Marriage is an incredible gift – in marriage we find our life long companion who will share in the good and the bad. We find that equal with which to share all things – burdens and joys.

In the Catholic view of things Marriage is a vocation – a vocation ordered in getting the other to heaven. When we choose to join in marriage we are choosing to serve, minister to, and love the other person. The question is, to what end? – That end – the goal – the pinnacle I, as spouse, should seek in this vocation is heaven. For whom do I seek this goal? – My spouse. Yes, of course I too must be walking towards heaven – how could I lead another to a place I am not going? But first I must ensure that my spouse, my life companion, my equal is on her way. I must love “the other” (my spouse) towards not myself but towards God – towards union with God.

This is a sobering call. I recall being engaged and having this realization for myself – that my bride would not be mine forever. To think that one day I would have to say goodbye – that just as her parents “gave her away” to me at our wedding – I too would have to give her over to the hands of God.

Love is never ordered towards oneself – if it is then it is not truly love. If I love my bride only to bring her closer to me then I am only serving my own ego – in the end she will not be fed, instead she will be left disappointed. If, however I love her towards the One who is, and was, and always will be – if I love her towards that celestial paradise in which we are made to be in complete union with God – then, my bride will find the love that satisfies – the love that cannot disappoint.

This is our call in the Vocation of Marriage. It is our call to love one another towards heaven – it is our call to lead our spouse to Sainthood.

This is an awesome and humbling call. One that must be met with reverence and prayer. With careful regard I must love and care for my spouse above my own needs. I must be ready and willing always to fight for her sanctity – I must wash her feet, pray for her salvation, and be Christ in all things – even to the point of sacrificing myself on the cross. If I seek my own Sainthood first then I will have left behind the one whom God has placed in my care – the one God has called me to lead home.

Each week I will pose a question for you the reader and ask that you give your insight and thoughts – and ask your questions as well. My hope is that this will be a place of discussion. Please join in…

So the question for this week is this:

1. How do you (or should you) lead your spouse to heaven?

2. What are some practical ways that we can do this?

UPDATE:

In addition to the responses below I’ve asked blogger Dan Kenney to write his own thoughts on this topic. Please check out Dan’s beautiful reflection here.

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