Tag Archives: mercy

Competition in Marriage

29 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

shutterstock_winner loser.jpg

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.

Continue reading →

Marriage: Imaging God’s Love

18 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

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!

Continue reading →

Husbands and Fathers: Your Task is to Image the Heavenly Father

04 Saturday May 2019

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Gerrit_van_Honthorst_-_Childhood_of_Christ (2)

Childhood of Christ, Gerrit van Honthorst, c. 1620

This past week, the Church celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker (May 1). Scripture says that Joseph was a “just man” (Mt 1:19). Although Scripture records no words of Joseph, from his actions we can discern that he was a compassionate, caring man. We know Joseph loved Jesus and Mary. When the angel came to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything and fled to a strange country with his young wife and baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Mt 2:13-15).

Upon returning from Egypt, Joseph settled his family in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple, we are told Joseph and Mary searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Lk 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son because over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” (Lk 4:22).

Continue reading →

Love, Mercy, and Forgiveness

28 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Divine Mercy Mary JPII (2)

Today, on this the last day of the Octave of Easter, the readings for the Mass focus on the mercy of God. Pope John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina in 2000, declared that the “Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called ‘Divine Mercy Sunday.’”[1] The feast is based on the private revelations of St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, who recommended a particular devotion to the Divine Mercy.

In his homily on the first celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, St. John Paul II stressed that love is the foundation of mercy, both in God’s mercy to us, His creatures and in our relationships with others:

Continue reading →

It Was Worth It!

27 Saturday Oct 2018

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Broken Family_03

Are you suffering difficulties and strife in marriage, even separation and divorce? God can heal your broken relationship.

Rose and I (Dennis) were both widowed. Before the death of my first wife, Therese, I experienced God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness in healing after divorce.

By faith, in confidence, with perseverance and obedience to God, my marriage was saved from the pit of death. God is faithful. He never gives up on any of His children. Was the pain of my divorce worth it? Was standing eight years for the healing of my marriage worth it? Were the sorrow, pain and loneliness worth it? Was having my marriage restored only to have my wife die two short years later worth it? Yes, by the grace of God, it was worth it!

Continue reading →

Forgiveness and Healing in Marriage

20 Saturday Oct 2018

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

JPII Forgiveness

In our marriage coaching, we frequently see unforgiveness as a major obstacle for couples in achieving the intimate and fulfilling relationships that they deeply desire. Unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger towards your spouse poisons the relationship. We have heard it said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. True healing can only take place when offenses are forgiven, and forgotten, never to be brought up again as a weapon against your spouse.

Continue reading →

Forgiveness: Setting Captives Free

25 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

 

Forgiveness Sets You Free

Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21-22

Are you holding unforgiveness in your heart towards your spouse or any other family member? Are you harboring bitterness and anger towards anyone? Jesus is quite clear that we are to be generous in our forgiveness of those who have offended us; forgiveness without limit.

Continue reading →

Mercy: The Mission of the Domestic Church

08 Sunday Apr 2018

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Divine Mercy Sunday

Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36

According to the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: “The family, is so to speak, the domestic church” (11). It is in the family where we first learn that God is “Love and Mercy itself” (Diary of St. Faustina, 1074).

In his homily on the occasion of the canonization of St. Mary Faustina Kowalska, St. John Paul II had this to say about the love and mercy of God:

Continue reading →

Prayer is Essential!

10 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Prayer Righteous Man

If a Christian is to have a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God, prayer is essential. St. Thérèse of Lisieux said “prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”[1] St. John Damascene said “prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God.”[2]

Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. Ephesians 6:18

Continue reading →

Family: Let Your Light Shine

01 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by in Family, Marriage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Slide2

Tawas Point Lighthouse, Michigan, USA

Photo Credit: Dennis Wingfield

Families that live their lives according to Joshua’s proclamation are beacons of light in their neighborhoods. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says “the family home is rightly called ‘the domestic church,’ a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity” (CCC, 1666). If your family is a school of virtue and Christian charity, people will take notice. They will see that your family is different. They will be attracted to what you have.

St. John Paul II is his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World) had this to say about families:

Continue reading →