Every few years, I (Dennis) undergo a stress test to determine the condition of my heart. These checkups are required as the result of a heart attack I suffered 20 years ago. The tests show if there is any deterioration in the heart muscle over time and if any intervention is required to ensure the health of my heart.
Jesus said to his disciples: A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. (Lk 6:43-45)
There is an old joke that says there are three rings of marriage: the engagement ring, the wedding ring and the suffer-ring. People laugh at this but it “rings” with some truth. As couples prepare for marriage, their thoughts are centered on their hopes and dreams for a future filled with joy and happiness. But suffering is inevitable in all of our lives; no one is immune from sickness, trials and ultimately the death of a loved one. We need to think about how we will deal with suffering when it comes. Will it break our relationship or will it draw us closer together? Christ-centered marriages have a better chance of surviving the inescapable sufferings and trials when they come.
Did you know that Canon Law in the Catholic Church dictates the foundational content of marriage preparation? In the chapter entitled, “Pastoral Care and Those Things Which Must Precede the Celebration of Marriage,” Canon Law has this to say about what constitutes a solid marriage preparation program:
While doing his doctrinal studies in theology in Germany in the 1980s, Pope Francis discovered a local devotion to “Mary Untier of Knots.” Since then, he has encouraged this powerful devotion that is based on a painting found in the church of St. Peter am Perlach, in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany.
This week we continue our series on models of marriage lived virtuously. Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi were beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 21, 2001. This fulfilled a lifelong desire of the future St. John Paul II when, for the first time in the history of the Church, he beatified a husband and wife together. The beatification was part of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the publication of John Paul II’s seminal apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World).
St. Joachim and St. Anne are the parents of Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus. Each year the Church venerates them on July 26th. Tradition holds that they struggled with infertility for decades. Infertility quite often resulted in couples being shunned and scorned by their family, friends and neighbors.
Calling Couples to Christ 