Many couples – even those married for decades – want to learn to pray better together. This book is designed to help you pray the Rosary together to obtain all of the sacramental grace that God has in store for your marriage.
With each decade, you will invite the Holy Spirit to enter your marriage and you will petition God to help you continuously shape your marriage into an icon of His love in the world.
“Debbie and Dan Staresinic have put together an excellent aid for couples wishing to deepen their experience in mutual prayer using the Rosary. The short phrases read before each Hail Mary keep the couple immersed in the mystery they are considering and give each a common thought to unite them more closely in prayer. The beautiful icons also add to the overall atmosphere of prayer created by this book. For any couple desiring a deeper union in their relationship, Icon of Love is a valuable tool to solidify marriages and join the hearts of married couples to Jesus through Mary.”
“From young children to seasoned Marian devotees, every Catholic needs help to pray the Rosary better, especially to enter more deeply into the mysteries of Christ’s life so that we may live them more fruitfully. The Rosary is a prayer for and of the family, and in Icon of Love, Dan and Debbie Staresinic share the fruits of their marital contemplation in a way that will nourish the meditation of every domestic Church.”
“While praying and meditating together on the meaning of marriage, on the importance of Mary’s role in your marriage, and on the love of Christ manifested through your marriage you will be inviting the Holy Spirit into your lives and beseeching God to move on earth through your love for each other. The ending meditation for each decade reads ‘Lord make our marriage an icon of Your love.”
“The Icon of Love Rosary guide is a beautiful way not only to enter into the mysteries of the Rosary as a couple, but to bring the grace of those mysteries into the heart of one’s marriage. It was a sweet surprise to discover how down to earth these prayers can be, enhanced by the meditations in this little book. Mystery by mystery, Icon of Love touches every aspect of life and provides a simple, effective way to invite the Holy Spirit daily into one’s marriage. I urge all married couples to pray with it together.”
“Icon of Love is a beautiful way for married and engaged couples to discover or rediscover the life-giving power of the Rosary, presented with stunning Catholic icons from several iconographers. The book doesn’t assume the reader’s level of understanding when it comes to icons or the Rosary, as it explains both to the reader and connects them to the Sacrament of Matrimony. The meditations not only help the reader reflect on each mystery of the life of Christ, but also encourage couples to grow in their nuptial gift through prayers for divine assistance for their marriage. I will utilize this treasure in my own marriage and as a resource for the couples I serve through counseling and the classes I teach.”
“Several years ago, Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body opened my eyes to the Sacrament of Matrimony as an icon of Christ’s love for His Bride,the Church. I came to understand that only in the domain of Christ’s love for us would the love of husband and wife fully flower. We are like cut flowers that need to be immersed in the love of Christ. I believe that Icon of Love: The Rosary for You & Your Spouse is a gift that our Blessed Mother is passing down to all of her cut flowers, so that our marriages are filled and have life and have it abundantly. Thank you, Debbie and Dan!”
Together with each decade you will…
While meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and the reflections in this book, you and your spouse will come to a deeper understanding of your call to make your marriage an icon of God’s love.
The cover art brings together three concepts that are at the core of this book: the Rosary, the union of husband and wife, and the Christ-like love that brings love and life to marriage.
The central design element on the cover (pictured above) represents the wedding rings of the husband and wife and symbolizes their sacramental union. But the overlap also creates a new shape. This shape, known as a mandorla, has a longstanding place in Christian sacred art.
Mandorla is the Italian word for almond, which the shape resembles. In Christian tradition, it has often been used to signify Christ. Christ is fully God and fully man, so if we imagine the overlapping of the divine and earthly realms (circles), we will find Christ in that space.
Thus, the heart in the center of the mandorla represents the love of Christ and, simultaneously, the love that springs forth from marriage when it is Christ-centered.
There are 20 beautiful icons reproduced in the book, illuminating each mystery of the Rosary. The use of icons is fitting, given the book’s title, but in a larger sense the icons prove the principle of the book: that the visible can convey the invisible; that your marriage can (and should!) visibly convey God’s love in the world.
Dan and Debbie Staresinic have been married for 35 years and are blessed with four children and six grandchildren. They have written this book to express their gratitude to God for their marriage and to help others experience the power of the Rosary, the unique beauty of marriage, and the special grace that is available to married couples when they pray together. This book follows two earlier works by Debbie: Theology of the Body Rosary Meditations and On a Mission to Love.
