Tapping into Grace: The Second Stone Jar

Jar2We have been reflecting on the Wedding Feast at Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle (Jn 2:1-11). He turned ordinary water into an overabundance of the best wine.

Wine symbolizes joy! Jesus wants you to know abundant and fruitful joy in your marriage. Last week, we began to look at ways to receive the grace that Jesus wants to pour into your marriage.

Just as there were six stone jars at Cana, we propose that there are six “jars” which we need to fill with water (our efforts) so that Jesus can turn it into wine.

Last week, we discussed the first stone jar: “Follow Christ.” This week we will focus on the second of the stone jar: “Read Scripture.”

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Tapping into Grace: Six Stone Jars

Wedding Feast at CanaLast week, we looked at Jesus’ first miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana (Jn 2:1-11). We learned that Jesus wants you to know abundant and fruitful joy in your marriage. He wants to lavish grace upon you. This week, we begin to look at ways to receive that grace in your marriage.

In order to make wine, Jesus asks the servants to fill the jars with water. He is waiting to turn our water into wine. We propose that there are six “jars” which we need to fill with water (our efforts) so that Jesus can turn it into wine. Jesus wants to bless us with an overabundance of His grace so that our marriages are an image of His unbreakable covenant with His people.

The six stone jars that we offer for your consideration are:

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Turning Water into Wine: Lessons from Cana

Wedding at CanaJesus performed His first miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana. He turned water into wine! He turned lots of water into lots of wine! He wants to do the same for your marriage. He wants you to know abundant and fruitful joy in your marriage. He wants to lavish grace upon you. So how do you receive that grace in your marriage? To help answer that question, let’s take a close look at the biblical account of the wedding feast at Cana. Here we can learn three important lessons:

    1. Marriage is a sacrament,
    2. God wants to pour abundant grace upon your marriage, and
    3. Obedience is the key to receiving grace.

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Book Review – “Men, Women and the Mystery of Love”

Men Women Mystery of Love_Sri 2                 Book Review

Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility, by Edward Sri. Servant Books: Cincinnati, OH, 2007. 165 pages. ISBN: 0867168404. Reviewed by Dennis L. Wingfield.

To assist in our ministry to couples with troubled marriages, we were looking for a concise and easy-to-read book which would help couples understand the wonderful teachings of John Paul II on marriage and relationships. Sri’s book, Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility, fittingly addresses this need.

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Pope Francis’ First Catechesis on the Family

On September 22-27, 2015, Philadelphia will welcome the World Meeting of Families 2015, which is expected to draw a global audience. In June 2012, the 7th World Meeting, held in Milan, Italy, drew hundreds of thousands to the city with more than one million attending the Holy Father’s Mass.

Since its inception by Blessed John Paul II in 1994, the World Meeting of Families has sought to strengthen the sacred bonds of family across the globe. Each World Meeting of Families has a theme, which aims to emphasize the good news of the family and highlight its intrinsic value to the good of society. The theme for the 2015 World Meeting of Families is “Love is our mission: the family fully alive.”

The following is the text of Pope Francis’ first catechesis on the family, delivered last December, leading up to this year’s World Meeting of Families.

Final 2014 General Audience Address: On Jesus’ Choice to Be Part of a Family

“As Mary and Joseph did, every Christian family can first of all receive Jesus, listen to him, talk with him, guard and protect him, grow with him, and thus improve the world.”

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