Father, what advice do you have for a newly-married couple?

Maria Ester Goldsack, Santiago de Chile

January 22, 2002

Tags: Children, Marriage In July 1974, I was lucky enough to meet Msgr Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer in the Colegio Tabancura in Chile. I asked him a question which has had a profound effect on my life. I said, “Father, what advice do you have for a newly-married couple who are aiming for holiness?”

I can still feel his loving gaze on me and see his joyous smile as he answered: “Firstly, love each other very much, according to God’s law. Next, don’t be afraid of life; love all of each other’s defects as long as they don’t offend God; and then, don’t neglect yourself, because you don’t belong to yourself. You’ve already heard, and you know it’s true, that you belong to your husband, and he belongs to you. Don’t let anyone steal him away from you! His soul should go to Heaven together with you, and as well as that, he and you together need to give Chilean quality – meaning Christian quality – and human grace to the children God sends you. Pray together a little. Not a lot, but a little every day. When you forget, he should remind you, and when he forgets, you remind him. Never tell him off, don’t nag him about things.”
These words left a deep mark on my soul and help me enormously in my daily struggle to follow Jesus Christ.