A Good Example from Blessed Frederic Ozanam:
Blessed Frederic Ozanam is best known as the founder of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, yet he was also quite an excellent husband. He wrote the following letter to his future bride prior to their wedding:
“I cannot offer you the conveniences of an amiable life of leisure or the prestige of a large income or tranquility or anything especially remarkable, none of the things that seduce most people. Nevertheless, I hope that my gift, as modest as it may be, will be accepted kindly, for it is the thing that God’s eternal majesty wants of us, that it prefers to everything else, the only thing that it desires, the only thing that deserves to be presented to you: I give you the will of a man, an upright and honest will, the will to be good so as to make you happy.”
Blessed Frederic’s actions proved his firm will to be good. One small sign he leaves us – on the twenty-third of each month, Blessed Frederic gave a bouquet of flowers to his wife Amelie in remembrance of their wedding day (June 23, 1841).
How Will I Apply This? (The Challenge):
Step 1: I will circle the day of our monthly wedding anniversary on my calendar for the next several months.
Step 2: I will intentionally decide right now on some specific act of love that I can do for my wife to celebrate our anniversary each month. Something small, yet something I know she would enjoy.
Step 3: When the day arrives each month, I will follow through on the plan and take action.
Some Possible Results:
- I may eliminate all possibility of ever forgetting to celebrate our annual wedding anniversary – avoiding the quintessential husband mistake.
- I may become more intentional about romancing my wife – more greatly cherishing her as she deserves.
- I may begin to see new ways to honor my wife in small actions – building up my arsenal of smooth moves.
