On the surface, having Valentine’s Day fall on Ash Wednesday seems like a bummer because it doesn’t feel like a celebration, but it presents an opportunity for married couples to go deeper in their prayer life together.

Valentine’s Day is about love, and Ash Wednesday focuses on sacrifice, so praying together as a couple is a beautiful way to show both heartfelt love for each other while sharing in each other’s gift of vulnerability. In response to our prayers, Jesus tells us that the Father is ready to give us his own passionate love that is received by those who genuinely hunger and long for the love of God. 

The Lord tells us whenever two or more are gathered in his name, he is there. What better two to gather in prayer than husbands and wives, who are sharing a life together in Christ. You likely go to church with your spouse, and perhaps you each pray privately. Ash Wednesday is a great reminder that married couples are to put Christ at the center of their lives, and the best way to do that is to gather in his name and pray. When you bring your own concerns, worries, gratitude, feelings and thoughts to the Lord with your spouse and listen to what their concerns are, you not only share your burdens with Christ, you share your burdens with each other in a deeper way.

God is with you as you travel along your marital journey. He is with you in the happy and joyous times, and he wants to share in your joy. He is there in the difficult moments and wants you to call on him for support and guidance. He is there when you aren’t agreeing on something or not getting along well, and he wants to help you come back to each other. An Ash Wednesday-Valentine’s Day convergence is a great reminder that God is present in your marriage every day of your lives. 

Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers is the host of EWTN Radio’s Beacon of Truth and several popular series on EWTN, including Behold The Man.