De Coniugio et Eucharistia

For my first real blog on here, I thought nothing would be more appropriate than marriage. And what better than the comparison of marriage and the Eucharist.

Lord, you fought to place her on my heart, and now that she is here, turn our hearts to Your will. "Fiat voluntas tua" in omnibus.

But, as I was kneeling in Mass the other day during the consecration, I realized how much of a blessing it is for the priest to consecrate the host into the Body of Christ, to offer the eternal sacrifice to the Lord on high. It is amazing that through the ordination to the priesthood, that a man can act in persona Christi and celebrate the wonders of the Most Holy Mass. The priest is Christ's instrument to bring heaven to Earth. The unity of heaven and earth is such a brilliant example of God's eternal love for us all. He gave His only begotten Son to die and, rise up, and ascend to heaven for us. The Father loved the world enough that he gave his Son, fully, for the salvation of mankind. The sacrifice of Christ on the altar of the Cross was total. There was no barrier placed by God to hold any part of the passion and crucifixion back. God didn't hold the arm of the scourgers when they were tearing Christ's flesh. He didn't stay a nail when Christ was being crucified. Neither did Christ. He did not ask for forgiveness from the people. he did not ask to be let off. In fact, he got up after each time that He had fallen and continued on. He kept going, giving everything He had: absolutely everything.

This is what the priest commemorates on the altar of sacrifice. The sacrifice of the lamb on the Altar of the Cross and the Altar of the table, both at the Last Supper and every day in Mass, is the same thing. Christ foreshadowed His death through the mysteries of the Last Supper.

It is with this in mind that the revelation hit me. So too is marriage a commemoration of the crucifixion of our Lord.

Isn't marriage and the conjugal union supposed to be a beutiful celebration of God's love? Of course it is. The crucifixion in itself was horrid yet beautiful too. The conjugal union, the complete giving of oneself to another, is a no holds back kinda thing. You can't give part of yourself, and then not the rest (i.e. you can't use contraception). We would not then be acting like Christ.

Why does sex have to be godlike? Why not? Christ set the example for us all to commemorate. But, not everyone is called to the priesthood. Those who are married are still called to become more perfect and imitate Christ. But, this does not end at the bedroom. We are supposed to always be like Christ in whatever we do, no matter what our vocation. And, if this means including the bedroom, then we must also act like Christ in the bedroom. Likewise, if we are called to completely conform ourselves to His will so that we may enter into the kingdom of heaven, then we must convert our hearts to His will, in omnibus - in all things.