Did you know the Bible teaches it is a husband’s duty to make his wife her coffee in the morning? Really! It’s in He-brews.

Kidding aside, making your wife her coffee in the morning is a great way to grow in holiness. It is a little act of kindness that you can do for her. It is an act of love in the spirit of the Little Way taught by Saint Therese of Lisieux.

My wife and I are big-time coffee drinkers. Neither one of us dares to tackle the day without that first cup of coffee on board. We are not connoisseurs of coffee by any means. We do not grind our own beans nor do we brew expensive brands. What we do enjoy, however, is the smell and the taste of freshly brewed coffee.

It may seem odd to think that making coffee for your spouse is a means by which you can grow in holiness. The key is to approach it with a spirit of love. You can’t do it begrudgingly, as some additional obligation required of you. Instead, you must see this as something beautiful that you can offer. Do not let the “littleness” of the act fool you. Holiness must be pursued in all aspects of our life, at all moments of our day.

If you are not already doing this for your wife, try it. Brew the coffee tomorrow morning. Pour it for her and prepare it exactly how she likes it. Then serve her. Repeat this every morning, as often as your schedule allows. Find out if she has a particular mug that she likes (easier to hold, lighter weight, sentimental value) and use that one.

As a Catholic husband I have been guilty in the past of overly enjoying St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, when he instructs:

Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the Church…

Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.
(Eph 5:22-24)

Brewing the coffee and serving my wife in the morning helps me to remember the rest of St. Paul’s instruction when he states:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Eph 5:25)

I would love to hear back from you. What little acts of kindness do you offer your spouse? Have these gestures of love helped to make your marriage more Christ focused and loving?