Tag Archives: struggles

Knowing God’s Providence in Times of Trouble

29 Friday Sep 2017

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Field of Lilies

To be in family, is to encounter times of struggles and strife. As parents, we are sure to experience fear and worry over the well-being of our children. Many parents are grieved and fear for the eternal salvation of their children who make poor life-choices. Spouses may be in a troubled marriage and fear the breakup of the family. No one is immune from struggles in life. How you deal with these struggles can positively affect the outcome and your own sense of well-being. Jesus speaks to these situations in the Gospels.

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Entrust Your Family to Our Lady of Sorrows

15 Friday Sep 2017

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Seven Swords Piercing the Sorrowful Heart of Mary

Iglesia de la Vera Cruz

Church of the Holy Cross – Salamanca, Spain

Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. From the cross, Jesus pronounces “Behold, your mother!” (Jn 19:27). As Jesus was dying, He entrusted us, the Church to the care of His mother. While He was on earth, Mary comforted and strengthened Jesus, especially at the foot of the cross. Jesus knew that we would need the maternal closeness of the Sorrowful Mother to sustain us during the trials in our lives. As a mother, Mary especially desires to comfort us during difficulties in our families. She comforts us in our suffering and shows us how to offer our suffering back to God.

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Strengthen Your Family through Living the Beatitudes (Part 1)

28 Friday Jul 2017

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Sermon on the Mount

Stained Glass Windows – St. Vincent de Paul Chapel, St. Louis, MO

This is the first of a two-part series studying the lessons from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” commonly known as the “Beatitudes” (Mt 5:3-10). The Sermon on the Mount challenges us to live in heartfelt obedience to God’s commands. The Beatitudes tell us how to be blessed. This is more than a sense of happiness. It is an experience of hope and joy independent of circumstances, because we are focused on our eternal home in heaven. This hope and joy, the highest form of happiness, can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

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Lenten Reflection: The Crucifixion

30 Thursday Mar 2017

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The Crucifixion, Jacopo Bellini, c.1430

For the final reflection in the series on Christ’s passion and death, we will use the movie The Passion of the Christ to help us understand the incredible sacrifice Christ made for our salvation.

And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Luke 23:33

Last week, we reflected on Christ’s journey to Golgotha carrying the instrument of His death, the cross. Simon of Cyrene was enlisted to help Jesus carry the heavy cross. In the movie, we see Simon carrying the cross with the brutally beaten and exhausted Jesus hanging over Simon’s shoulder, appearing to add an extra burden for him to carry. But as Jesus falls to the ground at the peak of Golgotha, we see Simon crushed by the weight of the heavy, wooden cross. In spite of outward appearances, Jesus was in fact carrying the weight of the cross and the burden of the sins of the world.

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