CATHOLIC
MARRIAGE

"The final battle between Christ and Satan will be over marriage and family."

~Sister Lucia from Fatima

Holy Marriages are Possible

With God all things are possible, so why not marriage?

Pope Pius XII: “If their love had been total, if it had been absolute, if it had been that love which consists in the giving of one’s self, if it had known no other limits than the love of God, or better still, if that human love had been raised above the senses to rest on and be fused in a complete and common love of God, then truly no extraneous upheaval would have disturbed its harmony, no shock would have broken it, no clouds would have darkened its sky."

We are all called to become a saint! God has a plan for each of us. We must deny ourselves and pick up our cross and carry it for God our Savior. But to do so, we must be selfless! We must give ourselves completely firstly to God and then our spouse. In all aspects of marriage, think about the other's needs and desires. What can you do to aid your spouse on this journey home to Heaven? Surely yelling, nagging, hurting, and being selfish will not help or aid them! God called you to be spouses and to be each other's aid as you walk through life. So be their aid, their best friend, their helpmate, their lover, and their support as they need you so much! And by doing so, the crosses you carry, now together, will become lighter, more manageable, and you will find

true joy in suffering!

"Where love reigns, suffering is absent or suffering itself is loved.” ~St. Augustine

Restore the Faith

Marriage is the marital union of one man and one woman contracted between two qualified persons which obliges them to live together throughout life. Christ raised marriage, at the wedding feast of Cana, to the dignity of a sacrament in order to bestow to the couple the graces that are needed in this state of life. Without these graces, the marriage will struggle. Grace is a help and an aid given to us by God to carry out our duties and state of life. Without God help and His graces, we will surly fail. Also, in order to truly love someone or to love God Himself more completely, we must grow in our faith and knowledge. We can't love what we don't know. God can do great things through us but we have to believe in God! We must restore the one true Faith, the Catholic Faith, founded by Christ, in order to form a solid foundation on which we can build upon.

"We must live as if we could see God at work around us. Act as if we can see what is not seen!" ~Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre

Restore the Hope

Marriage is for life! Spouses need each other for their salvation. On our wedding day, we give ourselves completely to our spouse. As we go through life, now living together in marriage, we see more clearly each others faults and failings. But do we run away? No! We must keep praying, keep trusting and keep looking to God. It takes three to get married. God is meant to be apart of our daily life. We can't do this on our own and we have to trust and hope in the grace of God to be there to sustain us in marriage! We can't give up! We have to believe in our spouse and not give up on the other. Marriage is not about you. It is first about God and doing His holy will. Look past yourself and give all you can! Trust in God! God forgives our sins, so should we. We have to forgive our spouse, no matter how much it hurts, if they hurt us. Pray to God asking for the graces to restore your Hope and Trust in God firstly and your spouse secondly!

"Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee O Lord.” ~St. Augustine

Restore the Charity

Love is a choice. God gave us His only Son to die on the cross for us and to open the gates of Heaven. But, God the Son was given the choice to choose. His love for us was so strong and great that He gave all He had for us, every last drop of His blood was shed for us! Love your spouse as God loves you. Love with God's heart and love no matter what. Look forward and don't look behind and dwell on past failings and arguments. Leave it behind and look forward towards you goal, Heaven. True Charity is needed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Without Charity, we are nothing and have lost the true Catholic spirit. Learn your spouse's love language and learn how they want to be loved rather than how we think we could show our love. Men and women are very different and desire to be shown love in different ways. Keep dating your spouse and learning more about them! Restore true Charity and have a greater love for God. Spouses must love as He loved, to love so much as to give ourselves and our lives to each other as Christ gave His life to souls and to His Bride, the Church!

"Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

~John 15:13

Special Prayer to St. Joseph

Taken from our Facebook Page for the Feast of St. Joseph

March 19: St. Joseph

Training Thursday: Raising Saints for Heaven

You might say that St. Joseph had the easiest job ever as a parent! He was the foster Father of God the Son, the most perfect man ever created! He was God and man and could do no wrong. He never talked back or disobeyed His parents. He never had a temper tantrum! He did what He was told immediately without hesitation or question. And He served His parents and loved them tremendously!

So you might say….”Boy, what an easy life as a parent. I wish my kids were half as good!” Yes, St. Joseph and Mary had an “easy life” as a parent because their child was perfect and did no wrong! But, God gave them many crosses and sorrows to bear so that they might unite their suffering with Him for the salvation of all men! Just as Mary is the Mother of Sorrows and had her soul pierced with 7 swords….St. Joseph also had 7 sorrows but, like Mary, each was also accompanied by a great joy!

The 7 Sorrows/Joys of St. Joseph:

The doubt of St. Joseph/ The message of the Angel
The poverty of Jesus’ birth/ The birth of the Savior
The circumcision/ The Holy Name of Jesus
The prophecy of Simeon/ The effects of the Redemption
The flight into Egypt/ The overthrow of idols of Egypt
The return from Egypt/ Life with Jesus and Mary at Nazareth
The loss of the Child Jesus/ The finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

With every sorrow, there is always a joy! Even for us all as parents. But we have to look for the joys and focus on them. If we focus on the sorrows and dwell there, then that is where our heart will be and it will be filled with sadness and pain. So, just as St. Joseph always looked to the joys that were around him, we must all do the same!

Our children are not born in a stable and we do not have to fly in fear and worry about our child being killed as St. Joseph feared! But we do have much spiritual poverty in the world around us. Some of you might have limited opportunities for Sunday Mass and the sacraments. Many mission chapels only have Sunday Masses or are only blessed with Mass two times a month. It is a different kind of poverty today that the world is facing. And we have to always be on our guard as the enemy goes about like a roaring lion looking to devour our children and us!

But if we focus and keep our heads in the sand in fear and feel sorry for ourselves, we will miss the joys around us! And what greater joy can fill our hearts than the knowledge that God, His Mother, St. Joseph, and all the angels and saints are by our side and aiding us in this journey through life! No matter the trials and crosses we are asked to bear, God will never leave us….as long as we never push Him out of our soul through sin!

So, go to St. Joseph today on his great feast day and ask him to show you and your family the true joys around you and to help you set your sights on Heaven and not on the difficulties and darkness of this world!

Pray the prayer: “The Devotion of the Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of St. Joseph” as a family and may he turn your sorrows into joys!

God bless your marriage and your family! May God “Restore All Families in Christ” His Son!

The Devotion of the Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of St. Joseph

1. O chaste Spouse of Mary most holy, glorious St. Joseph, great was the trouble and anguish of thy heart when thou wert minded to put away privately thine inviolate Spouse, yet thy joy was unspeakable when the surpassing mystery of the Incarnation was made known to thee by the Angel!

By this sorrow and this joy, we beseech thee to comfort our souls, both now and in the sorrows of our final hour, with the joy of a good life and a holy death after the pattern of thine own, in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be ...

2. O most blessed Patriarch, glorious St. Joseph, who was chosen to be the foster father of the Word made flesh, thy sorrow at seeing the Child Jesus born in such poverty was suddenly changed into heavenly exultation when thou didst hear the angelic hymn and beheld the glories of that resplendent night.

By this sorrow and this joy, we implore thee to obtain for us the grace to pass over from life's pathway to hear the angelic songs of praise, and to rejoice in the shining splendor of celestial glory.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be ...

3. O glorious St. Joseph, thou faithfully obeyed the law of God, and thy heart was pierced at the sight of the Precious Blood that was shed by the Infant Savior during His Circumcision, but the Name of Jesus gave thee new life and filled thee with quiet joy.

By this sorrow and this joy, obtain for us the grace to be freed from all sin during life, and to die rejoicing, with the Holy Name of Jesus in our hearts and on our lips.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be . . .

4. O most faithful Saint who shared the mysteries of our Redemption, glorious St. Joseph, the prophecy of Simeon regarding the sufferings of Jesus and Mary caused thee to shudder with mortal dread, but at the same time filled thee with a blessed joy for the salvation and glorious which, he foretold, would be attained by countless souls.

By this sorrow and this joy, obtain for us that we may be among the number of those, who through merits of Jesus and the intercession of Mary the Virgin Mother, are predestined to a glorious resurrection.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be ...

5. O most watchful Guardian of the Incarnate Son of God, glorious St. Joseph, what toil was thine in supporting and waiting upon the Son of the most high God, especially in the flight into Egypt! Yet at the same time, how thou didst rejoice to have always near you God Himself, and to see the idols of the Egyptians fall prostrate to the ground before Him.

By this sorrow and this joy, obtain for us the grace of keeping ourselves in safety from the infernal tyrant, especially by flight from dangerous occasions; may every idol of earthly affection fall from our hearts; may we be wholly employed in serving Jesus and Mary, and for them alone may we live and happily die.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be ...

6. O glorious St. Joseph, an angel on earth, thou didst marvel to see the King of Heaven obedient to thy commands, but thy consolation in bringing Jesus out of the land of Egypt was troubled by the fear of Archelaus; nevertheless, being assured by the Angel, thou dwelt in gladness at Nazareth with Jesus and Mary.

By this sorrow and this joy, obtain for us that our hearts may be delivered from harmful fears, so that we may rejoice in peace of conscience and may live in safety with Jesus and Mary and may, like thee, die in their company.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be ...

7. O glorious St. Joseph, pattern of all holiness, when thou didst lose, through no fault of thine own, the Child Jesus, thou sought Him sorrowing for the space of three days, until with great joy, thou didst find Him again in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors.

By this sorrow and this joy, we supplicate thee, with our hearts upon our lips, to keep us from ever having the misfortune to lose Jesus through mortal sin; but if this supreme misfortune should befall us, grant that we may seek Him with unceasing sorrow until we find Him again, ready to show us His great mercy, especially at the hour of death; so that we may pass over to enjoy His presence in Heaven; and there in company with thee, may we sing the praises of His Divine mercy forever.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be ...

Antiphon.
And Jesus Himself was beginning about the age of thirty,
being the Son of Joseph.
V. Pray for us, O holy Joseph,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray.
O God, Who in Thine ineffable Providence didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in Heaven. Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

PDF Print out Here!

Quote from President Ronald Reagan:

“Families stand at the center of society, so building our future must begin by preserving family values.”

CATHOLIC MARRIAGE

Holy Marriages are Possible

Special Prayer to St. Joseph

Quote from President Ronald Reagan:

Leave us a comment or suggestion:

CATHOLIC
MARRIAGE