Friday, January 15, 2016
Sirach,
Chapter 15, Verse 13
Abominable wickedness the LORD hates and he does not let it happen to
those who fear him.
Have you ever been so
angry; livid at someone or something and then discovered the reason for your
anger was directly correlated to a defect in yourself that you had buried and
chose to ignore. We all have and then realized that we are not as perfect as we
pretend to be. Let us reflect on Paul’s advice to the Ephesians, “Brothers and
sisters: I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the
Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; that is not how you learned
Christ, assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is
in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life,
corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your
minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and
holiness of truth. (Eph 4:17-20) By the renewal of our minds we through
Christ’s grace check our feelings, moods and prejudices or preferences and
strive to maintain the right intensions.
Lord, Grant that I may follow Your
words in my daily life. Let Your truth teach me, guide me, and protect me and
may it deliver me from all evil desires and foolish love. Let me esteem nothing
as great, or valuable, or wonderful, except insofar as it makes me better and
more pleasing in your eyes. In this way I shall never be a slave of this earth,
but shall walk daily towards Heaven in Holy Fear.[1]
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
III. THE LOVE OF HUSBAND AND WIFE
Conjugal
fidelity
2364 The married couple forms "the
intimate partnership of life and love established by the Creator and governed
by his laws; it is rooted in the conjugal covenant, that is, in their
irrevocable personal consent." Both give themselves definitively and
totally to one another. They are no longer two; from now on they form one
flesh. The covenant they freely contracted imposes on the spouses the obligation
to preserve it as unique and indissoluble. "What therefore God has joined
together, let not man put asunder."
2365 Fidelity expresses constancy in
keeping one's given word. God is faithful. The Sacrament of Matrimony enables
man and woman to enter into Christ's fidelity for his Church. Through conjugal
chastity, they bear witness to this mystery before the world.
St. John Chrysostom suggests that young
husbands should say to their wives: I have taken you in my arms, and I love
you, and I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and
my most ardent dream is to spend it with you in such a way that we may be
assured of not being separated in the life reserved for us. I place your love
above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be
of a different mind than you.
Comments
Post a Comment