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2 FEB-MAR 2024 | DENVER CATHOLIC I n October of this past year, the Archdiocese of Denver was blessed to experience the Unveiled Couples Retreat from the John Paul II Healing Center hosted at St. Mary Parish in Littleton. I have received many incredible testimonies from couples who grew closer together, experienced healing, learned how to pray together and discovered the love of God anew in their relationships. It has been an immense source of gratitude for me as a bishop to hear about the work of the Holy Spirit in the marriages and families of the archdiocese. The retreat reminded me of the prominent role that marriage plays in the Father's plan and how essential good marriages are for society. There are only two institutions which God himself created: marriage with the family and the Church. The basic building block of society is the family, and the primary analogy which Jesus gives us to understand the Church is marriage. In creating man and woman for each other and to be in relationship with each other in marriage, God reveals his plan for our salvation and estab- lishes it as a sign, not only for those who partic- ipate in it, but for the entire world. The nuptial embrace is blessed by God before the fall, and as man and woman come together in the nuptial embrace, the two become one in the gift of their children. This is partly why God elevated the nat- ural institution of marriage to the level of a sacra- ment, to make it a sign of his grace and salvation, the total gift of himself for the world. When couples prepare for marriage, they often receive instruction on the benefits of the sacrament to their relationship with their spouse and with God. This is a good thing for them to be aware of as the Lord truly does dispense grace for their own sanctification through the sacrament. However, many times, the couples do not receive sufficient teaching on the mission of the married couple to the rest of the world. The Catechism teaches, "The fruit of sacramental life is both personal and ecclesial. For every one of the faith- ful on the one hand, this fruit is life for God in Christ Jesus; for the Church, on the other, it is an increase in charity and in her mission of witness" (CCC 1134). Too often, we underestimate and forget the power of the mission of witness in the sacrament of matrimony. ARCH B I S H O P ' S CO LU M N BY ARCHBISHOP SAMUEL J. AQUILA Follow Archbishop Aquila on Social media: | Marriage, Mutual Submission, and the Sign of the Covenant