Catholic Marriage Prep

Part of my morning prayer routine is reading the daily scriptures that the Catholic Church gives us for Mass and spending time pondering the message God is calling me to hear.  After pondering for a moment or two, I spend time journaling about the message.  Today, I literally wrote: “I think the readings want me to know that Dan is very blessed to have me as his wife!”  I then spent about five minutes laughing.  Of course, I told Dan, exactly how blessed he was.  He is so smitten, that he agreed with me.  This made me laugh even harder. 

Sometimes I will be the only church that somebody will know!  You say, what?  Yes, that is true, I, and you, may be the only church that somebody will ever know.  As I read through the readings today on the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, this thought began to develop within my heart.  

Leo:  “Mom, I’m done with Math!”

Me:  “Leo, that’s great!  Where is it so I can correct it to see how you did?”

Leo:  “I ripped it into a bunch of pieces and threw it in the garbage!”  (Followed by a hearty and mischievous laugh!)

“It’s Gonna Be Ok!”  While I was driving in my car yesterday, I heard these words on the radio.  About a week ago, after going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I decided to change my radio station from country music to Christian music.  I realized that swearing had become commonplace in my life and I wondered if it was because of the music I was listening to.  Many of the songs on the radio had small swear words in them and I think my mind went numb to them. 

October is a month that calls awareness to several causes, but two quite different causes touch my heart very profoundly.  Though these causes are not related for most people, they are for our family.  In October we call awareness to Down Syndrome, along with Pregnancy and Infant Loss.  Without one, we would not have the other.  Let me explain…

“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” (Luke 12: 48 NAB) This line from the Gospel stopped me dead in my tracks this morning as I read it.  I have heard it several times before, but today it struck me in a different way.  It led me to think about my marriage and family life. 

In my years as a Director of Family Ministry, along with my years as the Director of the Brooke Family I have come to know that one of the greatest problems that enters marriage and family life is what I would call “unmet, or unrealistic” expectations.  I served as the Director of Family Ministry for several years for my local diocese and part of that work was getting phone calls from couples in crisis, thinking divorce was the only option that they had.