Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • April 5, 2019 11 29. Notice the contrast here to the message of the “prosperity gospel” so prevalent in our current culture. 30. Gordon Rayner. “Minister Orders Inquiry into 4,000 Percent Increase in Children Wanting to Change Sex.” The Telegraph. (Sept. 16, 2018). 31. Reprinted from “The Co-Worker Newsletter” Spring/Summer 1989 and is distributed by Family Life Council, Inc. 32. For a deep and helpful look at the effects of divorce on the family, see Primal Loss: The Now-Adult Children of Divorce Speak , edited by Leila Miller. 33. Venerable Fulton Sheen. Characters of the Passion. 34. Nicholas Healy. Address to Mini-Synod on the Family . Phoenix (2018) 35. Venerable Fulton Sheen. Lift Up Your Heart. tion of a final resurrection is exactly the same as His; that unless there is a cross in our lives, there will never be an empty tomb; that unless there is a Good Friday, there will never be an Easter Sunday; that unless there is a crown of thorns, there will never be a halo of light; and that unless we suffer with Him, we shall not rise with Him.” 33 107. We do well to remember the words of St. Paul: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18) 108. God too sees your sufferings, is with you in your pain, and desires that you allow Him to use each ache for your own holiness and the salvation of your families. Suffering can be powerful and redemptive. When it is united to the Cross of Christ, no prayer, no disappointment, no hurt is ever wasted. Every moment of suffering can also be an act of love. 109. When you offer your suffering up to God, He will use it like oil from the press to anoint your family. In this way, you mysteriously but truly participate in the redemption of those whom you love most in the world! “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed to us.” ROMANS 8:18 Healing: A God who Restores 110. God, who allows suffering for our redemption, and who suffers with us, also desires to restore to us all that has been lost and broken. Sometimes, what is bro- ken actually becomes stronger when healed. I think of the broken equipment on our family farm, which, after having been repaired with the welder’s torch, was stronger in the place of welding than ever before, and would not break in the same place again. 111. Even a marriage or family wounded by rebel liousness, neglect, abuse, or rejection is still a sacra- mental source of grace and mercy, “albeit a mercy that might entail drawing close to Christ’s own suffering.” 34 In times when you may feel that your family is not a perfect icon of the Trinity, take comfort in knowing that there are many ways to image the love of God. Sometimes, that image is the Cross of Christ. 112. Fulton Sheen’s words are convicting: “Even those who have some degree of sanctity find it hard, sometimes, to remain on the cross until the end; the world is full of half-crucified souls who have come down from the cross at the challenge of the world after an hour, after two hours, after two hours and fifty-nine minutes. Few are like the Savior, who will stay until the end that they, like him, might utter the cry of triumph: ‘It is finished.’” 35 113. How do we heal when we know our wounded family and we ourselves need it? The sacraments are always mysteries of Jesus’ healing -- when we receive them with proper readiness. Confession and the fre- quent reception of the Eucharist in particular bring healing to our souls. Additionally, prayer by those who have the charism of healing can also bring great physi- cal and spiritual healing. Finally, sometimes we simply need someone to listen and help us see a path forward; this is where wise Catholic counselors and other psy- chological professionals can be of great service. We have a growing number of such professionals in our Diocese, and I highly recommend seeking out their help when needed. Louis and Zélie Martin: Sowing a Household of Saints through Suffering 114. The Church lifts up to us the lives of those who have lived heroically the vocations of marriage -- and suffering -- in order to be an inspiration and source of intercessory power in our own lives. I encourage you to find such an example in the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Louis and Zélie Martin, the first married saints of modern times and the only married couple to be canonized together. Their marriage was rich in suffer- ing, but even richer in love. 115. Saints Louis and Zélie both had desired reli- gious life, he to be a priest, she a nun. Louis, however, was unable to master Latin, and Zélie was turned away from the convent for unexplained reasons. God, in fact, had other plans. When He revealed that they were called to marriage, they embraced their vocation whole- heartedly and desired to have many children to “bring them up to heaven.” 116. Their marriage would bless the Church in a way far surpassing even their greatest hopes. They would raise five daughters, all destined for the convent, one of whom, Thérèse, would become one of the most beloved saints of all time, a Doctor of the Church, the patron saint of missions, and spiritual mother to mil- lions -- even though she died at 24 years of age, never having left the convent after her entrance at the young age of 15. Her Story of a Soul reveals that the spiritual- ity of the Little Way which she made famous was really a discovery of the deeper meaning of her own child- hood, lived within the circle of the devotion of her fam- ily. 117. Married in France in 1858, Louis and Zélie both worked hard as business owners, creating and sell- ing a special lace for which their region was known. They lived modestly and prayerfully, staying close to the sacraments and never missing an opportunity to practice charity to their neighbors and raising their chil- dren to do the same. 118. But they knew the suffering of grief intimately. They would bury two infant sons, and thus surrender all their hopes for a priest in the family. Two daughters would also die, one in infancy, one at the age of five, causing Zélie to admit, “I thought I would die myself.” 119. The next sacrifice the Lord asked was that of Zélie’s life -- she died of cancer when Thérèse (the youngest), was only four years old. Louis carried on with the help of his older girls. But one by one he would be asked to give them back to God, too, at the door of the convent, even Thérèse, his “Little Queen.” In the end he also would offer a final sacrifice in the form of an illness which took his health, his indepen- dence and his mind. At his last painful visit to his Carmelite daughters, Thérèse would never forget her father’s final words to them. Pointing his finger upwards, he exclaimed with great effort, “In heaven!” 120. Indeed, they are in heaven, but still always concerned with the Church militant below. In raising this married couple to the altars, the Church gives them to you, mothers and fathers, as witnesses to the joy of the restorative hope of the Resurrection, to the grace to bear the heaviest crosses, and to the sanctity of mar- riage and family life. 121. God’s generosity knows no bounds. With the simple faith of Thérèse and her parents, surrender all and allow Him to restore your family and marriage to wholeness in the way He knows best. © 2019 The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. Read, download and share “Complete My Joy” at family.dphx.org Prayer for Vocations Heavenly Father, bless Your Church with an abundance of holy and zealous priests, deacons, brothers and sisters. Give those You have called to the married state and those You have chosen to live as single persons in the world the special graces that their lives require. Form us all in the likeness of Your Son so that in Him, with Him and through Him we may love You more deeply and serve you more faithfully, always and everywhere. With Mary, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. 5th Annual Garage Sale POPLARVILLE -- The Ladies Auxiliary of Knights of Columbus Council 15121 will hold its 5th annual garage sale on April 6 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. St. Joseph Parish Hall, 17 Bilbo Hill, Poplarville. Lots of clothes, toys, books, appliances, etc. Sale will be held indoors. For more information, please call Margie (601) 795-6077.