The Master tells us that early in our Purgative State that we must purge those things that we invite into our beings via our eyes that are not conducive to contemplating Him.
Our eyes must be fixed upon the Cross and on Him that won for us the reward of Eternal Life.
The eyes are the windows to the soul so goes the clich�. In our case, as Catholic Husbands, there is a very deep and humbling truth to this old clich�.
The eyes are truly the windows into the heart, mind, and spirit of our wife.
The same is true for her looking into our eyes. In our eyes, she can see into the depths of our being . . . if we let her.
The truth . . . or not . . . lies in what we do with our eyes when we are in the presence of our wife and family but also not in their presence.
If we truly believe that our marriage is Sacramental, that is a visible sign of an invisible grace given (New Advent definition), then we need to stop, think, and meditate on who our wife is for us.
What are those invisible graces (CCC 1641 and 1642 specifically) given to us men through our wife? And, what are the invisible graces she receives through us?
Well, if our eyes, and thus our hearts are concentrating on other things, places, and/or women we may never really get to know what those graces are.
If we take the time to stop and contemplate the gift of grace that flows both through the Sacrament of Marriage and thus our wife, then perhaps we can discover how it is that Jesus Christ is present in her and in our marriage.
As we begin to let go of those things and people that distract our eyes and embrace the yearning the Holy Spirit places on our heart to contemplate the woman we have married, we begin to discover things about her that we would otherwise have missed.
- Her physical beauty and her attributes.
- The beauty of her heart and He Who rests therein.
- Her graceful spirit and all of its radiant beauty.
The labour of love was never meant to be easy. Walking and working in His Love, and allowing that Love to become a part of who we are and what we do in our marriage is an ongoing job that we must never stop doing as husbands and fathers.
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