12 Saturday Jan 2019
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On the Feast of the Holy Family, Fr. John Riccardo of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth, Michigan shared this moving homily on the lessons his mom and dad learned from 66 years of marriage.
“Seven Keys” – Fr. John Riccardo
Mr. and Mrs. John Riccardo Sr.’s “Seven Keys” to marriage…
05 Saturday Jan 2019
During Advent we embarked on a journey toward Bethlehem to find the Christ child. Along the way, we discovered the importance of encountering Jesus personally, and making Jesus the center of our marriages and the center of our families. Finally, we discovered that this journey prepared us for the mission of taking Jesus into our neighborhoods and the world.
Practically speaking, what actions should we be taking to personally encounter Jesus so that we may be equipped to share Him with others?
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. Hebrews 1:1-2
29 Saturday Dec 2018
Each year, on the first Sunday after Christmas, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family. We are invited to ponder and imitate the love of the Holy Family in our homes and families. Mary and Joseph are models of holy, faithful, obedient, and fruitful love. By their example, may we too put Christ at the center of our families.
Today also marks a milestone for the Calling Couples to Christ Apostolate. This is our 200th blog post. We launched this apostolate because we have a passion for the permanence and sanctity of marriage, as well as a desire to help others experience the joy that comes from living a Christ-centered marriage. If you are touched by what we write here, please share it with others. Our culture is so in need of examples of holy families living out the Gospel in everyday life. Let your light shine in the darkness.
24 Monday Dec 2018
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Christ, Christmas, joy, love, peace, St. Pope John Paul II, Virgin Mother
Adoration of the Shepherds by Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1646
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
The following is an excerpt from St. John Paul II’s Urbi Et Orbi Message, Christmas 2002.[1]
22 Saturday Dec 2018
Families volunteering with Our Lady of Good Counsel PB&J Ministry to feed the homeless on the streets of Detroit
If we allow the love of Christ to change our heart, then we can change the world.[1] Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
The family is the bedrock of our society. It is where children learn love and virtues. When families are healthy and whole, a society is healthy and whole. When family breaks down, civil society breaks down. In the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (Evangelization in the Modern World), Pope St. Paul VI reiterated the church’s mission to evangelize. He stressed the importance of the family in carrying out this mission …
One cannot fail to stress the evangelizing action of the family in the evangelizing apostolate of the laity… In a family which is conscious of this mission, all the members evangelize and are evangelized. The parents not only communicate the Gospel to their children, but from their children they can themselves receive the same Gospel as deeply lived by them. And such a family becomes the evangelizer of many other families, and of the neighborhood of which it forms part.[2]
15 Saturday Dec 2018
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The love between husband and wife…is the foundation and soul of the community of marriage and the family.[1]
As the journey toward Bethlehem continues, we shift our focus to making Christ the center of our families. We began the journey by focusing on the importance of making Jesus the center of our lives. Last week, we discussed making Jesus the center of our marriages.
Pope St. John Paul II in his epic work Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World), states that “the family finds in the plan of God the Creator and Redeemer not only its identity, what it is, but also its mission, what it can and should do…family, become what you are.”[2]
09 Sunday Dec 2018
Advent is a journey toward Bethlehem to find the Christ child, to embrace Him, to make Him the Lord of every aspect of your life. Last week, we began the journey by focusing on the importance of encountering Jesus personally. This week, we will explore why it is important to make Jesus the center of your marriage. Next week, we’ll discuss making Christ the center of your family. We’ll conclude with the mission He has called you to carry out in your neighborhood and in the world.
Why put Christ at the center of your marriage?
In Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis explains that. “Promising love for ever is possible when we perceive a plan bigger than our own ideas and understandings, a plan that sustains us and enables us to surrender our future entirely to the one we love.”[1]
In other words, the more we put Jesus at the center of our lives and our marriages, the more completely we are able to give ourselves to our spouse.
02 Sunday Dec 2018
Healing of the Man Born Blind, El Greco, c.1573
One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see. John 9:25
In the account of Jesus healing the man born blind (see John 9), the blind man encounters Jesus and his life is forever changed. The Gospels are full of stories of people who encountered Jesus and had their lives turned upside down. Examples are Jesus Calling the First Disciples (Mt 18-22), The Call of Matthew (Mt 9:9), The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46-52), Jesus and Zacchaeus (Lk 19:1-10), Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (Jn 4:1-30), and The Conversion of Saul (Acts 9:1-22).
This Advent, we invite you on a journey toward Bethlehem where you will find the Christ child waiting for you to embrace Him. Along the way, you will discover the importance of encountering Jesus personally. You’ll also discover why it is important to make Jesus the center of your marriage and the center of your family. Finally, you’ll discover the mission He has called you to carry out in your neighborhood and the world.
25 Sunday Nov 2018
I saw one like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14
On this the last Sunday of the Liturgical year, the Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. This feast was promulgated by Pope Pius XI in the jubilee year of 1925 in the encyclical letter Quas Primas. Pius XI saw the need for the Church to highlight the Kingship of Jesus Christ in a society that no longer honored or recognized the wisdom of the Church in governing herself.Pius stated that “as long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations. Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ.”[1]
22 Thursday Nov 2018
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Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell
Published in the March 6, 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post
The fourth Thursday of November in the United States is a day set aside to thank God for His many blessings on our nation. The first National Day of Thanksgiving was in 1789. Here is a portion of the text of the declaration signed by George Washington:
NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country.
