Book of Blessings

When Paul and I stood with our children before Fr. Dennis Witz asking him to bless us on our twentieth anniversary, he opened the Book of Blessings and spoke these beautiful words:

Lord, increase and consecrate the love which Paul and Anne have for one another. The wedding rings they once exchanged are the sign of their fidelity. May they continue to prosper in the grace of the sacrament.

In the tender plan of his providence, God our almighty Father has given married love, its faithfulness, and its fruitfulness, a special significance in the history of salvation. Let us therefore call upon him, saying:

Father all-holy, the faithful one, you ask for and respond to fidelity to your covenant; fill with your blessings your servants who are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary.

You live in eternity with the Son and the Holy Spirit in oneness of life and communion of love; grant that these your servants will be mindful of the covenant of love they pledged to each other through the sacrament of marriage and never fail in fidelity.

In your providence you have ordained that all genuinely human experiences should become ways of leading the faithful to share in the mystery of Christ; grant to your servants serenity in good times and bad and the will to stay close to Christ and to live for him alone.

It is your will that married life should be a lesson in Christian living; grant that all husbands and wives may be witnesses to the wonders of your Son's love.

O God, the life of the family is founded on the plan of your own providence. In your mercy receive the prayers of your servants. Grant that by imitating the Holy Family they may reach the joys of your home and together praise you for ever.

Lord God and Creator, we bless and praise your name. In the beginning you made man and woman, so that they might enter a communion of life and love. You likewise blessed the union of Paul with Anne so that they might reflect the union of Christ with his Church: look with kindness on them today. Amid the joys and struggles of their life you have preserved the union between them; renew their marriage covenant, increase your love in them, and strengthen their bond of peace, so that surrounded by their children they may always rejoice in the gift of your blessing. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

And we are abundantly blessed.