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 until we have realized that we are not as perfect as we pretend to be.
Let me give you a personal example. As a married man I was really struggling to
get along with my wife and in a silent prayer to the Lord I asked,
“Lord why
did you chain me to the meanest most selfish and unloving woman in the world”
To which a
small voice in my mind responded,
Funny-that is what she says about you to me too?
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.
Thru January 31
The Canadian Rockies is
the place for adventure in January. Besides the predictable winter activities —
skiing, snowshoeing, skating — Jasper in January hosts fat bike snow races, sleigh riding, dog
sledding and ice climbing. And that’s just during the day, Jasper’s evenings
offer wine and whiskey tasting, food-a-paloolza, live music, entertainment,
kids’ scavenger hunts, plus stargazing and northern-light viewing with s’mores.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Victims
of clergy sexual abuse
·
Litany of the Most
Precious Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
"Faith cannot
save without virtue"
·
Rosary
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