Monday, June 20, 2016

Luke, Chapter 12, Verse 7
Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

When I read this passage I get the idea that I indeed must be the least of those in the Kingdom of God. I as a young man had handsome strawberry blond hair and I gained the attention of many a young lady. Yet, as time went on it all fell out. At first I rebuked: No, I will not take this and I used various elixirs in an attempt to keep the hair. As it thinned I did the comb over and then one day I said screw it and shaved my head. Vanity all is vanity.

As life went on the challenges of everyday life I lost more than my hair and every day I struggled to retain the joy of life against insurmountable odds in which I lost more than my hair. (Divorce, single parenthood, angry children, unemployment, bankruptcy, sickness) Bravely I continued but ever so slowly I found my joy of life was falling out and anger was replacing it. Yet, by the grace of God: I still trust in Him and trusting is Him I find my anger replaced with resolve to do His will.

The patient man finds a cleansing purgatory in this earthly life. When others wrong him, he is sorrier that evil is done than that he has been wronged. He forgives the evil-doer from the bottom of his heart. He is not slow to ask pardon when he himself has hurt others. He is more easily moved to pity than to anger. He frequently disregards his feelings and tries to live above them, according to his intelligence and God’s grace.[1]

Amoris Lætitia[2] Looking to Jesus: The Vocation of the Family- The family in the documents of the Church (66-70)

The covenant of love and fidelity lived by the Holy Family of Nazareth illuminates the principle which gives shape to every family. On this basis, all families, despite their weaknesses, can become a light in the darkness of the world.

True love between husband and wife’ involves mutual self-giving, includes and integration the sexual and emotional regard for one another. In the incarnation Christ assumed human love and purifies it and brings it to fulfillment. By his Spirit, he gives spouses the capacities to live that love, permeating every part of their lives of faith, hope and charity.  Additionally the Church, in order fully to understand her mystery, looks to the Christian family, which manifests her in a real way.

Married love requires that husband and wife become fully aware of their obligations in the matter of responsible parenthood, which today, rightly enough, is much insisted upon, but which at the same time must be rightly understood… The exercise of responsible parenthood requires that husband and wife, keeping a right order of priorities, recognize their own duties towards God, themselves, their families and human society.

In church documents the Pope St. John Paul II defines the family as ‘the way of the Church. In particular, by treating conjugal love, he described how spouses, in their mutual love, receive the gift of the Spirit of Christ and live their call to holiness.

Thus marriage based on an exclusive and definitive love becomes an icon of the relationship between God and his people, and vice versa. God’s way of loving becomes the measure of human love. Moreover, in the Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, he highlighted the importance of love as a principle of life in society, a place where we learn the experience of the common good.

World Refugee Day[3]

World Refugee Day serves to commemorate the strength, courage and resilience of millions of refugees that have been forced to flee their homes out of fear of persecution or to escape disasters. The day also aims to recognize refugees for their contribution to the world. According to the United Nations, there are more than 50 million people displaced by war and violence, of which 33 million are internally displaced while the other 17 million are refugees, mostly in neighboring nations.

The United Nations General Assembly designated World Refugee Day in December 2000. It is celebrated every June 20th, a day chosen in order to coincide with Africa's previously celebrated Refugee Day.

Full Strawberry Moon

According to the almanac today we are having a Full Strawberry Moon; plan to spend make homemade strawberry ice cream and share with your children or grandchildren. Teach them the value of not saying a bad word about others.

Today is the summer solstice.



[1] Paone, Anthony J., Our Daily Bread, 1954.
[2] Pope Francis, Encyclical on Love.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Friday, February 7, 2025