Megan, my colleague at Charis Ministries shared this  excerpt of a speech by Archbishop Oscar Romero from October 7, 1979.  This was read at their wedding several years ago.  I find it very moving, and I feel it calls Chris and me to another level of our marriage

“I call on all of you,

makers of so many families,

builders of so many homes…

Let no family isolate itself from society as a whole

because it is itself well off.

No one marries just so the two of them can be happy;

marriage has a great social function.

It must be the torch that lights up the way

to new liberations for other marriages around it.

From the home must come the man or woman

able to promote the changes needed

in politics, in society, in the ways of justice…

Loving is what the family is all about,

and loving means giving oneself,

surrendering oneself to the well-being of all

and working for the common happiness.”

Becky Eldredge

Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.