Tag Archives: grace

Healing Marriages: Forgiveness and Mercy

16 Sunday Aug 2020

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Forgiveness Chains Broken

In our work with couples, we find the biggest roadblock to a thriving marriage is unforgiveness. We stop the flow of grace when we sin against each other and hurt each other. If we do not forgive each other, little by little, we can find ourselves bound by the chains of bitterness, resentment, and anger. We build walls to protect ourselves from more hurt, further damaging the relationship.

In marriage, husband and wife are on the same team. When issues arise, we need to stop and ask God what is going on. Most times, it is Satan working to drive a wedge in the relationship. He hates you individually and especially as a couple. He will work overtime to divide you and cause disharmony in your relationship. He knows our vulnerabilities and he will use us to attack each other’s weak areas.

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Servanthood

28 Sunday Jun 2020

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Foot Washing

And they came to Caper′na-um; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” Mark 9:33-35

Husbands, you are called to be the servant-leaders of your homes. The man is the head of the home but just as Christ came not to be served but to serve, the husband is called to serve his family, sacrificing his own needs and desires for the good of his family.

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Love One Another

17 Sunday May 2020

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Love One Another_Jn 15 12

This past week, the Gospel readings for Mass were taken from the 14th and 15th chapters of John. These chapters are part of Jesus’ farewell discourse (13:31-16:33) to His disciples during the Last Supper. In addition to words of consolation, Jesus gives instructions for the time when He will be physically absent from them. First and foremost, Jesus commands the disciples – and us – to love one another!

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” (Jn 15:9-12 emphasis added)

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An Ocean of Mercy

19 Sunday Apr 2020

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Divine Mercy mosaic

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.[1]

We are living in unprecedented times. We are faced with a global pandemic the likes of which the world has not experienced in a century. Stay-in-place orders are common in most areas of the United States. Schools and businesses are closed. Parents are struggling with schooling children while working from home themselves. Tensions are rising and patience is wearing thin. Despair and hopelessness are at all-time highs. And with churches unable to celebrate Mass, the domestic church has become the norm for families.

In the midst of all this, today the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday. St. Maria Faustina Kowalska was a Polish nun who experienced apparitions of Jesus. She recorded these apparitions and messages from Jesus in a detailed diary. Her diary records 14 occasions when Jesus requested that a Feast of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday) be observed. Here is one of those messages…

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Your Wedding Vows Image Christ’s Love

18 Saturday Jan 2020

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Catholic Wedding_02 (2)

Friday, we attended the wedding of a dear couple we helped prepare for the Sacrament of Matrimony. The climax of the Nuptial Rite is the recitation of vows. These vows are integral to every Catholic wedding and are steeped with meaning.

In the Marriage Rite of the Catholic Church, the bride and groom are asked these questions:

“Have you come here freely and without reservation…”

“…to give yourself to each other in marriage?”

“Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?”

“Will you accept children lovingly from God?”

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Opening to the Grace of Advent

08 Sunday Dec 2019

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Slide2

Reflect on the law of the Most High, and let his commandments be your constant study. Then he will enlighten your mind, and make you wise as you desire. Sirach 6:37

Last week we kicked off the new liturgical year in the Church with the beginning of Advent. The Church gives us Advent as a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child into the world. It is a time for silent contemplation of all God has done for us in sending His Son to save us from our sins. This is a stark contrast to the world around us that is feverishly shopping for gifts, preparing for holiday get-togethers, and focusing on the busyness of the season.

In the Church, liturgical years are called “years of grace.” All of the liturgies and prayers of Church take us through Jesus’ life, passion, death and resurrection, as well as other key moments in salvation history. This year, the new liturgical year began on December 1st. To make the new liturgical year spiritually great, a true “year of grace,” we need to predispose ourselves to receiving God’s grace.

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A Light to the Nations

01 Sunday Dec 2019

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“Lord…mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel.” Luke 22:29-32

Today marks the first Sunday in Advent and the start of a new liturgical year in the Church. While the world around us is feverishly shopping for gifts, preparing for holiday get-togethers, and focusing on the busyness of the season, the Church gives us Advent. This is a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child into the world. It is a time to slow down and contemplate the meaning of God becoming man to save us from sin and death. This is a time when we should be conforming our lives more completely to Christ. We are His instruments in the world. Through our witness, others will come to know His love and mercy.

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The Role of the Holy Spirit in Marriage

08 Sunday Sep 2019

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Come Holy Spirit Wedding

Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy…he who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 1 Corinthians 14:1, 3

The Sacraments are an encounter with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is present in all of the Sacraments. At baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit; we are immersed in Christ’s death and resurrection, freed from the stain of original sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says “Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments” (CCC, 1213, emphasis added).

Have you ever wondered why couples who marry in the Catholic Church have to be baptized? It is because the Holy Spirit is imparted at baptism and this is a requirement for the marriage to be sacramental. In “this sacrament the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the communion of love of Christ and the Church. The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the ever available source of their love and the strength to renew their fidelity” (CCC, 1624, emphasis added).

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Fixing the Root Cause of Violent Crime: Healthy and Holy Marriages and Families

10 Saturday Aug 2019

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St Josemaria on Marriage

The future of the world and of the Church passes through the family.[1]

These prophetic words were penned by St. John Paul II in 1982 in his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (The Christian Family in the Modern World). Society and the Church are built on the foundation of strong marriage and family life.

The well-being of the individual person and of human and Christian society is intimately linked with the healthy condition of that community produced by marriage and family.[2]

These equally prophetic words were written in 1965 by Pope Paul VI in the Vatican II document, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes). It was a time when traditional values were being questioned and often jettisoned as being “old fashioned.” Divorce was rapidly rising, the number of children born out of wedlock was increasing and traditional family life and moral values were under attack.

Our society today is suffering the ills of the breakup of marriages and families. Continue reading →

Lessons from the Wedding Feast at Cana

20 Sunday Jan 2019

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wedding-at-cana-esteban-murillo

The Marriage Feast at Cana, Bartolome Esteban Murillo, c. 1675

The Gospel reading for today, the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, recounts the Wedding Feast at Cana where Jesus turns water into wine. To understand the significance of Jesus performing His first miracle at a wedding feast let’s look first at the creation of man and woman in Genesis, the first chapter of the Bible.

In the beginning…

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