Lord, we thank You that You have ordained both work and rest. Remind us that they are both gifts. Help us to not take either of them for granted. Remind us especially that rest is holy and set apart unto You and that in neglecting rest, we neglect You.
We thank You for the boundaries that You have established around our lives. Remind us that they are not only for our own good, but that they are also life-giving and hold treasures unseen.
Help us to see Your infinite love and care for us, Your children, whom You fashioned with Your own hands. Never let us forget that every breath we take is Your very breath in us. Remind us to welcome Your partnership with us as we work in places where You have placed us. Forgive us for forgetting our partnership with You as we live out our calling, whether we find ourselves at rest or at work.
Thank You for reminding us that it is not good for us to be alone and thank You for the gift of community with You, the Trinity, and with other humans. Thank You for the gift of marriage and the mystery of marriage. May we never cease to see the beauty of what You intended it to be. Don’t let us overlook the tearing of flesh, the shedding of blood, and the sacrifice of bone in the making of this first marriage.
Holy Spirit, keep us from desecrating marriage with our own ideas of what we think it ought to be. Show us through the example of the Trinity what it means to be one flesh. May it remind us of that eternal and everlasting sacrifice of Jesus’ own flesh and blood in love for the Church, which is now His own body.
Father, Son, and Spirit, may we live our lives in complete openness before You, feeling no shame!
