Tag Archives: Catholic

Making Your Marriage a Sacrifice of Praise

11 Friday Aug 2017

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Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Psalm 50:5-6

Our parents grew up during the Great Depression and both of our fathers served in World War II. Back then, self-sacrifice was a normal part of life. However, in modern times, we have an aversion to sacrifice; it is to be avoided at all costs. But, the increasing rates of divorce, suicide and substance abuse suggest that people are not happy. That’s because true happiness is found in giving ourselves totally for the good of another, in imitation of Christ’s self-sacrificial love for His bride, the Church.

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Hebrews 13:15

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Families: The center of evangelization efforts in the Archdiocese of Detroit

20 Thursday Jul 2017

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Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit

Photo Credit: The Michigan Catholic

On June 3rd, the Vigil of Pentecost, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit issued a pastoral letter, Unleash the Gospel. This letter is the game plan for the transformation of the Archdiocese into a “joyful band of missionary disciples.”

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Praying Scripture for your Marriage and Family

25 Sunday Jun 2017

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Christ the Teacher (Photo Credit: orthodoxy-icons.com)

This week, we invite you to pray for your marriage and family using Psalms 127 and 128. Pray these passages with your spouse and meditate on a verse that particularly strikes you. God’s Word is a fountain of blessings. May He bless you richly.

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Entrust Your Family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

18 Sunday Jun 2017

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During the entire month of June, Holy Mother Church honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated this year on June 23. The Directory of Popular Piety and the Liturgy says, “The term ‘Sacred Heart of Jesus’ denotes the entire mystery of Christ, the totality of his being, and his person…Devotion to the Sacred Heart…calls for a fundamental attitude of conversion and reparation, of love and gratitude, apostolic commitment and dedication to Christ and his saving work” (166, 172).

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Marriage: Wounded by the Fall, Redeemed by Christ

04 Sunday Jun 2017

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The Marriage Feast at Cana, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1672

Marriage has been “wounded by the fall and our own personal sin,” but “the redemptive work of Christ renews and restores the goodness of creation and hence of marriage,” says Dr. Eduardo J. Echeverria, Professor of Philosophy and Systematic Theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. He has written an excellent article to dispel the confusion surrounding marriage in our modern culture. The article has been posted to The Catholic Thing website and can be read by clicking on the following link…

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Be Hungry for More

30 Sunday Apr 2017

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God…does not ration his gift of the Spirit. John 3:34

“No thanks, Lord. I have enough fruits of your Spirit. I’m good. I don’t need any special graces.” Does this sound like you? Do you know that the gifts of the Spirit will help you live out the Sacrament of Matrimony faithfully, fruitfully and forever?

Marriage is hard work. The family is to be the center of the New Evangelization with the mission of witnessing Christ’s life and love to the world. We have to become desperate for the sake of others. We have to become hungry for the souls of our families, our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends. Are you desperate? Are you hungry? Do you want more of the Spirit?

God wants to give you more of His Spirit. However, God only gives us more of His Spirit if we have a burning desire for Him. God feeds us according to our hunger. God has prepared a huge, sumptuous banquet for us and He is the main course. There is always more for those who hunger for God.

Are you hungry for more of God’s Spirit? Are you desperate to receive the Lord? Be a hungry beggar before God: “God, I need more of your Spirit. I need more of your grace. I need more of your mercy. I need more of your love. I have so little of you, Lord. Give me more.”

Be a person hungry to make Jesus known and loved. Be hungry for God so that He will fill you to overflowing with His Spirit. Then go and preach the Good News of the Gospel to those in most need of God’s love and mercy.

Peace be with you.

This is the 100th post to the Calling Couples to Christ blog. Please pray for us and our ministry of building holy and happy marriages as we pray for you.

Family: Be a Witness to the Beauty of God

22 Saturday Apr 2017

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“Beauty will save the world,” said Russian novelist and philosopher Fyodor Dostoyevsky in his 1868 novel The Idiot.

Indeed, God, the one who is all beautiful has saved the world! He is jaw-droppingly beautiful. He is so beautiful that we cannot bear to see Him face-to-face. In the Old Testament, anyone who looked upon the face of God would die. We can get a glimpse of His beauty and grandeur through His resplendent creation. Apostles Peter, James and John were given a glimpse of this beauty during the transfiguration of Jesus, “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light” (Mt 17:2). Nothing is more beautiful than what Jesus did on the cross for the salvation of our souls.

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Lenten Reflection: The Carrying of the Cross

25 Saturday Mar 2017

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Titian, Carrying of the Cross, c. 1565

This is the fourth in our series reflecting on the Gospel accounts of Christ’s passion and death on a cross using the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary as our guide. We have looked at Christ’s agony in the garden of Gethsemane where he took on the sins of the world, His brutal scourging at the hands of the Roman guards and the crowning of thorns. Today we will look at the torturous journey to Golgotha as Christ carried His own cross to be used in His crucifixion.

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Lenten Reflection: The Crowning With Thorns

19 Sunday Mar 2017

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Crowning with Thorns, Gerard van Honthorst, c. 1622

And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the praetorium); and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him. Mark 15:16-17

During Lent, we are reflecting on Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. So far, we have reflected on the Agony in the Garden and The Scourging. This week we will look at the third Sorrowful Mystery of the Holy Rosary, the Crowning with Thorns.

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