Monday Night at the Movies
.Martin Scorcese, The Age of Innocence, 1982.
Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 1-5
1
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we
have PEACE with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, 2
through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand,
and we boast in hope of the glory of
God. 3
Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction
produces endurance, 4
and endurance, proven character, and proven character,
hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our
hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Paul
is telling us that Christ has brought God’s love for us to the forefront while
justification and righteousness recede to the background. We have a new life at
peace with God. This peace leads us to confidence and compels us to live a new
life. Christ died for us while we were at our worst. As difficult to believe or
accept as that might be, we have the proof of it in our hearts where God’s love
has placed the Holy Spirit to guide us in the new life. Faith triumphs in
trouble.[1]
Who harms not his fellow man, nor takes
up a reproach against his neighbor; By whom the reprobate is despised, while he
honors those who fear the LORD.
Marriage Week[2]
Simon Peter and the other fishermen are astonished at
the catch that reveals Jesus as Lord. Jesus’ response to Simon Peter is
reassuring: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men”. Once
again, the fisherman of Galilee places his trust in the words of Jesus and
leaves everything to follow Him. James and John also do the same; from now on,
they will be ‘fishers of men’. Jesus invites them to share in His mission, the
mission of the Church. As baptized, we all partake in the mission of Jesus
Christ, priest, prophet, and king. As married men and women, the calling is
lived out in a concrete home and family. How does your life as a couple, as parents,
as godparents, or in another way, touch the lives of your family? How are you witnesses
and bearers of the Gospel?
What Is Marriage?[3]
Marriage
is a lifelong partnership of the whole of life, of mutual and exclusive
fidelity, established by mutual consent between a man and a woman, and ordered
towards the good of the spouses and the procreation of offspring. As the Second
Vatican Council reminds us, marriage is not a purely human institution: the
intimate partnership of life and the love which constitutes the married state
has been established by the creator and endowed by him with its own proper
laws. . .. For God himself is the author of marriage. Moreover, God has endowed
marriage with certain essential attributes, without which marriage cannot exist
as he intends.
The
Church has taught through the ages that marriage is an exclusive relationship
between one man and one woman. This union, once validly entered and
consummated, gives rise to a bond that cannot be dissolved by the will of the
spouses. Marriage thus created is a faithful, privileged sphere of intimacy
between the spouses that lasts until death.
Marriage
is not merely a private institution, however. It is the foundation for the
family, where children learn the values and virtues that will make good Christians
as well as good citizens. The importance of marriage for children and for the
upbringing of the next generation highlights the importance of marriage for all
society.
Conjugal love, the love proper to marriage, is present in the commitment to the complete and total gift of self between husband and wife. Conjugal love establishes a unique communion of persons through the relationship of mutual self-giving and receiving between husband and wife, a relationship by which ―a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body [flesh]‖(Gn 2:24).The Second Vatican Council speaks about conjugal love in words of great beauty: The Lord, wishing to bestow special gifts of grace and divine love on married love, has restored, perfected, and elevated it. A love like that, bringing together the human and the divine, leads the partners to a free and mutual self-giving, experienced in tenderness and action, and permeating their entire lives; this love is actually developed and increased by its generous exercise in conjugal love one can see something of how Christ loves his Church (Eph 5:25).
Resources
·
On marriages in crisis –For Your Marriage list
of ministries that help married couples in difficulty or crisis
·
On healthy sexuality within marriage –Paul VI,
Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae,1968.
· On divorce –USCCB, Divorce and the Church’s Healing Ministry, 2010.
·
On lust and pornography –USCCB: Create in Me a
Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography, 2015 and Clean Heart series of
pamphlets, 2016.
·
USCCB, Pastoral Letter Marriage: Love and Life
in the Divine Plan, 2009.
·
USCCB, For Your Marriage website:
foryourmarriage.org.
·
USCCB, Por Tu Matrimonio website:
portumatrimonio.org.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO-THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Chapter 2 “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.
Article 5-THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
II. Respect for the
Dignity of Persons
Respect for the souls of others:
scandal
2284 Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to
do evil. the person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He
damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual
death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is
deliberately led into a grave offense.
2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the
authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized.
It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these
little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a
great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the
sea." Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office
are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and
Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep's clothing.
2286 Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by
fashion or opinion.
Therefore, they are guilty of
scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of
morals and the corruption of religious practice, or to "social conditions
that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to the
Commandments difficult and practically impossible." This is also true
of business leaders who make rules encouraging fraud, teachers who provoke
their children to anger, or manipulators of public opinion who turn it
away from moral values.
2287 Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way
that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible for
the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged. "Temptations to
sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!"
Respect for health
2288 Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to
us by God.
We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others
and the common good.
Concern for the health of its citizens requires that society help in the
attainment of living-conditions that allow them to grow and reach maturity:
food and clothing, housing, health care, basic education, employment, and
social assistance.
2289 If morality requires respect for the life of the body, it
does not make it an absolute value.
It rejects a neo-pagan notion that tends to promote the cult of the body, to
sacrifice everything for it's sake, to idolize physical perfection and success
at sports.
By its selective preference of the strong over the weak, such a conception can
lead to the perversion of human relationships.
2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind
of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave
guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others'
safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.
2291 The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human
health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave
offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous
practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage
people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.
Respect for the person and scientific
research
2292 Scientific, medical, or psychological experiments on human
individuals or groups can contribute to healing the sick and the advancement of
public health.
2293 Basic scientific research, as well as applied research, is
a significant expression of man's dominion over creation. Science and
technology are precious resources when placed at the service of man and promote
his integral development for the benefit of all. By themselves however they
cannot disclose the meaning of existence and of human progress. Science and
technology are ordered to man, from whom they take their origin and
development; hence they find in the person and in his moral values both
evidence of their purpose and awareness of their limits.
2294 It is an illusion to claim moral neutrality in scientific
research and its applications. On the other hand, guiding principles cannot be
inferred from simple technical efficiency, or from the usefulness accruing to
some at the expense of others or, even worse, from prevailing ideologies.
Science and technology by their very nature require unconditional respect for
fundamental moral criteria. They must be at the service of the human person, of
his inalienable rights, of his true and integral good, in conformity with the
plan and the will of God.
2295 Research or experimentation on the human being cannot
legitimate acts that are in themselves contrary to the dignity of persons and
to the moral law. the subjects' potential consent does not justify such acts.
Experimentation on human beings is not morally legitimate if it exposes the
subject's life or physical and psychological integrity to disproportionate or
avoidable risks. Experimentation on human beings does not conform to the
dignity of the person if it takes place without the informed consent of the
subject or those who legitimately speak for him.
2296 Organ transplants are in conformity with the moral law if
the physical and psychological dangers and risks incurred by the donor are
proportionate to the good sought for the recipient. Donation of organs after
death is a noble and meritorious act and is to be encouraged as a manifestation
of generous solidarity. It is not morally acceptable if the donor or those who
legitimately speak for him have not given their explicit consent.
It is furthermore morally inadmissible directly to bring about the disabling
mutilation or death of a human being, even in order to delay the death of other
persons.
Respect for bodily integrity
2297 Kidnapping and hostage taking bring on a reign of terror;
by means of threats they subject their victims to intolerable pressures. They
are morally wrong. Terrorism threatens, wounds, and kills indiscriminately; it
is gravely against justice and charity.
Torture which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish
the guilty, frighten opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for
the person and for human dignity. Except when performed for strictly
therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and
sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law.
2298 In times past, cruel practices were commonly used by
legitimate governments to maintain law and order, often without protest from
the Pastors of the Church, who themselves adopted in their own tribunals the
prescriptions of Roman law concerning torture. Regrettable as these facts are,
the Church always taught the duty of clemency and mercy. She forbade clerics to
shed blood. In recent times it has become evident that these cruel practices
were neither necessary for public order, nor in conformity with the legitimate
rights of the human person. On the contrary, these practices led to ones even
more degrading. It is necessary to work for their abolition. We must pray for
the victims and their tormentors.
Respect for the dead
2299 The dying should be given attention and care to help them
live their last moments in dignity and peace. They will be helped by the prayer
of their relatives, who must see to it that the sick receive at the proper time
the sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God.
2300 The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and
charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. the burial of the dead is a
corporal work of mercy; it honors the children of God, who are temples of
the Holy Spirit.
2301 Autopsies can be morally permitted for legal inquests or
scientific research. the free gift of organs after death is legitimate and can
be meritorious.
The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of
faith in the resurrection of the body.
February 1-11
For fabulous winter fun, head to the annual Winter Festival in Quebec City. Snow rafting, ice canoe racing, a bartending competition, snow baths (clothing optional), a snow sculpture competition and a masquerade ball are among the many activities.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Authentic
Feminism
·
Carnival: Part Two, the Final
Countdown
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
· Monday: Litany of
Humility
·
Rosary
Day 23
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