“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:14
Merry Christmas
Peace!
Tag: Holy Family
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Today I had spent much of the day preparing for advent..
As you prepare your Advent and if you have a wreath, please see the blessing Blessing of an Advent Wreath by the USCCB.
Blessing of an Advent Wreath
Also, you can find a beautiful reflective calendar for each day for the family, filled with reflections and things to remind you, to prepare the way and make room in the inn, for the King is coming soon.
Are you ready? Will you let Him in?
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Artwork by William KurelekFrom Divine Office:
“Today you will know the Lord is coming, and in the morning you will see his glory.”
Isaiah 11:1-3a
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord,
and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord -
Fourth Sunday of Advent Lectionary: 12
Sound the trumpet in Zion; the day of the Lord is near; he comes to save us, alleluia.
It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer now than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent, the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. – Romans 13:11-12
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Pondering: Vatican II (inside the church) not being the reason souls left the pews, but the temptation of the ‘sexual revolution” (on the outside), being the “apple” many “fell for” that lead souls astray and out of the pews. Therefore our Lord was already prepared to address the needs of a society of souls far off, and the Father meeting them on the road to welcome them back home.
If souls were “obedient” and in love with our Lord, there wouldn’t have been a mass exodus. It’s as if a fear of something other than of our Lord gripped the souls in the pews rather than “trust” and “obedience” to our Lord, which holds all souls in love.. Just as a temptation that “original sin” is a thing of the past grips souls today and holds them in that same lack of “obedience” to God.
BUT “patience obtains all things” and “all things work for the greater glory of God”.
Just pondering….
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The Global Warming Of Hearts
Please see the edits to the previous post.
Ecology of Pope Francis.
LISTEN UP! What Pope Francis is saying, is when you place love of God, Abba Father, above ALL ELSE, there would be no need to talk about a clean environment, saving abused animals, ending abortion etc. because it would BE CLEANER, they would be “saved” because placing your love for Him above all else, trickles down and shows in your love for all His creation and creatures. “Right Praise” and “Right Worship” becomes doing what is right and just. Faith and works. Its the love relationship.”“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” <–click there
End of rant. It all starts with YOU! “Who do YOU say that I am?” LIVE IT!
E·col·o·gy
ēˈkäləjē/the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
Our Lords way of “Global Warming”
EDIT TO ADD: Pope Francis…
View original post 20 more words
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Saturday July 4th, I will be dedicating to our Holy Mother Mary and first Saturday. I ask you to join me as we celebrate her, our Catholic Faith and TRUE Independence from our sinfulness. I have my flag out already. I will be bringing my children to Holy Mass after we all receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Just an idea I feel needs to be shared.
“In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph.” – Our Lady of Fatima
FREEDOM!
All praise, honor and glory to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
EDIT to add:
Its not a call to abandon hope, nor to hide inside this day, but to celebrate LIFE in Christ. To still enjoy our Lords creation. TO STILL live the life our Lord has given to us and to appreciate Holiness in the Light. Its not that we are NOT still sinners, but rather we know we are and we are TRYING with the grace of God to get back home to our Lord, in TRUE Love. Agape!
“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Amen!”EDIT:
The original photo has been changed at the top of this post. WITHOUT KNOWING, I was flying my Vatican Flag upside down for many many WEEKS. I didn’t know it. Today, I fixed it. Keep in mind ANY flag flown upside down is a sign of “distress” and NOT disrespect. Pray for this nation and the ENTIRE Church.
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REPENT…
All over the MSM you see “Love Wins” in regards to the same sex marriage law being man made legal in 50 US states. Yes. Love most certainly does win but most do not know who He is yet. I pray that many will receive the grace from our Lord for understanding of who He is.
Again SCOTUS chants “We have no king but Caesar”. Just as it was chanted through the pen for Abortion and now for Marriage. Jesus Christ is MY King, not the USA. It was Saint Augustine of Hippo who stated that “An unjust law is no law at all”. Just as an unjust law is no law at all, so to are the men and woman who enforce the unjust law. So to are those who follow the unjust law. I will not. I OPENLY refuse to worship the “Golden Calf” of the nation. Jesus Christ is my King. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
“Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over forty years ago, Obergefell v. Hodges does not settle the question of marriage today. Neither decision is rooted in the truth, and as a result, both will eventually fail. Today the Court is wrong again. It is profoundly immoral and unjust for the government to declare that two people of the same sex can constitute a marriage.”
Please continue to read at the link.
Repent. Pray Divine Office 3X daily. Pray the Rosary daily. Pray before every meal. Attend daily Holy Mass (if you can) and if you can not, participate in it through EWTN rebroadcast. Pray without ceasing. Receive the sacraments frequently. “LOVE one another as I have loved you” – Be not afraid. DO not give into disrepair. Give in only to our Lord Jesus Christ. Teach your children to do the same! LIVE the faith. Don’t just talk about it.
The Sacrament of Marriage will never change.
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Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord – Spiritual reflection (Taken from News.va English)
From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope: “The Lord has made his salvation known to the whole world”
The loving providence of God determined that in the last days he would aid the world, set on its course to destruction. He decreed that all nations should be saved in Christ. A promise had been made to the holy patriarch Abraham in regard to these nations. He was to have a countless progeny, born not from his body but from the seed of faith. […]
In the persons of the Magi let all people adore the Creator of the universe; let God be known, not in Judea only, but in the whole world. […] As Isaiah prophesied: the people of the Gentiles, who sat in darkness, have seen a great light, and for those who dwelt in the region of the shadow of death a light has dawned. He spoke of them to the Lord: The Gentiles, who do not know you, will invoke you, and the peoples, who knew you not, will take refuge in you. […]
This came to be fulfilled, as we know, from the time when the star beckoned the three wise men out of their distant country and led them to recognize and adore the King of heaven and earth. The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that invites all men to find Christ.
Dear friends, you must have the same zeal to be of help to one another; then, in the kingdom of God, to which faith and good works are the way, you will shine as children of the light: through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
Domenico Ghirlandaio. 1485–1488. Adoration of the Magi. Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence.
Peace.
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Let Him enter your heart. Let Him take hold of every aspect of your life.
Fill every day He has given you, and gives to you, with Him. In deed, in thought, in prayer in love.
Cast away your past sins and sinfulness. Don’t continue in the past but prepare for the future. A new year is upon us. Be the change in the world for the good of all and to the Glory be Gods. Live the faith, daily. Love God above all else, daily.
The Year of Faith has concluded. May we Christian Family’s, make it our Mission to ensure we do
the Will of God. Stand up and be what our Lord has called you to be, HOLY.Not just for 2014,but for all time, teach your children to be holy by your example. One need not be a Catholic Priest or Sister to be Holy or to be a Great Saint. We are ALL called to be saints first. Teach them to love God above all else as with this ONE lesson for life, everything falls into place in perfection of Christ Jesus, thus all society reaps the bountiful harvest of the fruits of faith. When you love God above everything, it becomes VERY easy to see, all sin stems from the soul breaking the very first commandment. “You shall have no other gods before me”
As a Catholic Parent, you have ONE job. To teach your children to love God above EVERYTHING else. Sainthood is the ONLY “Profession” we should encourage our children into. Profession of Faith. Parents are so caught up in wanting their children to succeed in the world and overlook how much more important it is to do the Will of God – the faith becomes secondary. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Our Lord then doubled it to Love your neighbor as yourself.
With the first command to love God above all else and teach your children to also, the second command becomes natural and easy to do. If you love God above all else, doing the Will of the Father, becomes your will. The Great Saints placed God first. Not their desire to become “Scholars” as the reason they became GREAT Scholars is because of their Love for God therefore becoming Great Saints first. St. Augustine did not set out on the path to God thinking about how fantastic it was to write. He wrote everything he EXPERIENCED through God. Thus, doing the Will of God, and God giving him the title after his entering into Eternal Life. Leaving a visible path behind for others to our Lord, and thereby to Abba Father. As did all the great Saints.
In 2014, let’s make it clear to the entire world that as Christians, we love God above all else. Placing worldliness and sinful behaviors behind us. And if you fall, He will pick you back up to continue on through His Sacraments. If we do just this one thing, the entire world would never be the same. Don’t allow 2014 to become just another secular year, make it HOLY. Dedicate it to Him who gave His life to you. What is just one year to give Him in return? In one year, living the faith with your entire heart, you will never want to return to who you once were without Him. You won’t be able to remove your eyes from Him ever again.
I for one am looking forward to placing 2013 in the past. I am grateful for all God has done for me and my family. Lord may we all move forward into the new year, with YOU and never without You O Lord. May we apply all the gifts you have given to us, in all aspects of our lives, to give Abba Father all the glory and honor through Jesus Christ and the most gracious Holy Spirit, Three, eternally in the One God of all. Amen
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Had to share:
Good news for the destitute…nothing matters but God alone
All I can say is AMEN! AMEN!
December 30, 2013
Did you ever have a day, or a year, or a decade, where it seemed that you were the cosmic whipping boy? Your spouse blamed you for the wetness of morning dew, your children exercised disobedience like a muscle man devotedly curls a dumbbell, your pets were irresistibly attracted to urinate in all the wrong places, your car clanked worse than your mother-in-law, and your spiritual experience resembled only the Cross.Well, I have good news, nothing matters but God alone!
“Do not love the world or the things of the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life,
is not from the Father but is from the world.
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away.
But whoever does the will of God remains forever.” 1John 2:12-17Unemployed, unhealthy, unwanted, seemingly unimportant and under-appreciated? Does everyone, to include ‘family and friends’ offer only criticism and condescension? Does the world seem like a cold used car lot? Good news! It’s all a fart in the wind! It’s all the devil’s passing gas!
PLEASE Continue reading at The Examiner HERE
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We start the fourth week of Advent tonight.. Its time..
Time to finish the journey back into the “town” of our birth, to be counted among the “faithful”.
St Joseph, pray for us that we carry with us always, love, hope, faith and joy, and share the gifts we receive from our Lord with everyone on the road back home, as the route of repentance we now take is much different then the route we took to encounter our Infant Lord, laying in the arms of our Virgin Mother Mary. That we may give the glory to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, Three eternally in one, for all time and eternity. Amen
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Tonight brings with it, the Third Week of Advent. Our journey to the Newborn King is almost complete.. There is a Light in the darkness. A hint of Sunrise just after the darkness is about to pass..
In this week, I have been blessed to see our Lord in His infancy. Pure innocence through the gift of my daughter, by simply asking me an innocent question. A question born from her gift of “innocence” from our Lord, asking about His.
I spent a good portion of my time able to see just how beautiful His gift is to us in the relationship He had with Mama Mary. That first look of His and hers after the moment of birth, was the exact look between the both of them at the moment of His death on the cross. His “innocence” of infancy, being the Son of God, was exactly the same on the Cross, in His sacrifice, as His “innocence” at birth.
I sat in contemplation in front of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in Exposition last night. As I examined MY conscience, and pondered how guilty I was, I could see the Infant Christ in front of me, cooing and looking at me, without a care in the world for my sins, looking for me to simply love Him. To pick Him up and hold Him in my heart. To carry Him. And Mama Mary was right there to hand Him to me. For a repentant sinner, the greatest gift there is, is to hear and comprehend, that the Innocent Infant truly loves me and wants me to love Him.
While praying the sorrowful mystery’s of the Holy Rosary, I couldn’t see our Lord as a 33-year-old Man. I could only see Him as the Innocent Infant in the manger for each and every mystery. The Babe, unable to speak at times. At other times when able to speak, no one could comprehend what He was saying and punished Him for their inadequacies. It brought me great consolation in regards to how Abba Father seen His Son and the magnitude of His sacrifice. It also brought me in for a closer look as to how Abba Father sees ALL His “children”. It’s no wonder that a single drop of His blood covers a magnitude of sins.
Truly, a wonderful gift this is. The gift of Gods Son, giving me life, and giving me a life to ask an innocent question, about the Life of the One, where all life is created.
May you be filled with wonder and awe and may reading everything here be a gift, to give glory to God and fill you with joy.
The journey continues to Peace!
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My daughter, who is only 8 years old always seems to ask me questions that are just so amazing about the faith, because they are so innocent. Most times, leaving me in a deep state of wonder. The latest question, is no different.
Her question to me was this: “Mommy? What was Baby Jesus first word?”
It set me off on a road of very deep pondering and contemplation of the relationship between our Infant Lord and our Holy Mother. I don’t ever want to leave this place where my daughter brought my thoughts.
As I thought of it deeply, it wasn’t until my girls and I set out tonight to the store that I simply asked Mama Mary out loud in prayer with my girls. Before the final word left my lips, an answer came to my heart.
Mama Mary, being full of grace and humility would never have taught our Lord to say Mama first, just as today she does not seek any glory for herself but only for Him. Abba! Came to my heart..
Glory to God in the highest…
EDIT TO ADD from my Facebook Page:
Whatever the normal first word uttered by any baby in the first century area around Bethlehem, in Aramaic, was probably the first word spoken, most probably related to mother and father. His perfect humanity is in the commonness which he shares with all of us in our infancy. That is the beauty of that humanity as is the look of love between mother and child as “she wrapped in him swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.” That gaze of love rests in the heart of our Christmas celebration in Gift Given, Gift Received, Gift Shared. But since he is the Word-made-Flesh, he IS the First Word. A powerful question which leads to the simple Beauty and Goodness which draws us anew to the manger. – Fr. John P Mack Jr
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The USCCB has a wonderful tool on their website for family’s to enjoy and better understand this Advent Season. HERE
Tonight is the first night of Advent. The first candle is lit and we begin our journey to the newborn King.
Bless your Advent wreath. Sing “O Come Emmanuel” and light the first candle.
Prayer for the First Week of Advent
God of our longing,
be with us during these days of Advent
as we accept Your invitation
to climb Your holy mountain.
May we walk in the light of Your love
and learn your ways
so that each day may draw us closer
to You and another
as we await the coming
of the One Who is
and Who is to come,
Jesus Christ, Your Son,
in Whose name we pray.
Amen -
22 Who is the liar, if not one who claims that Jesus is not the Christ? This is the Antichrist, who denies both the Father and the Son.
23 Whoever denies the Son cannot have the Father either; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father too.
24 Let what you heard in the beginning remain in you; as long as what you heard in the beginning remains in you, you will remain in the Son and in the Father.
25 And the promise he made you himself is eternal life.
26 So much have I written to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.
27 But as for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; since the anointing he gave you teaches you everything, and since it is true, not false, remain in him just as he has taught you.
28 Therefore remain in him now, children, so that when he appears we may be fearless, and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. Reading 1, First John 2:22-28
In my conversion back home to Him, I remember my childhood. Innocence. What I heard in the “Beginning” of my life. Jesus Christ is God. On the path to adulthood this “Truth” was compromised by the evil that sought my soul through lack of faith, lack of practicing my faith and through all sources away from the Truth. I remember a time when He, our Lord, came first. Christmas Eve as a three or four-year old, I was so excited that I would be receiving gifts but had so much love for our Lord that took over my soul, I needed to find something to give back to our Lord. I wondered so much what He would receive from me for His birthday. My presence didn’t mean much. The present I could give to Him ment so much more. I looked around the house and found two pieces of candy. I didn’t take into account He being an infant couldn’t eat it. I just knew I had to give Him something. How could we be celebrating His birthday and yet give Him nothing. I didn’t have any wrapping paper nor anything to place the candy in to present to Him. I took a paper towel roll and put the candy inside. I bent both ends down and wrote His name on it and placed it on the table. I thought about the Holy Family so much that night and who they would be with Santa Clause and I KNEW He would take what I had given to Him. Time came and presents were packed under the tree. I didn’t care about the presents. All I wanted to see was the present to our Lord was gone. It was still there, on the table where I placed it. I thought it wasn’t accepted. My heart was broken.
“Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.”
― Fulton J. Sheen
Our Lord did not refuse that candy I gave Him, although it was still on the table. He took what it represented, all I had to give at the time and by my heart breaking, never left my side and gave me something much greater than anyone else could. He gave me faith in Him. He gave me joy in the midst of the destruction of self. He gave me everything I could need to make it through life in exile. Love. It wasn’t about the physical candy that I offered to Him, it was the love I had in my heart to offer all I had to Him. ALthough I lost sight of that, He didn’t. And that is what makes Him God. No matter how bad we mess up or pull away from Him, He allows us to understand He is with us FOREVER. The reason the present was still there is because what we place on His table, is always accepted in faith, without any physical need of the candy. The candy does not bring Him anything. We do by our simple faith and love in Him.“You must remember to love people and use things, rather than to love things and use people.”
― Fulton J. Sheen“Live in the world, as if God and your soul only were in it; so shall your heart be never made captive by any earthly thing.” – St. John of the Cross
St. Gregory Nazianzen, pray for us.
“God accepts our desires as though they were a great value. He longs ardently for us to desire and love him. He accepts our petitions for benefits as though we were doing him a favor. His joy in giving is greater than ours in receiving. So let us not be apathetic in our asking, nor set too narrow bounds to our requests; nor ask for frivolous things unworthy of God’s greatness.”
– St. Gregory Nazianzen -
Being a mother, I often ponder Mama Marys trip to Bethlehem, about to give birth to our Lord. How uncomfortable she must have been. At nine months in a pregnancy, everything in the womans body is so out of place. Comfort is next to imposable to find. The thought of her just sitting on the back of a donkey makes me shutter, not to mention making the long trip. Getting there and no one would take them in only adds to her discomfort. In a flash, it didn’t matter. He was born. We should always think of not only the distance travled, but the conditions in which our Lord was born. He came from far away, painfull as it was for Mama Mary, to be in our midst. To be among us for all time. He comes to us daily and how many times do we not make room for Him because we have become “comfortable” in our conditions?
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The baby of board sign I see today in most cars on the road, makes me ponder our Lord not only in the womb of our Holy Mother, but her Holy Baby, our Lord, crusified on the cross, for our sins. In both instances, there was minimal comfort, but only provided by God in the joy to what was about to come.
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I recently started reading Saint Louis Marie de Montfort’s book, God Alone. Its funny really, because I have been putting it off for a while. I have been afraid to read it, because of my fear of my attention being taken away from our Lord and placed on our Holy Mother Mary. I’m not that far into the book, only a few pages really, and have to admit, I found it amazing that I share the same fear that our Holy Father, Blessed John Paul II had.
“the reading of the treatise of the True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin was a turning point in my life (at a time when he was secretly studying for the priesthood). Whereas I had initially been afraid lest devotion to Mary might detract from that due to Jesus instead of giving Him his rightful place, I realized, when reading the treatise of Grignion de Montfort, that such was not the case. Our interior relationship with the Mother of God is a result of our association with the mystery of Christ.” Blessed John Paul II
Funny really, as I am a member of the Legion of Mary and have spent the past year doing our Mothers work, be it in Nursing Homes or with the elderly, the dying and sick. Also, in the past few days, I have started the daily consecration to the Immaculate Hart of Mary. I have seen my devotion to her blossom and my understanding of her grow. I can’t help but protect her when she is put down by others who don’t know her and yet I fear her. This truly humble woman who totally gave up her life and will to God. I have pondered deeply Mama Mary’s devotion to her true Spouse, the Holy Spirit along with her devotion and love to her Son, our Lord in so many ways learning more and more about the humility she had and how it made way for God to entire fully into her life. Simply by saying yes, she shared in the divine plan of my redemption and the redemption of all mankind. I don’t know what I am doing or how I am doing it, in my faith, but there is a constant reminder that Mama Mary is the model for me to follow.
Yesterday, I was given a day to spend with my children and husband at the fair. It was a long day of carnival rides, eating good junk food but also, spent in deep solitude, in prayer. Although we spent the day at the fair as a family, my husband barely said any words to me. At times I feel as if I am an empty shell to him, and serve him no purpose to even be a part of this family. Every suggestion to do something, fell on deaf ears with little response from him. While standing in line with the girls for rides or shows, he would walk away and not even tell me to come with to wait with him for the girls to get off rides. I pondered deeply Mama Mary and what would she do? I didn’t argue. I didn’t lose my temper. I just said yes. Yes to being ignored, and my husband and children being placed first. The day that was set aside for the family, became the day of understanding for me, that my faith and hope will rest in God, no matter what tries to upset me. With this faith comes great suffering in this life but my hope is not in this world but rather in the next. Amazing reality is and quite ironic that the theme for the fair this year is “Out Of This World“. I have never in my life felt more out of this world. More out of communion with the world and IN communion with God.
When we arrived home last night, it was rather late and I laid down to say my prayers. I began to fall asleep while reciting the Rosary and someplace between sleep and wake, I heard a distinct woman’s voice call my name. Not just once, but twice. I had never heard this voice before and truly thought it was Mama Mary waking me up to finish my prayers. I awoke and finished to the sound of water rushing. For some reason, at 11:15 PM, our sprinklers turned on and refused to shut off. I can only hope it is the flood gate of grace that has broken wide open, that Mama Mary is now sharing with me.
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The successful marriage:
In pondering, or, thinking deeply about St. Josephs role in the lives of Mary & Jesus, I couldn’t help but write today about The Surrogate Spouse.
St Joseph provided for Mary & Jesus, the earthly needs along with the spiritual needs, to his ability, and was head of the household in the world. He was a carpenter, who in his day, earned a living and provided a home for Mama Mary and the Child Jesus. Although the Holy Spirit is the true spouse of Mary, through the union of providing her with THE Son, The Surrogate Spouse was needed to provide for the needs in other ways. Companionship comes to mind. The need for him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt. The need to provide for food and shelter and someone to be there as a protector from the world. But a companion who also shared the faith in God. I couldn’t see Mary being a working mother in the sense of having to ditch her motherly duty’s to provide for herself and the Son. Placing oneself in the working world, places more temptations on the soul, that I don’t believe God wanted her exposed to.
Although the Holy Family shared a household, the true bond that was the center of their lives, was God. Mary, spouse of the Holy Spirit in all her humility, did everything for God and St. Joseph because of his faith, tasted the harvest along with the rest of us. Meaning, her deep love for God drew her into a deeper humility with every action she performed. Every work of her hand, changing diapers, cleaning, holding the Child, feeding, teaching, came from being obedient to God, and was contributing to the relationship of Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
How do we make our marriage with our spouse in this world successful?
Know that our Lord is the Spouse of your soul. If everything is done for Him, and you are in love with Him, every relationship you have in life, will be born in humility and love for Him. If the union of two, is not tied to the Third (God) and the Third placed above the two, the union becomes tiresome. The union of the two becomes easily led astray. Nit picking about everything become yelling and screaming with that comes deaf ears and selfishness. Followed by divorce of self from the relationship.
When God is the focus, love is unending as God is the powerhouse where love is generated from to share with each other. Therefore forgiveness comes from the Creator and it is much easier then for the two, to offer it to each other. Life becomes much more easy and less burdensome when everything you do, you do for God.
Your relationship with others stems from your relationship with God who seeks a personal relationship with you first. He is your first love. He gave you life. When He is made The Spouse in your marriage, and your spouse becomes the Surrogate and I do NOT in any way mean by the flesh, you come to understand He is the only one who knows whats in your heart and where your efforts to love more are coming from and going to. Even when they are overlooked by your spouse, you know He knows and you are satisfied. Love is never wasted when placed back in the hands of God. “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
Peg Pondering Again 