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| October 2, 1999 ~ Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels |
O my God and my Lord, it was on this day that I knelt in Thy holy house at the nuptial altar, that I received the sacrament of matrimony and entered with Thy blessing the matrimonial state. Can I let this day pass without giving thanks to Thee and without some special exercise of piety? No, O Lord! I thank Thee, therefore, from my heart, for having introduced me by a holy sacrament into the state of matrimony, for having sanctified my matrimonial union, for having opened me to the treasures of Thy graces, that I might be enabled to live up to the duties of my vocation, to persevere in inviolable fidelity, in love, and in dutiful submission to my husband, and in the chastity conformable to my state in life, and to educate the children whom Thou hast confided to me in Thy fear and discipline, and thus, work out my eternal salvation. I give Thee thanks for all the graces which I have received in virtue of this sacrament. I thank Thee for the protection, the assistance, and for whatever good Thou hast bestowed upon me and upon my family. Be Thou for all these eternally praised and blessed.
But have I faithfully cooperated with Thy grace in fulfilling the duties of my vocation? Have I led the life of a truly Christian wife? Alas! Too much have I to reproach myself with. [Here reflect a little while.] O my God, I am sorry from my heart for having offended Thee. Pardon me for the sake of Thy infinite mercy and for that of Jesus, Thy beloved Son! My resolution is firmly taken. I will endeavor to fulfill henceforward all the duties of a Christian wife and mother faithfully and conscientiously. How could I otherwise hope to enjoy Thy grace and to work out my salvation? But what will all my good resolutions avail me, if Thou dost not give Thy help to fulfill them? Renew then, O Lord, on this day the blessing of this holy sacrament; may its graces flow upon me in abundance every day. Animated and strengthened by them I will try in the future to lead a life in harmony with my vocation.
I recommend to Thee also my husband. Grant that we who are by virtue of this sacrament so intimately united may live always in heartfelt love and in true fear of God, in order that our matrimonial state may, as it should be, a symbol of that infinite union existing between Christ and His holy Church and lead us to life eternal.
I commend unto Thee also, O Lord, the children whom Thou hast confided to our care. Bless them, protect them, enrich them with Thy graces, that they may grow up pleasing to Thee. Assist me to educate them wholly for Thee. Holy Virgin and Mother of God, holy Joseph and all ye who have led a holy life in the state of matrimony, all ye holy parents, pray for me. Amen.
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| In the Sacristy following our wedding… When we should have been signing that marriage license! |
Congratulations on 13 years! May God bless you with many more!
Happy, happy Anniversary to you!!! May God grant you many more wonderful years together. (Marriage gives a whole new meaning to the word "wonderful," doesn't it?)
God bless,
Kristen
Praise God! How wonderful. Prayers for you and yours this special day!
Deo gratias! You were and continue to be a beautiful bride. Prayers for you and your beloved on this blessed day.
Happy anniversary! God bless you and your family!
Happy Anniversary!!!{{}} and yes I did think of the marriage license story when I read your intro:)
Happy Anniversary! For a moment there I had to figure out how you could be married for 13 years when the 2000 jubilee banner was hanging above the altar. Then I started to think that I miscounted how long my husband and I had been married (we got married in 2000). Thanks to your caption I didn't stay perplexed very long.
And aren't those marriage licenses pesky things? Our's mysteriously disappeared less than two months after we got married and hasn't been seen since.
Congratulations!!! Beautiful wedding. I too wish I had bought a gown with sleeves. I had long. long gloves to compensate, but its still not the same. God bless you both!
Happy Anniversary!!! Many blessings to you and your family!!!
Congratulations, Jessica! What a blessed 13 years it has been!
Happy Anniversary, Jessica. Such a beautiful couple and a beautiful family, clearly blessed by God.
Happy anniversary to you both! I enjoyed reading your linked post from last year! Love the March 17th connection – my husband and I were "married" on that day – twice! LOL! Actually, we've been married three times, counting legally, church blessing before converting to the Catholic Church and sacramentally as Catholics – oh, and different ceremonies in two different countries so we had to make sure all THAT was legally recognized, too!! WHEW! I HOPE we're married! LOL! Of course we recognize our marriage as the date in the Church (which was both "at the courthouse" and in the Church").
Hope your day was wonderful!
Happy Anniversary Jessica! What a beautiful day for a wedding…can you imagine how many angels were present to witness your wonderful day!
God bless you and your beautiful family!
Lovely! Thank you for sharing this, and happy (belated) anniversary!
How wonderful! Your anniversary falls right inbetween the Feast of St. Therese on the new calendar and the old calendar! Many blessings to you and your family!
Yes, that was intentional! It was the closest we could get to getting married on her feast day! 🙂
Sigh.. the jubilee banner. We just couldn't talk father from moving it from the beautiful altar for the wedding. Now the Tabernacle has been replaced in the center, as it should be!
St. Patrick's Day is a great day for an anniversary! And yes, it is a special day for us too… I'll never forget receiving that very first Rose from my husband on that feast day – on the last day of that novena, which he had no idea I was praying! I love all the ways the Holy Spirit quietly works!
Beautiful. A happy and very blessed anniversary!
St. Therese is wonderful, isn't she?!?!?!? I've been reading the Catholic Children's Treasure Box series to my daughter is school year and it's so much fun reading about Therese via these books! She really "relates" to the stories – and Wupsy, too, especially with the Holy Guardian Angels feast day yesterday – perfect!
And it's always been fun to celebrate an anniversary on St. Patrick's Day – there is always a festive atmosphere among everyone and a great day to go out to dinner, too!
Oh, I just ordered the Christian Mother book you referenced for the prayer above – it looks wonderful!
LOL! Love the little comment. At least you were married in the church rather than the other way around!