God created intimacy in marriage to polish one another up. God knows that for 25, 34 years both the husband and the wife has aquired some faults in their single years. He wants to polish each spouse up; but knows that "Do the truth...but do the truth in charity" is the right way. God is not entrusting this polishing to no one else but the spouses themselves. The Spirit of Love who united the couple in the first place, actually helps the spouses to see one another's faults and shortcomings...sometimes even sins. Why does the Holy Spirit do this? He does it because spouses are divinely-sent prophets to one another.
So, do not let the faults of your spouse irk you. Now it is you job to pray for your spouse, to counsel your spouse, to lovingly point out those faults, to love them even in their faults because God loves us even when we are in our faults and sins.
You are to polish one another for God. You are to get one another ready for heaven. Yes, not only your body but your spouse's soul is your responsibility.
Let us look at two polishers: St. Monica was married to a paga man who cheated on her regularly. To boot, St. Monica had an impossible mother in law living with her. To further boot, her son, Augustine had a live-in girl friend who was pregnant. That seems like an impossible situation. But St. Monica prayed and prayed. Her husband became a Christian; her mother-in-law became a Christian; he son became a Christian and was ordained a priest and Bishop of Hippo in Africa. Monica complete swepted house!
In the 1920's, there was a strange marriage of opposites. The wife was a devout Catholic and her husbant was a devout atheist and hater of the Church. Seeing that she could do little to convert her husband, she went for the big guns: she asked God to give her suffering for his sins and for the grace of his conversions.
She soon contracted cancer. There was no pain management in the 1920 nor Kemo. She suffered. As she lay dying, her husband put his face close to her to tell her he loved her. She loved him back and said: "After I die, you will become a Dominican priest." He said: "I love you. But I hate God and the Church. I will never become a Catholic priest..never!" In her final moments she reiterated her prophesy: "You will become a Catholic priest!" She died, and her husband had to go to Lourdes on business. He went out of curiosity to see the fools praying at the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. While looking at the statue of our lady, a great miracle happened. He felt the rush of Faith come over his entire being! He was stunned....then great joy becane to well up in him. He could not stand it. He started to run! He kept on running until he saw an open door to a building near a church. He ran into the open door way and right into the arms of a priest. "Father!" said the widower, "Father! There IS A GOD!" The priest said: "I know, my son: come in and let us talk about it." After hearing the whole story of his life and all about his wife and all about his persecution of the Church, the Dominican priest said to him: "You need a rest. Come and live with us for a month to recouperate." So, the man gladly did that, accepted this understanding hospitality, and stayed the month. The Dominican priest then said that both of them needed to go to Rome to receive forgiveness from the Pope for the books the man had written against the Church. The man gladly assented. In an audience with the Pope, the priest not only asked for forgiveness for his penitent but also asked the Pope for permission for the man to enter the Dominican seminary to study for the priesthood. "No", said the Holy Father, "There is too much damage done to the Church through this man. It would be a scandal for him to be a priest." Then the Dominican priests asked to go in a private room alone without the man present. In that dialogue, the priest told the Pope all about the man's repentance, all about his miraculous converstion, all about the prediction of his wife on her death bed. They both rejoined the man are were there silently. Then the Holy Father said: "I place in Father here all my authority over you. When you obey him, you obey me. Do you wish to obey me?" "Yes with all my heart," said the man. "Good!" said the Holy Father. The man was ordained a Dominican priest. He gave retreats to clergy and laypersons. In one of his retreats, he had a Monsignior Fulton Sheen. When Bishop, Fulton Sheen loved to tell this story of his Dominican retreat master.
There you have two examples of great polishers! How good a polisher can you be!?
Love, Pio
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