Last month, I spent reflecting on the priesthood and as I began those reflections writing about some of the fears that I had in tackling that particular topic. As I wrote about the priesthood and the Five Priestly Identities that the Institute of Priestly Formation puts forward as the foundation to priestly identity, I could see how others could benefit from me living out those identities in a strong authentic way and I also began pondering about how much I have learned about priesthood from watching dedicated married couples live and how the commitment of religious and single people have encouraged me in my vocation. This all led me to remember a quote that I once read from Archbishop Chaput. The quote is from the forward that the bishop wrote for Christopher West?s book Good News about Sex and Marriage: Answers to Your Honest Questions About Catholic Teaching. Here is quote in bold.

Here is a safe bet: I'd wager that most of you who open this book have heard about a "vocation crisis" in the Church. Over the past thirty years, it's been popular topic of conversation. Thousands of articles have been written about it. You've probably seen your share.
Here's another safe bet: I'd wager that nearly all those stories and conversations dealt with priests or religious how few we have, and why we'll have even fewer in the future. And of course, we do need more priests and religious, and in many area of the United States, the decline in their numbers is extremely serious.
But here's a third safe bet: I'd wager that very few of those articles and conversation dealt with the most fundamental vocation crisis of all: marriage and family life. God calls every one of us by name to participate in his work of creation, each in his or her own way. We all have vocations. Marriage is a vocation. Parenthood is a vocation. It's no accident that most priests and religious emerge from believing, practicing, loving Catholic families. In fact, in many ways, the love between a husband and wife is the foundation stone upon which every other Christian vocation is built. Strong marriages and families make a vital, joy-filled Church. The opposite is also true: Families who are lukewarm in their love for God and indifferent in their worship weaken every other dimension of Catholic life. That's why the Church so urgently needs men and women who can provide the example and guidance our families need.

For the month of February I would like to look at what the Church's definition of marriage and thus hopefully allow us to grow in a better understanding of this great sacrament and great vocation. To aid us in our reflection I will be quoting Christopher West's book Good News about Sex and Marriage: Answers to Your Honest Questions About Catholic Teaching. Quotes from his book will be in bold and my commentary will be in regular font.

Marriage is the intimate, exclusive, indissoluble communion of life and love entered by man and woman at the design of the creator for the purposes of their own good, and the procreation and education of children; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.

I think that part of the problem with marriage is that it has become just the next thing for people to do in life. It has lost some of its specialness. One of the primary indicators of this is the theme or destination wedding. Instead of seeing marriage as a gift from God and thus should be done in the way God designed it to be. Just as there is a liturgical rite for ordination there is a liturgical rite for marriage. God through His Church provides us with the words to say that exacts the change the Sacrament is to bring about.

When we take God out of the equation then marriage becomes just another civil ceremony like being installed in a civil office. Marriage though is so special that God would not leave it to chance to happen. In fact marriage is the one blessing that man and woman did not lose because of original sin or through the Noah's flood.

Handle with care does not mean something is bad but rather it means that something is special and has special meaning. As a person who is not married, I think I have a unique opportunity to see how special marriage is and I can tell you how awesome it is to see a happily married couple. I know that being a priest is not easy and so I can see and assume that being married is not easy but painting a great masterpiece is not always easy either. As we spend more time this month reflecting on marriage let us look for the beauty in God's plan.