This wonderful piece from Dr. Ralph Nidoy:
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014
Dr. Ralph Nidoy
Discover the
wisdom-filled principles revealed by Jesus through his Church’s Catechism and
his Vicars, the Popes
BEAUTY OF MATRIMONY
Marriage and its
mission. God who is love
and who created man and woman for love has called them to love. By creating
man and woman he called them to an intimate communion of life and of love in
marriage: “So that they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Mt 19:6). God said
to them in blessing “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28).
The sacrament of
Matrimony signifies the
union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with
the love with which Christ has loved his Church [with self-sacrifice].
In the joys of their love and family life he gives them here on earth a
foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Entrust self to Jesus. “To spouses, God the Father gives his Son
Jesus, not to condemn them, but to save them: if they entrust themselves to
him, he will bring them healing by the merciful love which pours forth from the
Cross, with the strength of his grace that renews and sets married couples and
families once again on the right path. The love of Christ can restore the joy
of journeying together.” (Pope Francis)
True love, not feelings. “You can’t base a marriage on feelings that come and go. But rather on the rock of true love, the love that comes from God. When we pray ‘Give us this day our daily Bread’, when it comes to marriage, we can say: Give us this day our daily love. Being in love means saying three phrases more often than not: May I? Thank you and I’m sorry. It’s important to acknowledge that your spouse is a gift from God. When you receive a gift from God, you say Thank You. There is no such thing as a perfect husband or wife. It’s us who do exist, sinners. Jesus tells us a secret: Never let the day end, without apologizing…A small gesture is enough.” (Pope Francis) Love means “willing the good for the other” (Aristotle and St. Thomas) and “self-giving” (John Paul II).
PARENTS: PRINCIPAL
EDUCATORS
Your children are God’s. Parents must regard their children as children
of God. Every spiritual soul is created immediately by God. It is not
“produced” by the parents. Showing themselves obedient to the will of the
Father in heaven, they educate their children to fulfill God’s law.
Teach Jesus’ greatest
commandments. God has loved us
first. The ten commandments then make explicit the response of love that man is
called to give to his God. Jesus said: ‘You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment.
And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Mt
22: 36-39)
First school of
Christian life and human enrichment. All members of the family exercise the priesthood of the
baptized in a privileged way by the reception of the sacraments
[frequent confession and Sunday Eucharist] , prayer and thanksgiving, the
witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity. “The breakdown in
the way Catholics pass down the Christian faith is caused by a lack of
opportunity for dialogue in families.” (Francis)
Educate in right use of
reason. Parents’ respect and
affection are expressed by the care and attention they devote to bringing up
their young children and providing for their physical and spiritual
needs.As the children grow up, the same respect and devotion lead
parents to educate them in the right use of their reason and freedom.
Spiritual over material.
Interiority over instincts. Parents
should teach their children to subordinate the material and instinctual
dimensions to interior and spiritual ones. The home is the natural
environment for initiating a human being into solidarity
and social responsibilities. Large families [are] a sign
of God’s blessing and the parents’ generosity.
Give good example and
discipline. Parents have
a grave responsibility to give good example to their children.
By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents
will be better able to guide and correct them.
Live in the truth. Men could not live with one another if
there were not mutual confidence that they were being truthful to one another.
“Parents must actively ensure the moderate, critical, watchful and prudent use
of the media [and] train the conscience of their children.” (JP II)
Family catechesis and
choice of school. Family catechesis precedes,
accompanies, and enriches other forms of instruction in the faith. As
far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them
in their task as Christian educators.
Virtues and chastity. Education in virtues requires an
apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery –
the preconditions of all true freedom. It is imperative to give suitable and
timely instruction to young people about the dignity of married love [and]
the value of chastity.
First vocation: follow
Jesus. Family ties are
important but not absolute: “He who loves father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:37). Parents must support with
joy their children’s choice to follow Jesus in whatever state of life.
[“Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your
only son, from me” (Gen 22:12).]
Domestic church and
family prayer. The family is the
“domestic church” where God’s children learn to pray “as the Church” and
to persevere in prayer. “How much peace would flow into family relationships if
the family would begin again to pray the Rosary” (JPII). “Read the Bible often,
especially on Sundays, husband and wife, parents and children” (Pope Francis).
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