You know, sometimes Jesus touches our hearts even when we don’t want him to. I had a long discussion with two of my Evangelical Christian coworkers this evening. They are good friends of mine who I have worked with day-in and day-out for almost 5 years.
 
I won’t go into the content of our talk, as it lasted for hours and ranged all over, but once we finished, I was drained. I talked too much, and so I actually felt short of breath afterwards (Philip, I could learn a good lesson from you there, in your discretion with words).
 
I came home to an empty house, as the G had gone for the weekend to visit his family and girlfriend. “Well, Lord, it’s just me and You,” I said to God. “And Mary, and Joseph, and St. Therese, and St. Maria Goretti, and my angel, and well, the host of Heaven,” I continued truthfully.
 
I called a few friends, but none were there. No, God wanted a few minutes with me tonight.

I fired up the computer and checked some of my favorite blogs. I went to the mum2twelve’s blog, which I look at often, and saw that she referenced this video about our Blessed Mother that Danielle Bean had linked to a few days earlier.
 
I had seen that post from Danielle Bean, and I usually check out the recommendations that she makes due to my great respect for her, but for whatever reason I didn’t feel like watching what I thought may be a sappy video about our Blessed Mother. (Hey, I was an cynical atheist for many years before converting!)
 
But tonight, alone in my house, I figured what the heck, I’ll check it out. The screen comes up and it says it’s “loading”. I’m wrongly thinking it just some animated gif and so it isn’t really loading anything, but then i right click on it and realize its a flash movie. There’s a sunset picture and I figure I should turn up the sound in case there is something being said. I hear some music and then a man’s voice that sounds a little cheesy to me is singing.
 
I have my fingers on the backspace key this whole time, ready to go back to the previous page and continue my blog checking. This video is kind of cheesy, with nature scenes and this music with this man singing something–”Oh, it’s a litany”, I realize.
 
He is invoking our Lord in classic litany style, and the chorus is doing the responses. Then pictures start being shown of our Blessed Mother in statues and images and the cantor begins calling upon Our Lady in her wonderful tities. “Pray for us” the chorus enjoins after each one.
 

 
The images continue with the song, and soon, irresistibly, I find myself singing “Pray for us”, too. The serene images of our Mother are being displayed one-by-one, with children, with a friar praying, in the sky, in churches, and then pictures of people praying are shown.
 
I feel my heart softening as the cantor starts hitting higher notes in his invocations of Mary. The day’s weariness and loneliness are forgotten for now. Then I see this image of a beautiful young girl praying:

 
She looks so hopeful and devoted, one of Mary’s daughters whom I have never met and probably won’t this side of Heaven. She looks so beautiful as she prays, and at that moment our Father showed me the amazing privilege and honor it is to be entrusted with the care of one of his daughters.
 
I can’t describe what it felt like, as you know that when our Lord touches your heart, you can’t put it into words. I thought of those daughters of His that he has given me friendship with, and how much more care-ful and prayerful I need to become in being their friend, especially as one of them could be the daughter He has chosen for me–a beautiful and holy girl like this one.
 
The St. Joseph prayer for purity speaks of Mary, the Virgin of virgins, and Jesus, Innocence Itself, being entrusted to the faithful care of St. Joseph. God the Father gave his only Son and his most perfect creation into the care of a man.
 
In calling me to marriage, God is giving me the care of one of his precious daughters, my true sister in Christ, to respect, honor, love, protect, and lead her into holiness everyday of our life. For such an supreme gift, I should be on my knees in thanksgiving and in petition for God’s help everyday! Even though I am not even in a courtship with her yet, God wants me to prepare for her by praying for her and for the grace to become like St. Joseph, who was, next to Jesus, the most perfect image of the Father that any man has ever or will ever be.
 
St. Paul said it better than I could and did so in fewer words…
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her.”