Answering God's Call - The Marriage Vocation: Todd & Katie Harris

This is the sixth article in our series on Christian vocation.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

Many couples have a story to tell. Whether it is the one about how they met and love at first sight, or a first-date story of romance and giddy excitement; for some it’s the sweet memory of their engagement, or the perfection of their wedding day. Although we have wonderful memories of those times shared as a couple, they do little to define our marriage… The “Story of Us” began deeply rooted in our spirituality.

We attended a weekend retreat where we were asked to separately reflect on the moment when we knew we wanted to share our lives together in marriage. To our surprise, our answers were identical and we had never discussed this topic previously. We both had an epiphany (no pun intended) at the first mass we attended together (which happened to be the 2003 Easter liturgy at Epiphany). At that that mass I was truly touched by the spirit and knew that I was being called to live out my life with Todd, then my boyfriend) in the vocation of marriage. I cannot find the words to explain the feeling that I had at that moment.

I did not mention it to Todd because I knew that I could not explain what I had felt, and we had only been dating for a couple of weeks, I didn’t want him to think I was crazy or bringing up the topic of marriage too soon. It was a beautiful moment for me to learn that he had been touched in the same way at that Easter celebration and had also realized we were meant to live our lives together in the vocation of marriage.

In discussing that moment for the first time together, we realized that we were not only making a vow to each other and to God; but we also understood that our decision to live out our vocation was a communal action. We had the opportunity to share our love for each other, and our love of our faith, through our example as a married couple. We know that our marriage is a spiritual gift, and we wish to share that gift with others.

In order to share our love and relationship Todd and I became active in Catholic Engaged Encounter. Our involvement allows us to remain focused on our own marriage and the values we hold, but also to reach out and share that love we experience with other couples who are preparing for their vocation of marriage. We directly see how this benefits others, and we know that if they go forward and share their love and hearts with the world that we are truly making an impact through our vocation.

Through intentionally sharing our love, we have not only learned of the importance of God in our marriage, but also the importance of prayer. Praying together has not always been easy, nor has it always felt natural; but it has, over time, become a foundation of our relationship. We have created rituals for our daily lives that are centered on prayer together. In addition, we share in some private prayer together at weekly mass. These are sacred moments we have incorporated into our marriage. Our relationship is proof to us of Gods love for us. We have been blessed with the gift of each other and we know that by God’s love and example through Christ that we are better together than we could ever be apart. We have also come to understand that this love can reach beyond the walls of our own home and be shared to better our community and church.

~Todd and Katelyn Harris