Strengthen your marriage with prayer

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St. Hilary of Poitiers

St. Hilary of Poitiers was born to a non-Christian family in Gaul (France) in the 4th century. He found his way to Christianity through an intellectual pursuit driven in part by curiosity about God's statement to Moses "I am who I am". This mysterious statement can alternatively be translated from Hebrew as simply "to be", which I find simultaneously more enlightening and more confusing. St. Hilary's intellect and theological bent ultimately led to his critical role in refuting Arianism. St. Hilary has a unique distinction of being a Doctor of the Church, a bishop, and a husband and father. He was married before being his conversion to Christianity, and later inspired both his wife and daughter to convert after his example. His feast day is celebrated today (Jan. 14) in the Byzantine Church and he is the patron saint of children with disabilities, mothers, and sick people.

Scripture Reading - Exodus 3:13-15 (NRSVCE)

But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:

This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.

Reflection

St. Hilary was inspired by the mystery of God's nature and existence, which became the topic of much of his writings as bishop. He realized that although the light of human reason could never lead him to a full understanding of God, attempting to do so was critical, especially as heretical movements gained traction.

I like to imagine that as a married man, St. Hilary was inspired to achieve a higher level of understanding of God's loving nature through his love for his wife, her love for him, and their experiences of God through one another. Think of a time you experienced such intense love for your spouse that you felt physically pained. I refer to this pain as Divine Agony because I believe it reveals a small taste of the perfected love we should feel for God. How much more intense this experience will be when we encounter God, who appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush because the fullness of his glory cannot be revealed to humanity. Likewise, how much more intense will our love for our spouse (and all souls) be when we encounter each other in heaven. This is the love we should strive for here on Earth.

Prayer Starters

Think about a time you felt Divine Agony for your spouse.

How did you react? Did you thank or glorify God for that experience? Did you grasp at the moment instead of remaining present? Did you shy away from it out of fear of being hurt?

Week 1 Microchallenge - Habits

Take a moment to consider whether you have completed the previous challenges from this week. Establishing habits is crucial to setting yourself up for a successful journey. Have you:

• Decided on a prayer routine

• Asked your spouse to choose a habit for you

• Established a daily routine to be accountable before your spouse

• Selected habits based on your core struggle and an ascetic practice

If you have done all these already, excellent. Consider reaching out to another couple who might be interested in doing Emmaus 90 and meeting regularly to hold each other accountable.