A lifelong task

Commentary

It is the day of Diana and Frederick´s marriage. Both “feel” that this day was meant to be and that, just as in fairy tales, the film ends with the wedding celebration: a picture of Princess Diana and Prince Frederick. Only in movies does a marriage end with the wedding. The wedding day is the beginning of the rest of their lives in the real world.

Something similar happens when expecting a child. For the parents, the day of their baby´s birth marks the end of the film – we could call it “Little Frederick.” Both the day of the wedding and of a child´s birth, as occurs with many other days that are eagerly awaited, do not constitute the entirety of the film. They are only “trailers.”

The fact that spouses and family members love each other is not just a given because they are married or were born into a family. Family love is not static but dynamic; it is a lifelong task. It is a task, in the sense that it is called to grow, that each one must work to make it grow. Every day in the life of a married couple and a family is a “trailer” of the film shot during their whole life. Fidelity and reciprocal self-giving between spouses and family members depend on our awareness of this task and development.

How? In daily life, through small service details from one spouse to the other, from one family member to the rest. This requires us to think and be specific. To think about how I will love my spouse more today and how I will love my children, my siblings, or other family members more today. It is necessary to imagine specific acts that show my affection for them. And then, to carry them out!