He is mindful of his covenant for ever… Psalm 105:8

A contract is a mutually beneficial agreement entered into by two parties. The contract can be broken when it is no longer beneficial to one of the parties. In contrast, a marriage covenant is a lifelong agreement entered into by two parties and God that can never be broken. The Hebrew word for covenant is berith, derived from a root which means “to cut.” Entering into a covenant in the Old Testament involved the ritual of cutting or dividing an animal into two parts with the contracting parties passing between them to seal the agreement. Both parties vowed an oath that it be done unto them as was done to this animal if they violated the terms of the agreement.

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Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Today the Church celebrates World Marriage Day, giving honor to husbands and wives who faithfully live out their covenant in the Sacrament of Marriage. Two days from now, our culture will celebrate love on Valentine’s Day. Advertisers work hard convincing us that love is all about warm, fuzzy feelings, cards, candy and flowers.

Christian husbands and wives are in a unique position to show the world what real love is. True love is the total gift of self for the betterment of another. It involves sacrifice. Love is doing what is right even when it does not feel very good. Love is meeting the needs of someone else before your own needs. We can love because God first loved us. The perfect image of this unconditional love is Jesus nailed to the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Ask God for the grace to be able to love your spouse in this self-sacrificial way.

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