to a breech baby.  All I hoped for was a healthy baby and delivery.  I asked St. Raymond Nonnatus (literally Raymond "not born" because he was born via c-section back in 1204) to pray for me and my son.  

Who have you asked for prayer?  Did you have a special devotion during pregnancy?

pasta galore

I love pasta and am always looking for new (easy) meals to whip up after work. Here are 3 of my new favorites and 1 old favorite.

1. Lemon Ricotta Parmesan Pasta with Spinach and Grilled Chicken (or in my case turkey) via Cooking Classy.  Check this out, make it, love it.  We used grilled turkey from the amazing Kroger hot bar making it even easier.  The husband loves this one and requests it weekly! 

2. Slow Cooker Cheesy Spaghetti with Homemade Turkey Sausage via SkinnyMs.com

Homemade sausage sounds fancy....but easy to make!  This one takes a bit longer to make as written but worth it.

3. Caprese Lasagna Roll-Ups via Cooking Classy (love her recipes and blog!)

This one has a recipe for homemade marinara, but you can use a jar to save time.

4. Classic Homemade Mac and Cheese

This one is an oldie but goodie.  Just a quick white sauce, add these while the pasta is cooking, mix and bake.

White Sauce: 

Make a rue using 2tbs butter and add 2tbs flour.  

Let cook for about 1 minute.  

Stir in 1c half and half and 3/4c milk (you can use all milk).

Continue stirring on a medium low heat. 

Add 8oz of your favorite cheese(s).  We like the creaminess of white american cheese with a bit of monterey jack, but any cheese would work.

Stir until all cheese added is melted.

Pasta:

Mix sauce with about a pound of any cooked pasta (I like using a veggie rotini)

Place into baking dish.

Bake about 20mins at 375 F

I didn't create any of these recipes, but I sure do enjoy cooking and eating them! Hope they make your family as happy as they have made mine!

models of love

Everything has seemed so "baby-centric" recently, after all we are in the final countdown to our little one's arrival.  In this, my conversations with my sweet husband have all been about baby, our hospital bags, the nursery, preparing for our first days at home...the list goes on and on.  Few conversations haven't led to baby.  Yes, our growing family is a huge part of our lives and marriage right now. Is this good, yes.  But, I feel that there are things we have forgotten about.  The other day, my husband mentioned he hadn't hugged me in a while.  We have maintained many other parts of our intimacy that keep us close (holding hands, kisses when we get home from or leave for work).  As baby grows, the focus on us has been pushed aside.  This is not an intentional shift. There has been so much to prepare for though and there is always a reminder with me that baby is coming soon!  I was so glad my husband said something about our loss of hugs (yes...super simple) because it made me focus more on us time.  This is important too-for us and for baby.  You must take time for your spouse.  We are the models for our child of love that mirror that of Christ's love. Love is the greatest of all virtues (1 Cor 13:13).  Love of Christ never fails.  It covers sins.  It is powerful in a way we will never understand in our Earthly home.  We must be models of love so our child learns love. 

More on this later.

Live a life of love.