Greetings. Annually, on the Sunday before Valentine’s Day, the Catholic Church recognizes World Marriage Day. Blessings upon all of our married couples and for those who are preparing for the Sacrament of Matrimony. The following prayer is from the Book of Blessings.
Almighty and eternal God, you have so exalted the unbreakable bond of marriage that it has become the sacramental sign of your Son’s union with the Church as his spouse. Look with favor on these couples, whom you have united in marriage, as they ask for your help and the protection of the Virgin Mary. They pray that in good time and in bad they will grow in love for each other; that they will resolve to be of one heart in the bond of peace. Lord, in their struggles let them rejoice that you are near to help them; in their needs let them know that you are there to rescue them; in their joys let them see that you are the source and completion of every happiness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The big game is this evening. Before you “watch our Eagles fly” it may be helpful to spend some time, prayerfully, with these random passages from Sacred Scripture. Go Birds! Blessings!
“Tell the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself.” Exodus 19:4
“The Lord will raise up against you a nation from afar, from the end of the earth, that swoops down like an eagle, a nation whose tongue you do not understand.” Deuteronomy 28:49
“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished, separated neither in life nor in death, swifter than eagles, stronger than lions!” 2 Samuel 1:23
“But they shall swoop down to the foothills.” Isaiah 11:14
“They will soar with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary.” Isaiah 40:31
“It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green.” Jeremiah 17:8
“Behold, like an eagle he soars.” Jeremiah 48:40
“You build your nest high as the eagle.” Jeremiah 49:16
“And finally, each had the face of an eagle.” Ezekiel 1:10
“The great eagle, with great wings, with long pinions, with thick plumage, many hued, came to Lebanon.” Ezekiel 17:3
“You go as high as the eagle, and your nest be set among the stars.” Obadiah 1:4
“They shoot by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping upon its prey.” Job 9:26
“Your youth is renewed like the eagles’s.” Psalm 103:5
“There the birds build their nests.” Psalm 104:17
“Birds nest with their own kind.” Sirach 27:9
“Then I looked again and heard an eagle flying high overheard crying out in a loud voice.” Revelation 8:13
“But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in the desert.” Revelation 12:14