Invitation to a great substack
This is one of my favorite substacks.
Tony and his wife write about poetry and music because they want to advance the appreciation of beauty, truth, and goodness. Beauty is nearly lost in our modern world because of deconstructionism. Truth has been warped by relativism. And goodness? Cultural cynicism has all but eliminated our ability to recognize it. We must recover these transcendentals. We need to see beauty in the natural landscapes and creatures that surround us. Even more essential is to find the beauty of other human beings in our callings.
I had been thinking about marriage and especially couples who had been married for a lifetime. Isn’t that what we all hope to attain when we make our vows on our wedding day? It’s not so easy. It requires patience, kindness…well, all the graces listed by St. Paul.
I found Debra Esolen’s post about a beautiful sonnet by William Shakespeare. I wanted to see what Shakespeare and Debra Esolen had to say about marriage, so I read it. I invite you to do the same.
I responded:
I was just reflecting on the nature of love long lived as a married couple, and I found your comments and this sonnet. My perspective has changed now, from the eager yearning of courtship and flaring passions of those first years, through the trials and terrors of middle marriage, when love seems cold and far away sometimes, to the comfort of having weathered the storms and arrived at home at last with your beloved. When I was young I loved to see couples who had lived their marriage well and seemed so peaceful and gentle with each other--their smiles, patting of hands, and familiar courtesy enchanted me. My husband and I have been married 33 years. We will never reach 50, having married late. But by God's grace I find myself in such a blessed state.
Thank you, Debra and William. Thank you, Pat.