23 Sunday Jun 2019
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.
08 Saturday Jun 2019
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I (Dennis) did not come to know the love of the heavenly Father until I experienced a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit in my heart. Unfortunately, brokenness from a failed marriage was the catalyst that drove me to my knees, crying out to God for help. Like Abraham Lincoln in the midst of division in our nation, I was driven “upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” [1]
I was raised a Lutheran. Growing up, we did not pray as a family. God was a “Sunday Only” thing. I married in the Catholic Church in 1979. My wife and I attended mass irregularly during the early years of our marriage. But I lacked knowledge of the grace that God pours into a sacramental marriage. The seeds of dissension were planted in our marriage by unchaste behavior during our courtship. Mortal sin had blocked the grace that God wished to dispense into our marriage. We had opened the door to Satan in our marriage which had destructive consequences.
16 Saturday Feb 2019
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Bishop Olmsted, Christ, Complete My Joy, family, family spirituality, fathers, Jesus, Marriage, mothers
The last two weeks (Part 1 and Part 2), we have been looking at Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted’s Apostolic Exhortation Complete My Joy, which he wrote to husbands and wives, mothers and fathers of the Diocese of Phoenix. He delves into the importance of having a marriage centered on Jesus Christ. This week we will look at his practical suggestions on how to strengthen your marriage and family life.
Bishop Olmsted identifies six key areas of growth for your marriage and family spirituality:
10 Sunday Feb 2019
Last week, we started looking at Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted’s Apostolic Exhortation Complete My Joy, which he wrote to husbands and wives, mothers and fathers of the Diocese of Phoenix. Bishop Olmsted points to Jesus Christ as the source of hope and love in marriage and family life. This week, we will continue in our examination of this timely and much needed exegesis into both biblical and Church teachings on this important topic. As he says:
03 Sunday Feb 2019
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Bishop Olmsted, Catholic, civilization of love, Complete My Joy, culture of life, family, little church, Marriage
On the Feast of the Holy Family, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted promulgated Complete My Joy, an Apostolic Exhortation to husbands and wives, mothers and fathers in the Diocese of Phoenix, This exhortation is relevant to all husbands and wives, mothers and fathers.
Listen to Bishop Olmstead describe his reason for writing this exhortation.
Complete My Joy – Official Trailer
It is a great privilege and a great duty, that we strengthen and encourage [husbands and wives, mothers and fathers], and that we remind them that their vocation is a vital contribution to the world. Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted
26 Saturday Jan 2019
Do you want a healthy and happy marriage? Then listen to Lisa Brenninkmeyer as she shares the truth about marriage and explains how to set yourself up for success before saying “I do.” Even if you have said “I do,” you will find truths to counter the cultural lies about love and relationships.
12 Saturday Jan 2019
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On the Feast of the Holy Family, Fr. John Riccardo of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth, Michigan shared this moving homily on the lessons his mom and dad learned from 66 years of marriage.
“Seven Keys” – Fr. John Riccardo
Mr. and Mrs. John Riccardo Sr.’s “Seven Keys” to marriage…
04 Saturday Aug 2018
Sacred Scripture is God’s love letter to His people. Throughout this letter, God uses nuptial imagery to describe His covenantal relationship with us, His beloved children. Just as His love for us is everlasting, so God designed marriage to be an unbreakable relationship between one man and one woman for life. Our culture views marriage as a contract between two (or more!) people that can be broken at any time when the relationship no longer meets the needs of those involved. Hence, we have a twisted view of a God who loves us unconditionally in spite of our sin. Broken marriages lead to a broken image of God.
08 Friday Jun 2018
A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690), was a French Visitation nun and mystic, who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart. As a young girl, she had apparitions of Jesus Christ, which she thought were a normal part of human experience. After receiving her first Holy Communion at age nine, she suffered four years with rheumatic fever, which confined her to bed. After making a vow to the Blessed Virgin to consecrate herself to religious life, she was instantly restored to perfect health.
03 Sunday Jun 2018
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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. Marriage is an image of the Holy Eucharist.
The Church since its earliest days has held up marriage as a profound image of God’s love for His people, brought to fruition in Christ’s love for His bride, the Church.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his book The Spirit of the Liturgy, describes how God’s covenant with His people Israel images the union of man and woman in marriage:
Calling Couples to Christ 