This Gets It

We applaud the brief excerpt featured in the Daily Mail from a forthcoming Prayer Book for Spouses published by the London-based Catholic Truth Society. We quote from the story:

Roman Catholic couples are being encouraged to pray together before they have sex.

A book published by a prominent Church group invites those setting out on married life to recite the specially-composed Prayer Before Making Love.

It is aimed at 'purifying their intentions' so that the act is not about selfishness or hedonism.

The prayer, which appears in the Prayer Book for Spouses, implores God 'to place within us love that truly gives, tenderness that truly unites, self-offering that tells the truth and does not deceive, forgiveness that truly receives, loving physical union that welcomes'.

It adds: 'Open our hearts to you, to each other and to the goodness of your will.

'Cover our poverty in the richness of your mercy and forgiveness. Clothe us in true dignity and take to yourself our shared aspirations, for your glory, for ever and ever.'

Grade: A+. If the theology of the cross doesn't affect every aspect of life, it isn't properly applied This is the notion that true, joyous life is found in giving oneself, not in receiving--the very heart of the implication of what Christians confess.