The Lord loves marriages. He performed His first public miracle at a marriage feast. He likened His return to the coming of a Husband for His Bride. And a marriage feast was how He portrayed our entry into Heaven.

As no one before Him or since, He understands the significance of the bonds that unites a man and a woman in Holy matrimony, for He considered it as the same bond as between He and His Church.

'And He answered and said unto them, [red][b]Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

'And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

'Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.'[/b][/red]
Matthew 19:4,5,6

It has been the Will of God that your wife has been taken away from you for a season, and you grieve, as grieve you should. A great part of you went with her into that dark night, but please remember that she is no longer in dark night but in the Glorious Morning of His Day.

And, if that be so, then a great part of you is also rejoicing in that Great Reunion with Our Father.

Let His Will work in your life, as well. You have children who need to be raised and told the story of their mother. You need to hold fast to that good part of the memories of your life together with your wife on earth and let go of all the bad memories surrounding that parting.

And as a father must know, your children need you now more than ever, and you must be there to do that duty. You know your wife would not wish for you to give up on life simply because she was not there. No more than you would wish her to stop living had you been the one to go first.

Remember her always, think of her always, and conduct yourself in such a manner that you are worthy to be called the husband of someone in Heaven!

[b]Our most Gracious and Loving Heavenly Father, Giver and Keeper of all life, we come before You now to praise you for the sacrament of marriage that You have given Your children.

You foresaw that we would be lonely on this earth and ordained that marriage would create a lifelong partnership between a man and a woman. And from the Very Beginning, You said, 'It was good.'

[b]Holy Father, be with our dear Brother Dennis in the days of his suffering and sorrow for the loss of his beloved wife. Wipe away his tears, heal his heart, soothe his spirit, and bring him into remembrance of all of the good and pleasant memories of his life's partner, and wash away any thoughts of her sufferings on this earth.

Draw a hedge around him and his family that no dispiriting thought can overcome. Guard them, Holy Father, in the Palms of Your Outstretched and Covering Hands. Keep them in the goodness of Your Heart. Think on them and do mercy.

Holy Father, be with the men and women of our armed forces as they fight for us, and for all of Your children, on foreign plains. Be with their families and loved ones and comfort them as only You can. Bring them all home, Dear Lord, safely and with all honors.

Forgive us of our sins, and remember them no more. Cleanse us of all unrighteousness and create new hearts in each and every one of Your children.

All this we ask in the Holy Name of Your Son, Amen.[/b]