Published by I could not imagine what my marriage could be when I was growing up. My mother was married to a saint, which she surprised herself w ith being every now and then. When I introduced a friend to a famous and wise man who was a priest, she surprised me by saying “so that is your secret.” I think the perfect marriage is one to a priest.
The idea came to me when as a high school student, I marveled at the priests of Carmel. My parents as the third order of Carmel would take the Carmelite Chaplains out at night. I say chaplains in the plural because we had three in quick succession. These priests had not so long been ordained and were tough critics of the laissez-faire attitude of the Catholic Hierarchy regarding a sinful life. One after the other they got married. My mother told me how handsome and gifted they were, without, typical of my mother, making the connection between their sophistication and quick marriage.
I myself began to think about a marriage when I had the great priviledge of bringing a case to Judge Bill Bush, Chief Justice. He I later learned, years later, from him too, that He was a Carmelite Priest.
I am married to a Israel Priest. I understand the Israeli Priest and the Carmelite Priest to have much the same goal of being a giving, loveing witness to the truth. When I learned that Bill was a Carmelite Priest, I knew why I was married to Bob, so happily and why I got married. It was my call to marry a priest.
The Catholic Church teaches a soldier’s loyalty to the Cross of Christ and has set itself against priests getting married without wisdom or heart. The Church has grown quite a lot in recent years and a priest’s marriage is now interprated as a great blessing. The best soldier is a totally devoted one. This means not only discipline but an inspired generosity that marriage teaches us.
A captain’s marriage is the earliest version of a woman’s marriage to a priestlike man. A Captain’s wife will wait a lifetime for her husband to return from sea. She will wait by the shore, visiting the port, watching the ships. A priest’s wife remains with her husband and the mission he pursues they pursue together. Together they face the viscitudes of life with courage and joy, each finding the call, each finding it in each other.
