Monthly Archives: December 2016

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

30 Friday Dec 2016

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sisto-badalocchio-the-holy-familyToday the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family. As the earthly parents of the Christ child, Mary and Joseph provide the perfect parenting models. Their commitment and obedience to God, exemplify the spirit of love for Christ that guided their lives.

When Mary wondered how it could be that she would be with child, the Angel of the Lord told her that the child would be of the Holy Spirit. Mary responded with trust and obedience (cf. Lk 1:26-38).

Joseph so deeply honored and loved Mary that he was unwilling to subject her to public humiliation So he chose instead to quietly dismiss her. When the angel assured Joseph that the baby was of God, he responded with trust and obedience. He spent his life protecting and supporting the Holy Family (cf. Mt 1:18-25).

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Make Room for Him in Your Heart

24 Saturday Dec 2016

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No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a new-born child. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 563)

The following is an excerpt from the homily given by Pope Benedict XVI at Midnight Mass on the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, at Saint Peter’s Basilica, 24 December 2012:

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Again and again the beauty of this Gospel [Lk 2:1-14] touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendour of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me.

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Permanence of Marriage: Unbroken Church Teaching Throughout the Centuries

17 Saturday Dec 2016

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For the past 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has consistently taught that marriage is permanent, exclusive and fruitful (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1603-1605). In addition, the Church has taught that divorce (from a valid marriage) and remarriage is committing adultery (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2384). Many want the Church to change its teaching so that the divorced and remarried can receive Communion. However, the Church does not have the authority to change God’s design for marriage as revealed in sacred Scripture, taught by the early Church Fathers and interpreted by the Magisterium.

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Marital Success: Put Christ at the Center

10 Saturday Dec 2016

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A recent Pew Research Center Study asked respondents how important each of seven factors were to marital success. Topping the list was having shared interests, a satisfying sexual relationship and sharing household chores. Shared religious beliefs ranked fifth on the list of marriage success factors (see below).

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Marriage: The Object and Subject of Evangelization

03 Saturday Dec 2016

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Marriage is called to be not only an object but a subject of the new evangelization.[1]

With these words, Pope Benedict XVI opened the thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. He explained that:

Matrimony is a Gospel in itself, a Good News for the world of today, especially the dechristianized world. The union of a man and a woman, their becoming “one flesh” in charity, in fruitful and indissoluble love, is a sign that speaks of God with a force and an eloquence which in our days has become greater because unfortunately, for various reasons, marriage, in precisely the oldest regions evangelized, is going through a profound crisis. And it is not by chance. Marriage is linked to faith, but not in a general way. Marriage, as a union of faithful and indissoluble love, is based upon the grace that comes from the triune God, who in Christ loved us with a faithful love, even to the Cross. Today we ought to grasp the full truth of this statement, in contrast to the painful reality of many marriages which, unhappily, end badly.[2] (emphasis added)

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