Fr. Ed Broom, OMV Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality

FOUR LAST THINGS: DEATH, JUDGEMENT, HEAVEN AND HELL…

 

ESCHATOLOGY.   Is a branch of theology that studies what we call “The Last things”: death, judgment, heaven and hell (also Purgatory).  One of the best tricks of the devil is to convince us that we have a long life ahead of us, that we have a right to enjoy our lives, and that we can put off our conversion until tomorrow.  (Read “Screwtape Letters” of C.S. Lewis).
An excellent Biblical passage that incorporates the four last things in their entirety is Mt. 25—the Parable of the Last Judgment.  This Biblical
passage, falling right before entering into the Passion account, presents an excellent Parable of Jesus beckoning us to vigilance, to be ready and prepared for we know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of man will come.
DEATH’S UNCERTAINTY???  With respect to death, nobody has an exact idea as to the day, the hour, the minute, the second, the manner, the form, the circumstances of his own death.  That is up to God Himself. However, we must be prepared!
POINTS FOR MEDITATION ON MT. 25:31-46
1.   VIGILANCE!  Be always prepared for your own death because it will come like a thief in the night.’

2.   JUDGMENT.  Jesus is the Judge. We pray in the Creed,” He (Jesus) will come to judge the living and the dead.”  Upon death, judgment
follows immediately.

3.   ONE CHANCE!  No reincarnation! One chance! Upon death, Jesus will judge us individually—the particular judgment.

4.   JUSTICE!  As St. Paul reminds us, “What we sow is what we will reap. He who sows in the flesh will reap a harvest of corruption; in
the spirit, a harvest of eternal life.”  Jesus is merciful and just. Upon death we enter into the Justice of God—mercy is over!  Take advantage of His mercy now while we still live!

5.   SEPARATION.  The sheep will be separated from the goats— meaning, the saved will be separated from the damned.

6.   JUDGEMENT: THE CRITERIA?   We will be judged on love in concrete. Jesus said that not all who say, “Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom, but those who do the will of His Heavenly Father.” Also Saint James asserts, “Faith without works is dead.”  Finally, Saint John of
the Cross, with his poet flare recalls, “In the twilight of our existence we will be judged on love.”

7.   LOVE AND WORKS OF MERCY. Our love is manifested in concrete by giving to those in need: food, drink, clothes, welcome, visiting the sick and the imprisoned.

8.   PRAYER AND ACTION.   St. Teresa of Avila says that the acid test to verify an authentic prayer life is a holy active life of the practice of
virtue. Our contemplative life should lead us to a rich active life.

9.   Jn. 15.  THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES.  Jesus said that we are called to bring forth fruit and fruit in abundance. The branch that does not produce fruit will be cut off and thrown into the fire.

10. MEDITATE ON THE FOUR LAST THINGS! Pray over the following thoughts. My life is short and uncertain. Eternity is forever and ever and ever!!!! As St. Peter reminds us, “For God one day is one thousand years and a thousand years like one day.”  DEATH!  I must go before the Judgment seat of God— Jesus will be my judge! I must present to Jesus the book of my life, the movie of my life, the
DVD of my life.   Only the two of us will be watching it. Only two possibilities: UP!!!! Or DOWN….. Either I will be saved for all eternity or I will be damned for all eternity. I only have one chance to make it or break it! Hell is eternal separation from God and eternal torment! Heaven is ineffable joy with God, Mary and the angels and saints for all eternity.  The meditation on the LAST THINGS— death, judgment, heaven and hell—should be a powerful contemplation/meditation to motivate me to reevaluate my short life and do an inventory of what I have done, what I am doing, and what I plan do now. Saint Ignatius challenges us to pray over these words:  “What have I done for Jesus; what am I doing for Jesus; what will I do for Jesus.”  For a more fruitful response Saint Ignatius challenges us to respond to these questions which encapsulates my whole life in front of the most eloquent depiction of love— Jesus hanging on the cross!
SUPPLEMENTARY READING AND PRAYER TO PLUMB THE DEPTHS OF THE FOUR LAST THINGS—- Read and meditate on OUR LADY OF
FATIMA  and her apparitions, her message and words to the three Shepherd Children, Lucia, Jacinta an Francisco.  This message most clearly illustrates the four last things and even Purgatory!
1.   HELL. Our Lady showed a graphic vision of Hell to the children—July 13, 1917.

2.   DEATH.   The two little ones, Jacinta and Francisco, would die within a relatively short time after the Apparitions— dying as mere
children!

3.   JUDGMENT.  Upon death they went before the Judgment seat of God.

4.   HEAVEN.  Mary promised to take them to heaven, but Francisco would have to pray many Rosaries first. Both Francisco and Jacinta
were beatified by Blessed Pope John Paul II. This great Pontiff presented Jacinta as a Model as a “Victim soul”—one who offers her sufferings for the salvation of sinners.  The saintly Pope called Francisco a “Little Mystic”—meaning a chosen soul dedicated to silence,
reflection and prayer.

5.   PURGATORY. Lucia asked about a friend of hers who had died— Amelia—known to be a good girl. Our Lady said that she
would be in Purgatory until the end of the world!

 

 

 

Therefore, let us invoke the Fatima children and Our Lady of Fatima so that we can meditate with great concentration, fervor, attention and love the Four Last things. The positive fruit will be a renunciation of sin, hatred for sin and a great love for God!
 
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

SIN: MORTAL ENEMY NUMBER ONE!

The major obstacle for attaining the end for which we are created—to give Praise and glory to God and to save our immortal soul—is willfully giving in to sin. God does not take sin lightly as does the modern world that sees sin as glamorous, with it, cool, the modern path to realization!
After reflecting on Principle and Foundation and rooting deeply in our minds, hearts and wills where we come from, why we are here, where we are heading and how to get there, St. Ignatius presents our major roadblock and it is the reality of SIN!
DEFINITION.  Among the many definitions given on sin, one of the best comes from Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen:  “Sin is hurting the one you love.”  This definition goes beyond the legal and goes to the heart of the personal. True, sin is breaking rules and the Commandments. However, it goes beyond the mere legalistic and touches the essence of the personal— we are hurting God, breaking the heart of  a God who loves us so much that he sent His only Son— Jesus our Lord, God and brother—to die on the cross for us!
GRACE:  Beg for the grace to see sin through the divine perspective—that is to say, to see sin the way God sees sin!   Recall the immortal words of Pope Pius XII, “The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.”
THE TRIPLE SIN OF THE ANGELS, ADAM AND EVE AND ONE MAN LOST…
 
1.   Rev. 12.  THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.   Read and pray prayerfully over the passage
in the last book of the Bible, the Book of the Apocalypse.
a)   FREEDOM.  The angels were given freedom and many of them willfully abused it, choosing themselves over the will of God.   We can either use our freedom to serve God or we can abuse our freedom to serve ourselves and merit our own condemnation.

b)   CHASTISEMENT.   God takes sin very seriously.  Immediately God marshaled forth Saint Michael the Archangel into battle and he and the good angels prevailed thereby casting into hell Satan and all of the rebellious spirits. Hell indeed does exist and was created to chastise the rebellious angels and disobedience of unrepentant sinners.

c) ONE SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.  For this one sin of Satan and the rebellious angels they lost heaven for all eternity and suffer eternal tortures in hell.  I have one life to live and I should live it always with my eyes fixed on heaven and fighting against sin in all
forms, sizes shapes and colors!

2.   GEN. 3. THE SIN OF ADAM AND EVE.  Like the angels both Adam and Eve were given freedom to serve God or turn against God. 
Tempted by the ancient serpent Eve was seduced into eating the forbidden fruit; then in turn she gave it to Adam.  This is called Original Sin.  The consequences were like a Tsunami—nothing less than catastrophic, influencing all of humanity until the end of time!  The
repercussions were the following:
a)   COSMOS—Natural climactic catastrophes: earthquakes, storms, heat waves, cold-waves, monsoons, tsunamis,
b)   DARKENING OF INTELLECT.  The mind has been darkened in its pursuit of the truth.
c) WEAKENING OF THE WILL.   Jesus expressed it perfectly:  “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
d)   EMOTIONAL DISORDER.  Countless individuals with emotional disorders— from Bi-polar, to schizophrenia, to paranoia, to mental
breakdowns.
e)   PHYSICAL WEAKNESS AND SICKNESSES.   Aside from Jesus and Mary—who did not have Original sin—all get sick sooner or later and eventually fall apart, like an old and overused car!
f)  WOMAN—must suffer the pain involved in bringing forth children—not only at birth but for the rest of the lives of
their children.
g)   MAN-  Must labor strenuously to earn the bread from the sweat of his brow.
h)   SOCIAL UPHEAVEL AND WARS. Our Lady of Fatima stated clearly that wars come as a result of sin. (Apparitions, 1917)
i)  DEATH. Finally, death is the ultimate chastisement due to the Original sin of our first parents.
j) SUFFERING—as a whole entered into the world due to sin!
 

3.   GEN. 4.  CAIN AND ABEL: FAMILY AND SOCIAL SIN…

a)   Parents influence the lives of their children. Parents are called to give good example. Due to past sins parents are called to offer up prayers of reparation.

b)   JEALOUSY AND ENVY.  In the first set of brothers we already see sibling rivalry.  If not checked sin can lead to murder!  Comparisons lead to jealousy and then to envy, then to anger and resentment and culminates in the murder of the innocent.   The Bible says that sin entered the world through the envy of the devil.

c) Is there some “Cain” in me? Is there a “Cain” in my family? Is there a “Cain” in my past that has not been totally resolved? If so, how can I resolve the “Cain” complex in me and in my family?
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

CREATION POINTS TO THE BEAUTY OF THE CREATOR

 

Genesis is the  first Book of the Bible and the first two chapters recount two different versions of God’s work in creation.   Entering into the Spiritual Exercises Saint Ignatius presents us with the Foundation of all the other Exercises that follow, entitled   “Principle and Foundation”.
Ignatius’ first idea is about creation.   “Man is created….”  Therefore, a very efficacious meditation (or meditations) can flow from reading, meditating, pondering, contemplating creation.   The material is more than abundant; but still we will offer a few other ideas as a springboard for
reflection and prayer.
However, it is of capital importance this point that as soon as any passage seems to strike you and move you to prayer to stop reading and enter into dialogue with the Lord. As Ignatius reminds us it is not in much knowing that satisfies but interiorly relishing the truth.
Finally, MAGNANIMITY.   Listen to the words of the Master, St. Ignatius, on the disposition of soul we should have in entering to the  Spiritual Exercises:
“It will be very profitable for the one who is to go through the Exercises to enter upon them with magnanimity and generosity toward his Creator and Lord, and to offer Him his entire will and liberty, that His Divine Majesty may dispose of him and all he possesses according to His most holy will.” (Annotation #5 Spiritual Exercises)
POINTS FOR MEDITATION ON CREATION…
1.   Creation means that God makes something out of nothing.  God can do anything.  Man is weak but God is powerful.  All things are possible with God. Meditate upon the attribute of His OMNIPOTENCE— God is all-powerful!  But I am the essence of weakness.  God said to Saint Catherine of Siena, woman Doctor of the Church, “ I am everything and you are nothing.”

2.   MAN/WOMAN: THE CROWN OF CREATION.   Of all that God created and brought into existence in the created world, man/woman is the crown or apex of creation.  St. Thomas explains the ladder of existence.  Stone exists; the plant exists and grows; the animal additionally has locomotion or movement, but all will one day cease to exist.  Man has all of these qualities, but something far superior—- an immortal soul that will live for all eternity. Reflect upon the gift of human life God has given you, its dignity and your destiny but also your responsibility before God.   The more we have received the more we are responsible to give in return!

3.   IMMORTAL SOUL.   Remember the words of Pope St. Leo the Great, “Christians recognize your dignity.” Also call to mind the theological
concept of St. Thomas Aquinas, “One soul is worth more than the whole created universe.”   Furthermore, your soul has been redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
             
4.   VARIETY IN CREATION. How great and majestic is God our Creator! God could have created the world in black and white—a boring and uninteresting existence. But no!!! He created a wide range of variety: colors, plants, animals, seas and mountains, and an enormous variety of species in the plant and animal world. Never forget: all of creation God did for me as a stepping stone to arrive at heaven and not as a stumbling block to lose my soul.  May God grant me the grace to appreciate creation, to praise Him for creation, but always to use creation with moderation, right intention, and having always my end in mind—the eternal salvation of my soul!

5.   PERSONAL REFLECTION AND PRAYER.   Within the huge expanse of God’s limitless creation, what to you personally  draws
you closer to God. Remember once again that behind creation— as if it were a veil or curtain—is the beauty of the Creator, God Himself!  The starry sky at night, the sunrise at dawn, the painted sky after the torrential rainstorm known as the rainbow, the shiny moon, the colorful leaves in the midst of foliage season, the powerful waves beating against the shore, the quiet and almost imperceptible snowflakes
fluttering from heaven? What in creation lifts you most to contact the Creator?
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

SCAPULAR AND CONSECRATION TO MARY

From the cross Jesus gave His Mother Mary to John and also to us as our spiritual mother with the words: “Woman behold thy son; son behold thy mother.  From that moment the beloved disciple took Mary into his home.”  In the person of John are present all of humanity and you and me as her spiritual sons and daughters.
After preparing 33 days to consecrate our whole self to Jesus through Mary, we desire to make a concrete gesture of our consecration to Mary.   This is done by receiving and wearing faithfully the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

 

As soldiers wear uniforms, as athletes wear their specific garb, as priests wear habit or clergyman—all as an exterior sign of their identification to what they do and who they are— so we who are consecrated to Jesus through Mary willingly accept the Scapular, wear it faithfully until the end and desire even to die with the Scapular close to our hearts.
ST. SIMON STOCK.   It was to St. Simon Stock that Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared (1251) when the Carmelites were going through very
difficult times.  Our Lady appeared surrounded by angels and in her hands presented to Simon the brown Scapular with the intention that he wear it over his shoulders as well as all of the Carmelites.  Humbly obeying the Mother of God, graces and blessings descended upon St. Simon as well as the whole of the Carmelite Order.
OTHER CARMELITES.   Following St. Simon Stock is an army of Carmelite saints who faithfully wore the Brown Scapular.  Here are a few: St. Teresa of Avila, St John of the Cross, St Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of the Andes, Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Benedicta of the Cross (Formerly Edith Stein)
OUR LADY OF FATIMA.   In the last and most famous Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima on October 13, 1917, the Mother of God appeared dressed as Our Lady of Mount Carmel inviting the whole world to pray the most Holy Rosary and at the same time to wear the Brown Scapular of Carmel!
MEANING.  To wear the Scapular is not a superstition, talisman, or a good-luck charm! Quite the contrary is true!   By wearing the Scapular as an exterior sign we are making a clear statement: we want to belong to Jesus through the intercession of Mary.   Families have logos—or emblem ; this is true. Well, we would like to manifest our belonging to the “Family of Mary” by wearing faithfully the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel!
LOVE AND PROTECTION.   By wearing the Scapular we are expressing our great love for Mary.  The word Scapular coming from Latin “Scapula” means shoulder, because it is placed over our shoulders. But even more important, in front, the Scapular rests over our heart. Meaning?  Mary is placing her arms around us and clasping us close to her Immaculate Heart.  Indeed devotion to the Scapular will lead us to seeking secure refuge in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
WHO CAN WEAR IT?  Traditionally children receiving their First Communion would be blessed and enrolled in the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel the same day that they received Jesus the first time in Holy Communion.  However, any Catholic at any time in the course of his/her life can be enrolled and receive the Scapular. Also, once one is enrolled he is enrolled for life and need not renew his enrollment!
The army of Carmelite saints that loved Our Lady

PRIVILEGES: BELONGING TO A NEW FAMILY— THE CARMELITES!!!   Once enrolled in the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel we receive the blessings and prayers of the Carmelite Orders throughout the world. Also the Carmelite saints in heaven become part of your family in a very special way.  Imagine St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and St Therese and their joy of having you in their family and the power of their prayers from heaven! The Beatles used to sing “Get a little help from my friends”. These are the friends we really want to receive to help us from heaven!
SAINTS AND POPES.  Many saints and Popes have highly recommended the wearing of the Scapular. Among many of these are the following: St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Pope John XXII, Pope Pius XI, Pope Paul VI and Blessed Pope John Paul II.
ST. ALPHONSUS.  On one occasion St. Alphonsus was shot. The bullet went through his outer garments and was embedded in his Brown Scapular
and never even touched his body!  There could not be a clearer sign than this of the hand of Our Lady of Mount Carmel holding back the bullet from killing this devoted lover of Our Lady.  St Alphonsus asserted:  “Just as men take pride in having others wear their livery, so the most Holy Mary is pleased when her servants wear Her Scapular as a mark that they have dedicated themselves to Her service, and as members of the family of the Mother of God.”
BLESSED POPE JOHN PAUL II.  Is it also a surprise that the attack and shooting of Pope John Paul II took place May 13, 1981— the first Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima to the children. The Blessed Pontiff attributed the saving of his life to the mysterious but powerful intercession of the Mother of God. ‘The following year on the same day, May 13, 1982, Pope John Paul II was in Fatima kneeling before the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, thanking her for saving his life. Then a surprising gesture of profound significance occurred. The Pope rose and deposited in the crown of Our Lady of Fatima the large-sized bullet that was extracted from his intestines! Our Lady saved him!  He went on to live until April 2, 2005—
almost 24 more years as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, due in large part to the intercession of the all-powerful Mother of God.
SABBATINE PRIVILEGE. Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock and revealed this wonderful privilege, called the Sabbatine  Privilege.  The conditions are three:
1.   SCAPULAR.  To wear faithfully the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as a sign of one’s love and trust in her motherly
protection.
2.   CHASTITY.   A promise to live chastity according to one’s state in life.

3.   PRAYER.  One must pray the “Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary”— basically consists of Psalms.  This can be replaced by the daily recitation of the Most Holy Rosary. If these three conditions are met then Our Lady promises that through her powerful intercession a quick liberation will be effected from the fires of Purgatory.  Let us listen to the words that Our Lady addressed to Saint Simon Stock:   “I, the Mother of grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.”

Important note! Recently the “Sabbatine Privilege has been abrogated. Therefore, we invite you to read the Church’s official teaching on this matter. (Click here) 

Love and trust of Mary

 

MEANING OF THE WEARING OF THE SCAPULAR:
1.   Love for Mary as Mother and I desire to love her in return. Love demands a generous response of love!
2.   TRUST.  A limitless trust in her power of intercession in my life. I trust that she will save me from physical dangers
but especially the moral dangers that could imperil my soul.
3.   FAMILY.  An immense joy in knowing that I belong to the family of Mary. This of course means that I belong to the Family of God,
the Blessed Trinity.  Mary is the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.  So Mary will bring me into the Heart of the Blessed Trinity!
Vision of Lucy of Our Lady and the Trinity

 

4.   IMITATION.  Knowledge leads to love and love  following, and following, to imitation.  We will desire ardently to imitate Mary in
her most sublime virtues.  St. Louis de Montfort enumerates ten:  her deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom. (True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis de Montfort, #108)

5.   BELONGING/ENTRUSTMENT.  We belong totally to Jesus through Mary.  We want to entrust our whole life, its destiny and end into the hands and Immaculate Heart of Mary. 
PRACTICAL GESTURES TO LIVE OUT.
1.   SCAPULAR. Sew your own Scapular.  You can even sew within the two brown squares the Miraculous Medal and the medal of St. Benedict that God through Mary would miracles in your life and protect you all the more from the evil one.
2.   WEAR CONSTANTLY.  The Scapular is to be worn always; otherwise we are half children and half-orphans of Mary.
3.   KISS THE SCAPULAR. As soon as one awakes in the morning,  kiss the Scapular!  The kiss is a universal symbol of love. This kiss is saying to Mary that we love her.  Actually the Church offers a partial Indulgence for those who kiss reverently the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel. (In the past it was 500 days Indulgence). 
4.   MORNING OFFERING. Start off your day by consecrating your whole being to Jesus through Mary.  The following is a concise but very good Act of Consecration: “ O Mary, my Queen and my Mother, I give myself entirely to you, and to show my devotion to you, I
consecrate my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, in other words, my whole being without reserve. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am your own, keep me and guard me as your property and possession. Amen.”

5.   BLESSING.  Then after the prayer of consecration, take the Scapular and bless your forehead, the blessing of the mind—for pure and
holy thoughts, the eyes, so as to view only noble images and things, the mouth, so as to praise God in words, and the heart, so as to love God totally in imitation of Mary!
Let us conclude by quoting some of the Popes on the power of the Scapular
 
“Let all of you have a common language and a common armor: the language, the words of the Gospel, the armor, the Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel… which enjoys the singular privilege of protection even after death.” (Pope Benedict XV)

“The Carmelite Scapular, because of its nobility of origin, its extraordinary spread among Christian peoples for many centuries, the
spiritualizing effects produced by it and the outstanding miracles worked in virtue of it, render the Scapular of Carmel commendable to a wondrous degree. (Pope Leo XIII)

“Let us now make a novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and I shall be ready to die.” (Pope Leo XIII)

 

The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
“The Scapular is, in a true sense a “habit”. Those who receive it are, by their clothing, associated in a more or less intimate way with the Carmelite Order. Those who wear it profess to belong to Our Lady in the same way as the Knight of the Thirteenth Century, the century of the Scapular vision, felt that he was ever under the watchful eye of his Lady. He was valiant and sure in battle, and when wearing his “Colours”, would rather die a thousand times than allow them to be tarnished.” (Pope Pius XII)

“It becomes clearer every day that the way for men to return to God is assured by Mary, that Mary is the basis of our confidence, the guarantee of our security, the foundation of our hope.” (Pope John XXIII).
 Below is an excellent writing of Blessed Pope John Paul II on the importance of the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Read it!

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20010326_ordine-carmelo_en.html

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

TEN BASICS OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY

 

 

1.   GOD ORIGIN.   Marriage and family does not come from politics or governmental systems. Rather, Marriage and the family comes from
the author of life itself: God.  God is FAMILY!!!  The Trinity is family, consisting of three distinct and separate Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Two of the basic and fundamental qualities in the family of the Trinity are unity and love.   The Father loves the Son and the Son mutually loves the Father and the bond of love between Father and Son is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is the model for all families.
    
2.   MAN AND WOMAN.  Marriage and family consist in an unbreakable bond between man and woman.  The first
Book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, says that God created them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. What God has joined let no man rent asunder.   It was Adam and Eve and not “Adam and Steve!”
             
3.   PROCREATION.  One of the principal properties of a true family is the willingness and the openness of the man and woman, husband and
wife, to have children.  In the union of one flesh God can intervene and bring to life a new human person.  In the moment of conception life begins.  The husband and wife provide the material elements, but it is God (the author of all life) who intervenes and infuses the
immortal soul that will live for all eternity.
   
4.   HOLY MATRIMONY.   In God’s loving Divine Providence He has provided a Sacrament to bless Marriage and the family with special and specific graces. This is the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.   This Sacrament confers the necessary graces on the husband and wife to be faithful to each other until death do they part, to grow in mutual love for each other and to be good parents to their children.

5.   SERVICE.    Jesus said that He had come not be served but to serve and to give His life in ransom for man.  Our Lady, in the account of the Annunciation, proclaimed herself the Handmaid/servant of the Lord. Of the seven Sacraments,
two are Sacraments of service: Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders.   Holy Orders, the Priesthood, are designed
for the service of the Church, the People of God, the Family of God.  Holy Matrimony is designed as a Sacrament
where husband and wife are at the service of each other, and their
children.  “To serve is to reign; to reign is to serve.”
                 
6.   CHILDREN AND FAMILY.  Children have a natural right to a loving family life consisting of the loving and affectionate presence of the mother. The child has a natural right to the presence of a strong, supportive, providing father.   The emotional support
of the child needs and requires the different forms of affection that only a
father and mother can give to the child. Otherwise, the child will be raised
emotionally unstable, unbalanced and unhealthy in heart, mind and soul!  Let us firmly stand up for the rights of the
child. They also have civil rights that should be met and defended! 
            
7.   SAME-SEX UNIONS ARE WRONG!   God created male and female for the purpose of uniting, bonding and being open to procreate and raise a family.  Biblical resources confirm this truth, the Natural Law and even common sense.  Behind the widespread promotion of so many sins— abortion, pornography, suicide, and homosexual/lesbian unions is the devil.  Jesus calls the devil a liar and a murderer
from the beginning.   The devil is bent upon destroying modern society through killing the innocent unborn baby but also
through destroying the family through the promotion of what are called “Same-sex marriages”.

 

8.   LEGAL NOT ALWAYS MORAL.   It must be stated with the utmost clarity not all that is legal is moral.  Slavery
had been legal in USA; abortion was made legal on Jan 22, 1973, and same-sex unions are proliferating in states, and other countries at an unprecedented rate. This does not make it morally acceptable to God.  As the prophet sadly warns us: “There will be times when people will call good bad and bad good.”  There is an overall hardening of the conscience.

9.   HISTORY SPEAKS!   It is a sad but all too real historical fact that when marriage and family enters into crisis and decline then it is just a
matter of time that the entire society will unravel, crumble and disintegrate. Look at the great Greek and Roman civilizations. Great as they were, when the family dissolved so did the society as a whole.  The USA could easily be heading in the same direction if the family is
being rent asunder by wrong political decisions and a totally erroneous redefinition of family! Let us learn from history.  He who does not know history is condemned to repeat the same errors!
              
10. FATHERHOOD AND FAMILY.   Lacking in many aspects of the family life today is the presence of the Father. An observation from a prison!   Mother’s day was quickly approaching and the inmates were asked if they would like a Mother’s day card to send home to their
mother. Immediately the cards were given out and there were not enough—so much
did the inmates in prison care for their mothers.  June arrived and the same offering was made
for the inmates to send a Father’s day card.  Not one of the inmates requested a Father’s day card to send home! Why?
Most likely for the following reasons: the inmates never knew their father, or
their father never really cared for them, or their father was abusive or their father simply disappeared from their life!   In other words, many of these inmates ended up in jail because of the lack of the presence, the love and the attention of the father.  The father is irreplaceable in the family.   Why not turn to the Holy Family and in a special way to good St. Joseph for the future and salvation of the family!
 

In conclusion, we must all be strong and unflinching in standing up for the traditional family that consists of man and woman united in the bond of love, open to procreation (the brining forth of children) in an indissoluble bond until death do they part.  Pope John Paul II clearly stated that the future of the world passes through the family, the basic cell and building block of society.
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail