Tag Archives: Marriage

Feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph

23 Saturday Jan 2021

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Espousal of Joseph and Mary

Marriage of Mary
Domenico Ghirlandaio, c. 1486 – 1490
Santa Maria Novella Basilica, Florence, Italy

You give the Church the joy of celebrating the feast of the Holy Spouses, Mary and Joseph: in her, full of grace and worthy Mother of your Son, you signify the beginning of the Church, the resplendently beautiful bride of Christ; you chose him, the wise and faithful servant, as Husband of the Virgin Mother of God, and made him head of your family, to guard as a father your only Son, conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Preface to the Mass, Feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph

Today is the lesser-known Feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph. It is also known as the Feast of the Holy Spouses.

This feast was first celebrated on August 29, 1517, when Pope Leo X granted the Nuns of the Annunciation permission to do so. In the 19th and 20th century, permission was given for this feast to be celebrated on January 23, though this varies in different parts of the world. This feast is not on the universal liturgical calendar of the Church and is typically celebrated at various shrines dedicated to St Joseph.

St John Paul II, in his apostolic exhortation, Redemptoris Custos, discusses the importance of St Joseph in the Holy Family. The marriage of Joseph and Mary is the prototype and model of Christian marriage and an example of the profound union of hearts and spousal self-gift that is meant to be the reality of all married couples.

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The Fix to Marital Unhappiness: It’s Not What You Think

17 Sunday Nov 2019

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To bear witness to the inestimable value of the indissolubility and fidelity of marriage is one of the most precious and most urgent tasks of Christian couples in our time.[1] St. John Paul II

More often than not, the engaged couples we meet in our marriage preparation ministry were raised in broken families. They witnessed dysfunctional family dynamics growing up. Consequently, they have no idea what a good marriage looks like.

In his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, St. John Paul II said, “Marriage preparation has to be seen and put into practice as a gradual and continuous process. It includes three main stages: remote, proximate and immediate preparation.”[2] Marriage preparation starts in the family through the example of the mother and father to their children, continues through adolescence right up to the actual marriage. The Pope stressed that this training is “more urgently needed for engaged couples that still manifest shortcomings or difficulties in Christian doctrine and practice.” This is even more critical today when young engaged couples’ marriage preparation was the emotional trauma of their parents’ divorce.

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Cohabitation: Perception vs. Reality

09 Saturday Nov 2019

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Marriage_vs_Cohabitation

Marriage vs. Cohabitation Rates in the U.S.[1]

During the last five decades, marriage rates have steadily declined while cohabitation rates have exponentially increased. Americans have become less likely to marry. From 1970 to 2010, the marriage rate declined more than 50 percent (figure on the left above). Between 1960 and 2010, the number of unmarried couples in America increased more than 17-fold (figure on the right above). More than 60 percent of first marriages are now preceded by living together, compared to virtually none 50 years ago.[2]

Equally shocking is the growing acceptance of cohabitation, even among Catholics. This week, the Pew Research Center published a study on Marriage and Cohabitation in the U.S. Only 14% percent of those surveyed believe that it is never acceptable for two unmarried adults in a romantic relationship to live together. About half (48%) of people surveyed say that couples who cohabitate before marriage are more likely to have a successful marriage. About six-in-ten (59%) say that cohabitating couples can raise children as successfully as married couples. Surprisingly, the study found that about three-quarters of Catholics (74%) say it is acceptable for an unmarried couple to live together even if they do not plan to get married.

Perception does not equal reality.

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Marriage and Family: God’s Divine Plan

12 Saturday Oct 2019

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We find ourselves facing a firestorm that is apparently global about the biblical plan for sexuality, marriage, and family. How are we to act in relation to this disturbing phenomenon? Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap

Capuchin Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa is the preacher of the Pontifical Household. In a homily a few years back, he reflected on Gaudium et spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. He says that this document addresses many social issues; the most relevant and problematic is marriage and family.

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Competition in Marriage

29 Sunday Sep 2019

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Are you a competitive person? Do you like to compete with your spouse? Here are some signs of competition in your marriage:

  1. You will do whatever it takes to win an argument.
  2. You always have to be right.
  3. You take winning a little too seriously, even in fun activities like board games.
  4. Everything becomes a contest.
  5. You gloat when you win.
  6. You are a sore loser.

Competition in marriage is deadly. In our coaching ministry, we encourage couples with weak conflict resolution skills to work together to brainstorm win-win solutions to their disagreements. When both spouses in a marriage feel that their needs and desires are being met, they work together to identify and implement a solution.

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Satan Hates Marriage

22 Sunday Sep 2019

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Throughout Scripture, God uses marriage as an analogy of His love for us. God created us for friendship with Him. His plan is for us to share in His divine life for all eternity. Everything that God created is good; it was created out of love. God created man and woman, instituting marriage as a sacrament to bless them. Through marriage, He commanded them to be fruitful and fill the earth.

One of His creatures, an angel, rebelled out of envy of us. Through “the devil’s envy death entered the world” (Wisdom 2:24). Because the devil couldn’t defeat God, he went to battle with the creatures that God loved most, human beings created in His image and likeness.

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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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Marriage: Imaging God’s Love

18 Sunday Aug 2019

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Seeing Jesus in Each Other

What is the point of marriage? To understand the point of marriage, we need to first understand the sacramentality of marriage. What is a Sacrament? It is a visible sign of an invisible reality, instituted by Christ as a source of grace. In the Sacrament of Matrimony, the visible sign is the couple themselves. What is the invisible reality of this sign? Jesus. The husband and wife have the mission of being Christ to each other, to their children, and to the whole world. You cannot have a loftier task!

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Balancing Priorities in Marriage and Family Life

20 Saturday Jul 2019

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Work-Life Balance

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:21

What do you treasure most in your life? Your career, beautiful home, car, friendships, family, leisure time, possessions? To help you determine what you treasure most, look at your calendar. Where do you invest the greatest amount of time, energy, and finances?

Take a few moments to look at the figures below and honestly decide which one best represents the focus of your life.

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Corpus Christi: Eucharist and Marriage Intimately Linked

23 Sunday Jun 2019

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Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist – His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

Marshall Fightlin, seminary professor and licensed marriage and family psychologist, compares the conjugal intimacy of Christ in the Eucharist to the conjugal intimacy of the spouses in marriage.

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