National Marriage Week and World Marriage Day are opportunities to remind ourselves of the importance of promoting a culture of love that is rooted in a foundation of marriage and family. These observances also call us to lift up married couples in prayer as we celebrate the gift of marriage and ask God to help couples grow in love with each other.

This year’s theme is "Marriage...one flesh, given and received." It beautifully highlights the personal self-gift of each spouse, one to the other. Each spouse seeks to serve the other so that what they create is more than either of them apart. They are a couple and they become a family helping each other to grow in an appreciation of God’s gift of love. Together they seek to know how it is to be lived in our world. It is for this reason that we speak of Christian marriage as a vocation. It shows forth in its self-giving the generous love of God we find in Jesus. In their unselfish love and care for each other and their children we can see, concretely, in human flesh, the love of God.

As we celebrate marriage, we remember that God, in Jesus, is always with us and, with his help and grace, assists us in all our efforts to live the love he calls us to share. May our married couples continue to grow in love and peace and may the sacred union of man and woman in marriage always reflect the union of Christ with his Church.

To learn more about National Marriage Week, including a listing of celebrations in Maine and a variety of helpful resources, visit a special section on the diocesan website at www.portlanddiocese.org/national-marriage-week.