I remember very clearly sitting with my husband in my Pre-Marriage Seminar, listening to a beautiful couple give a testimony on the use of Natural Family Planning (NFP) in their marriage.  They had five children and a sixth due any day.  My then, soon to be husband, looked at me and said, very clearly, "I will NEVER consider using NFP until you show me a couple that has used NFP effectively and has three children or less." 

Last week’s blog was about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Specifically, how it changes us, sets us free and thus changes the world and influences our neighbors and families. Making the journey to the confessional, to seek Jesus in this beautiful and intimate sacrament is often scary and can be a bit intimidating. Today, I’m going to share some resources and ideas for helping to prepare our hearts, minds and souls to jump back into Confession. 

Growing up, I believed that going to confession was one of the scariest things that I could do. I was incredibly nervous because confession is uncomfortable. We have to dig deep, reflect, sit in silence and be sincerely sorry for the things we have done that hurt another. As humans, those things seem hard, scary and many of us would much rather avoid them. 

“Tell us, Mary: say what thou didst see upon the way. 

The tomb the Living did enclose; I saw Christ’s glory as He rose!”

Victimae Paschali, Sequence for Easter Sunday

Victimae Paschali Laudes, the medieval sequence chanted before the proclamation of the Gospel on Easter Sunday, tries to express in beautifully inadequate words the reality of what we celebrate during the Easter liturgy. 

For most Catholics, Lent 2020 has been a Lent like no other. We have found ourselves giving up things we never thought of giving up, due to forced quarantines, lock-downs, lay-offs, and perhaps for many of our Catholic Marriage Prep couples, even wedding dates and receptions. The global pandemic, and our response to it, has made us reflect on our own mortality, our faith, and our priorities in life.

Henry Ossawa Tanner's The Annunciation

Every year on March 25^th, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the mystery wherein God takes on flesh and comes to dwell in the womb of Mary. This mystery has always had a special place in Catholic devotion and piety. For one, we remember Jesus’ incarnation, the truth that God put on flesh and became man in Jesus Christ. In addition to this life-altering event, we honor Mary’s role in this whole drama we call Salvation History. That despite her confusion and the plans she may have had for her life, Mary gave her fiat, her total and complete yes, to her role in God’s plan of salvation. 

Picture by Joseph Ambuul 2018

Below is the incredibly touching testimonial of a young French lady who, with her fiancé, chose abstinence until their wedding.

It didn't come naturally to her, though. After high-school, she had fallen into prostitution to make ends meet. She had been raped several times and was living with her boyfriend, soon to be fiancé.
She now writes to her priest: