For November 2006

1 Corinthians 13:4-13, Psalm 102 (from the Post-Lourdes Study topic)

Have you ever been to St Peter’s in Rome? One of my silly games is to ask visitors how many paintings they have seen

in there. Only those who sense a trick question come up with the answer of ‘none’! The many pictures on the walls are all

mosaics, but so smoothly made as to seem painted from anything but the closest of views. A perfect scene is

represented by tiny pieces fitted together so that you can hardly ever see the join. (Eric and Ernie would have been most

impressed!)

I think that the fullness of true married love could be built up in the same way. When I work with a couple preparing for

marriage I remind them that they are the ministers of the sacrament to each other. The priest is there as a witness, a

presider and a generally useful (I hope!) addition to the scene. But the bride and groom are beginning to minister a

sacrament which they can continue to minister every day until they die. A thousand and one tiny, practical, daily acts can

make up one great wholeness of love. A friend of mine has described the cup of tea that he makes for his wife each

morning, before she clambers (or springs) out of bed, as part of the sacrament of marriage. And that, I think, is one

point of St Paul’s message to the Corinthians. Are there winter mornings when my friend feels the cold in the kitchen and

thinks of the snugness of the duvet? I guess there are, but in spiritual ‘adulthood’, to coin Paul’s phrase, they can become

moments for my friend to praise God. He has the opportunity to give something back both to his wife and to their marriage.

And she in turn, with a gesture, a smile or a word, will fit another little piece into the mosaic of their love. So, what will

your next contribution be to the picture of your married love?