Role Models in Love

Today was Pre-Cana day at my parish. I've been a part of it now for eight years. The first year I gave a short presentation on balancing different and busy schedules, but for the past seven years I have spoken about Natural Family Planning (yes, it does work!). Every year, I am amazed by the love that the couples who have been married for over 40 years show for each other.

One of the couples is in their late sixties and gives the talk on sexuality. At first, it seems so out of touch to have this older couple talk about intimacy. But they are such positive role models of two people who have loved each other through sickness and health. They still hug and kiss as if they were teenagers. It is beautiful to see. As they were giving the talk, the woman was telling us about how she goes to the nursing home to give communion and how there is a couple there in their 80s who she looks up to as a model of love and devotion. It was inspiring to hear her talk about how much she has learned from watching them care for each other.

True love is an amazing thing. It has an incredible ability to give. True sexuality and intimacy go far beyond what happens in the bedroom. It is a choice to care for and about the other, to complement each other with our maleness and femaleness - to be two parts of the same side. Marriage certainly doesn't always live up to that ideal, but it is nice to know that it can. It gives us something to strive for.