Tag Archives: love

Blessings from the Lord

13 Sunday Dec 2020

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And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 28:2

Eighteen years ago today, we were joined together in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. We believe that was the fulfillment of God’s promise to us.

We were both widowed, and in the midst of our grief, God encouraged both of us with this verse from Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer 29:11). We held on to these words tightly as the days, months, and years passed by without our beloved spouses.

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:56-58

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Giving Thanks Isn’t Just for Thanksgiving Day

29 Sunday Nov 2020

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Philippians 4

In the letters of Paul, he consistently exhorts us to be joyful in all circumstances. You may read these and think, “Well, that is a nice platitude but my circumstances are different.” Really? Do you know the circumstances that Paul endured?

Paul’s sufferings as an Apostle of Jesus Christ are chronicled in 2 Corinthians 11:24-33. Paul endured:

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Marriage: Witness to God’s Faithful Love

18 Sunday Oct 2020

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God loves us with a definitive and irrevocable love…married couples share in this love…it supports and sustains them, and…by their own faithfulness they can be witnesses to God’s faithful love. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1648

The faithful love of husband and wife in marriage is a witness to God’s faithful love to His people. You cannot find a more noble task. Or a more impossible one! We are wounded and broken people. We cannot live this kind of love on our own. But God has not left us alone. In the Sacrament of Matrimony, we get grace to love as Christ loved: freely, totally, faithfully, and fruitfully. Continue reading →

Serve Your Family in Humility

22 Saturday Aug 2020

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Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet
Ford Madox Brown, c. 1852–6

Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3

St. Paul wrote these words to the young church in Ephesus, imploring them to have unity with their Christian sisters and brothers. These words equally apply to family life where the daily grind can lead to impatience and short fuses. To live out these words requires a humble heart. It requires that we give up our right for justice when we have been maligned and ill-treated. It requires humility to respond to an afront with kindness. It requires humility to choose to love even when that love is not returned. It requires humility to serve your spouse, seeking always to be a blessing to them even when they do not desire it,. It requires humility to always choose the path that builds up and does not tear down. It requires humility to be a peacemaker in this most sacred covenant of marriage.

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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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Back to the School of Love

01 Saturday Aug 2020

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Since 1965, August has been recognized as “Back to School” month. This year, many public and private schools are still trying to determine what that looks like amidst the COVID-19 confusion. But we want to encourage all families to prepare to go back to the “school of love.”

The good news is you don’t have to leave your house or join a Zoom call to attend this school! It is right in your own home. Because the home is where children first hear the gospel proclaimed, the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the family as the domestic church, “a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity” (1666).

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Saints Louis and Zélie Martin: A Tender and Strong Love

12 Sunday Jul 2020

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July 12 is the feast day of Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, the first married couple to be canonized together. We have written about the holiness of this extraordinary couple here and here. Today, we want to highlight their love for each other.

In The Story of a Family: The Home of the Little Flower, Fr. Stéphane-Joseph Piat says the love Zélie and Louis bore each other:

[K]ept all the fervor of the days of betrothal, all love’s delicacies, the confidences of a supernatural friendship. The wife admired her husband. After four and a half years of married life, she writes of him, “I am always very happy with him. He makes my life very sweet. My husband is a saintly man.”[1]

As examples of their affection for each other, Fr. Piat shares excerpts from letters Zélie and Louis exchanged. In a letter dated, August 31, 1873, Zélie said, “I long to be with you, Louis dear. I love you with all my heart and I feel my affection doubled by being deprived of your company. I could not live apart from you.”[2]

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The Meaning of Love

05 Sunday Jul 2020

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Florentine Cross

Love is a very misunderstood word. We love our parents, pizza, and puppies. Have you ever looked up the meaning of love in a dictionary? According to Merriam-Webster, love is defined as:

(1) strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties

(2) attraction based on sexual desire

(3) affection based on admiration, benevolence or common interests

(4) the sexual embrace, copulation

These are just a few of the definitions listed. Is this all there is to love? Is love something more than affection, desire, admiration, or the sexual act?

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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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