Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (website, Facebook).
"Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." Mark 10:9 (full readings)
Steve's Reflections: The attack on marriage and family is reaching a critical level in our culture. Two days ago President Obama stopped defending DOMA (Defense Of Marriage Act). Regardless of your political views, the fact that our country is abandoning it's defense of marriage being defined between a man and a women is a shocking. This past weekend my wife and I enacted our own domestic DOMA and went on a Marriage Encounter. For those unfamiliar with Marriage Encounter, it is a time set aside for enrichment. The time that we spent focusing on our relationship and the covenant we share in the Sacrament of Marriage will no doubt pay dividends for years to come. Sacrament literally means, "to make Holy" and is an outward sign of an inward action or grace of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Marriage, by God's design, is intended to be a vehicle to heaven for those called to this vocation. No wonder it has come under such attack! In today's Gospel Jesus affirms the standard that God has set for marriage (for a lifetime) and points to the hardness of our own hearts as the source of "divorce". As Scott Hahn said in a talk on marriage, "Our spouse is the chisel God uses to make us holy...and I have the most beautiful, gorgeous chisel." As I gaze on my own wife, Tina - I concur! Heavenly Father, we call out to you to reaffirm the sanctity of marriage in our country - send forth your Holy Spirit and the Heavenly Host to pave the way for stronger marriages and families. Amen.
Faith Challenge: If you are married, consider setting aside a weekend in the near future to make a Marriage Encounter or encourage other married couples in your life to do so. Take some time today to focus on your marriage commitment and to affirm the gift of your spouse through kind, loving words.
Sr. Francelle's Devotion: Does Jesus want us to be happy? "God has planted the seed of happiness in each of us and everyone is searching for it...He gave us a road map to happiness -because so often people look for it in the wrong places. He gave us eight guideposts or beatitudes (which means ways to be happy) in the Sermon on the Mount, His first major talk."
Counter-Culture News: LSN, Vatican, AFA, Priests for Life, Live Action
* Chasing Rainbows "If there is one consolation from yesterday's bombshell on marriage, it's that the President can no longer hide his true agenda. After months of sabotaging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in secret, the administration is finally bringing their attack out into the open."
Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion, Spiritual Adoption, Alpha Center, Peters family (JP). Add Prayers on our website. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, running, etc. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.
Feast Day: Blessed Sabastian of Aparcio (d. 1600)"Sebastian’s roads and bridges connected many distant places. His final bridge-building was to help men and women recognize their God-given dignity and destiny."
Faith Quote: "As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." ~ John Paul II
Through Christ Our Lord,
Steve
Romans 12:2
* Pray/Fast: Prayer connects us with God’s will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. Fast from things that take your eyes off Jesus. Those who pray together stay together, and close to God!
* Save Unborn (& family): Abortion reality (images)…#1 death cause (23% pregnancies). Prov 24:11 & Jer 1:5. “A great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish.” Mother Teresa
* Evangelize:Make room for unbelievers & re-evangelization of self, by way of prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of love (service/sacrifice/mercy). Matt 28:19.
Comments? To subscribe/unsubscribe to the emails, go to LIFE Group Devotions or LIFE Runners Updates.
"Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." Mark 10:9 (full readings)
Steve's Reflections: The attack on marriage and family is reaching a critical level in our culture. Two days ago President Obama stopped defending DOMA (Defense Of Marriage Act). Regardless of your political views, the fact that our country is abandoning it's defense of marriage being defined between a man and a women is a shocking. This past weekend my wife and I enacted our own domestic DOMA and went on a Marriage Encounter. For those unfamiliar with Marriage Encounter, it is a time set aside for enrichment. The time that we spent focusing on our relationship and the covenant we share in the Sacrament of Marriage will no doubt pay dividends for years to come. Sacrament literally means, "to make Holy" and is an outward sign of an inward action or grace of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Marriage, by God's design, is intended to be a vehicle to heaven for those called to this vocation. No wonder it has come under such attack! In today's Gospel Jesus affirms the standard that God has set for marriage (for a lifetime) and points to the hardness of our own hearts as the source of "divorce". As Scott Hahn said in a talk on marriage, "Our spouse is the chisel God uses to make us holy...and I have the most beautiful, gorgeous chisel." As I gaze on my own wife, Tina - I concur! Heavenly Father, we call out to you to reaffirm the sanctity of marriage in our country - send forth your Holy Spirit and the Heavenly Host to pave the way for stronger marriages and families. Amen.
Faith Challenge: If you are married, consider setting aside a weekend in the near future to make a Marriage Encounter or encourage other married couples in your life to do so. Take some time today to focus on your marriage commitment and to affirm the gift of your spouse through kind, loving words.
Sr. Francelle's Devotion: Does Jesus want us to be happy? "God has planted the seed of happiness in each of us and everyone is searching for it...He gave us a road map to happiness -because so often people look for it in the wrong places. He gave us eight guideposts or beatitudes (which means ways to be happy) in the Sermon on the Mount, His first major talk."
Counter-Culture News: LSN, Vatican, AFA, Priests for Life, Live Action
* Chasing Rainbows "If there is one consolation from yesterday's bombshell on marriage, it's that the President can no longer hide his true agenda. After months of sabotaging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in secret, the administration is finally bringing their attack out into the open."
Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion, Spiritual Adoption, Alpha Center, Peters family (JP). Add Prayers on our website. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, running, etc. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.
Feast Day: Blessed Sabastian of Aparcio (d. 1600)"Sebastian’s roads and bridges connected many distant places. His final bridge-building was to help men and women recognize their God-given dignity and destiny."
Faith Quote: "As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." ~ John Paul II
Through Christ Our Lord,
Steve
Romans 12:2
* Pray/Fast: Prayer connects us with God’s will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. Fast from things that take your eyes off Jesus. Those who pray together stay together, and close to God!
* Save Unborn (& family): Abortion reality (images)…#1 death cause (23% pregnancies). Prov 24:11 & Jer 1:5. “A great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish.” Mother Teresa
* Evangelize:Make room for unbelievers & re-evangelization of self, by way of prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of love (service/sacrifice/mercy). Matt 28:19.
Comments? To subscribe/unsubscribe to the emails, go to LIFE Group Devotions or LIFE Runners Updates.
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