Sunday, December 30, 2007

Marriage Prayer

Heavenly Father, through the intercession of the Holy Family, help us to treasure the gift of Marriage that reflects the love of Christ for the Church, where the self-giving love of husband and wife unites them more perfectly and cooperates in Your Plan for new life created in Your Image.

Help us support men and women in their vocation of marriage, especially in difficult times when they join their sufferings to the Cross.

Help us uphold the institution of Marriage in our society as the place where love is nurtured and family life begins.

Help us acknowledge that our future depends on this love and Your Providential care for us. Amen.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, bless our families.

Cancao da Familia (video)



Dedicated to my entire family and all my Portuguese friends that join me here, on this Feast Day of the Family which is made even more special for my family since it is the 10th anniversary of my mom's entrance into heaven. I love you all!

The Eternal Family Reunion

The Eternal Family Reunion : A Catholic Reflection:

"For your family to stay together for an eternity of Christmases, you must:

Repent of sin and decide to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Talk to your family members about your love for Jesus.

Be in right relationship with family members. Honor your parents (Sir 3:2), be submissive to your husband, lay down your life for your wife (Col 3:18-19), disciple your children.

Pray together daily as a married couple and as a family (see Mt 18:19-20).

Forgive family members seven times seventy times (see Col 3:13).

Many of you feel very discouraged about the spiritual state of your families. Be instead confident that the Lord loves each member of your family, even to death on the cross. Jesus will change the hardest heart. Be hopeful.

PRAYER: Father, may I remove the plank of sin from my own eye so as to help family members remove the specks from their eyes (Mt 7:5)."

USCCB - (NAB) - December 30, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 30, 2007:

"Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged."


Prayer for Today: Oh Lord, you designed the family to be a learning place for us on how to be Christians. Give us humility and a heart for each other so that we may discover the beauty hidden there.



Universalis: Office of Readings:
An address given at Nazareth by Pope Paul VI
The example of Nazareth

"Second, we learn about family life. May Nazareth serve as a model of what the family should be. May it show us the family’s holy and enduring character and exemplify its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings, in sum, the perfect setting for rearing children – and for this there is no substitute."