CatholicFamilyToday

As a Marriage and Family Therapist I celebrate the chance to help married couples come to a better understanding of the Sacrament of Marriage. Sadly we have lost a sense of marriage as it was intended by God in the beginning. This blog is about marriage as it applies to scripture and the lives of the saints. As a Marriage Counselor I invite you to walk with me on a journey within the rich anthropology of our faith. The sacredness of Marriage is what this blog, and my work is all about.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Feast of Saint Benedict--Abbot

Good morning. We need to remind ourselves that God’s way of looking at things doesn’t always gel with the way we see things. Jesus’ words this morning in the Gospel of Matthew can be somewhat confusing. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me…” It is important to know that he is not saying that we are not to love our family, rather He is saying our love for Him should be at the forefront of all that we do and that sometimes family, yes even our spouse, may sometimes get in the way of putting Him first. If Jesus is first in our lives then love for others will be there. If Jesus is first in our lives then He will be part and parcel of our giving the gift of our self. We receive His love as a gift, no strings attached, so we should likewise give our selves as a gift with no strings attached. To borrow from the words of Pope Benedict XVI: Married life consists in living fully the grace of the sacrament “in the total gift of self to the love of Father, in order to live like Christ,” with no strings attached. Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Saint Benedict—Abbot.

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BOOK OF THE MONTH

Awhile back I was out splitting wood when someone in passing introduced himself. Knowing me to be the parent of three of our four children whom the passerby knows he took the time to compliment me on what nice children Linda and I have. I suggested that most of the credit truly belongs to their mother and he responded that I likely had a play in it in some way and that whatever we did it should perhaps be put into a book. I thanked him and he went on his way and I resumed splitting wood with increased energy as a result of his kind words. This kind man is possibly correct about putting into a book whatever wisdom I might have to offer, but short of my ever getting any such wisdom published I might suggest reading the work of Peter Kreeft Before I Go: Letters to Our Children About What Really Matters. This delightful collection of instructional and at times humorous reflections by the author would likely reflect the type of things I would be inclined to put into words myself for my own children. Among many enlightening points the author makes, one which really needs to influence all that we as parents do is his point that the greatest gift which we give to our children is the gift of faith—their awareness of God. He likewise makes another critical point that when we are gone, “when the parent is dead, it’s too late to share the most precious things he knows.” This book should be part of every Christian family’s collection.