This quote really popped out to me. I hope it's not too long. The tragedy of marriage and the union of bodies in love is that so many enter into it believing that it is going to be paradise and that their deepest needs will be fulfilled. Others, who have had bad experiences, may enter into marriage with cynicism and despair. Truth lies between these two attitudes, between naivety and despair. The human heart thirsts for a paradise and an eternal wedding feast which is not illusory, but one can only enter into happiness in stages. So many of the young who lack in maturity believe that perhaps marriage will be this paradise. But then they discover that it is a school of life and of love; it is a place of transformation. Through the joys and the ecstasies, but also through the pain, the blockages, and times of forgiveness, they progressively learn how to love and be faithful. They learn that love is a gift, a beautiful gift, but also that each one has to work at loving. Each one has to see where they have to grow and change. At first, the gift of their tenderness and their bodies is very immature. But because they want their union to be a sign of the presence of God and a sacrament, they grow together in love and truth through this 'work.' Together they become a sign of the Kingdom.
Quote from Man and Woman God Made Them by Jean Vanier
This quote really popped out to me. I hope it's not too long.
ReplyDeleteThe tragedy of marriage and the union of bodies in love is that so many enter into it believing that it is going to be paradise and that their deepest needs will be fulfilled. Others, who have had bad experiences, may enter into marriage with cynicism and despair. Truth lies between these two attitudes, between naivety and despair. The human heart thirsts for a paradise and an eternal wedding feast which is not illusory, but one can only enter into happiness in stages. So many of the young who lack in maturity believe that perhaps marriage will be this paradise. But then they discover that it is a school of life and of love; it is a place of transformation. Through the joys and the ecstasies, but also through the pain, the blockages, and times of forgiveness, they progressively learn how to love and be faithful. They learn that love is a gift, a beautiful gift, but also that each one has to work at loving. Each one has to see where they have to grow and change. At first, the gift of their tenderness and their bodies is very immature. But because they want their union to be a sign of the presence of God and a sacrament, they grow together in love and truth through this 'work.' Together they become a sign of the Kingdom.
Quote from Man and Woman God Made Them by Jean Vanier
Hello...Thanks for stalking me back...I wanted to stalk you here too anf of course FB..: )
ReplyDeletegreat quote! One of my fave series of all time!
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