Christian spouses receive a special consecration and a special mission.

From the Pope’s General Audience on April 2:

“Married couples carry out this vocation in a full and definitive communion of life. As ‘one flesh,’ they become living icons of God’s love in our world, building up the Church in unity and fidelity.” — Pope Francis

Yesterday, the Pope concluded his Catechesis on the Sacraments with a reflection on marriage as a unique vocation and noble sign of God’s love in the world. Here is the full text available on vatican.va. 

Dear Brothers and Sisters: Today we conclude our catechesis on the sacraments with the sacrament of Matrimony, which brings us to the very heart of God’s loving plan for the human family. The Triune God created us – men and women – in his image and calls us to mirror the mystery of his love. Married couples carry out this vocation in a full and definitive communion of life. As “one flesh”, they become living icons of God’s love in our world, building up the Church in unity and fidelity.

Christian marriage also reflects the mystery of Christ’s own faithful and sacrificial love for his body, the Church. Christian spouses thus receive a special consecration and a special mission. While a noble vocation, marriage is not an easy one: it must constantly be strengthened by a living relationship with the Lord through prayer: mornings and evenings, at meals, in the recitation of the Rosary, and above all through the Sunday Eucharist.

Today let us pray for all families, especially those experiencing difficulties, so that by God’s mercy they can always be joyful models of faith, love and generous service in our communities.