10 Lies of Contemporary Culture

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Family relationships are sacred

This morning I opened the bible to this reading:

Romans 3:9-18. “ What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
 not even one.”
“Their throats are open graves;
 their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

And the thought struck me, that we are all sinners, that we do let each other down many times. So who can we trust? The relationships in our family are very deep, very intimate, personal and sacred. The intimate relationship of husband and wife, father and mother relationship with their children, the relationship with each sister and brother is sacred. God is working within each relationship.

In this world culture today, we have allowed other worldly issues to come into the family home. People joke and say how is your relationship with your wife or husband, or children are asked to speak out about their parents, sometimes jokingly. But we need to change this behaviour. That one on one relationship within the family should be kept strictly within the family, fostered, supported and allowed to grow with the help of our God, in faith, prayer.

Sometimes we tend to gossip to others about some issue we have with our parent or spouse or sibling, to people who we think we can trust, but it doesnt always bear good fruit. If we do need to get another opinion, first seek the opinion with your close family members. Each family member needs to allow this to occur, we need to allow that time in our busy lives to spend with those closest to us. The family makes up a society, civilisation. If every family were to follow these simple rules and guidelines, we would find peace in the world.

There are people who are alone and have lost family, we do pray for them. Reach out to them, if you do come across the lonely. I know from my own experience in my parents life, they always welcomed the lonely, the homeless, the beggar with sharing a meal or shelter, clothing, money. So I have learned from their example to be merciful to the poor.

As Jesus was obedient to his parents, so must we imitate his example. We need to be obedient to our parents and those who God has placed in our life. Through obedience we learn how to be patient and to LISTEN. Listening to others helps us to grow in the virtue of PATIENCE and HUMILITY. This helps us to curtail our strong will as well!

May the Holy Family of Jesus bless and protect you and your family and we pray for unity and peace in all families!

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How to live positively

“The task for a Christian is to drown evil in an abundance of good. It is not a question of negative campaigns, or of being anti anything. On the contrary, we should live positively, full of optimism, with youthfulness, joy and peace. We should be understanding with everybody, with the followers of Christ and with those who abandon him, or do not know him at all.

— But understanding does not mean holding back, or remaining indifferent; it means being active.

St Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 865.

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Living in this present time!

I was driving yesterday and tuned in the radio. There was a lot of discussions on state of the nation issues, welfare, pensions, unemployment, which was enough to send me into a spirit of desolation! We daily hear news of the state of the world, the violence erupting at any place, at any time, the economy, governments, marriage, identity, religious freedom, etc. People are angry, they have worked hard all their lives and to be deprived of their rewards at retirement is unfair; our local farmers are unhappy that their family business is affected; parents of schoolchildren are unhappy with the system; people out of work at middle age because employers are not employing them. The pension is not guaranteed anymore. Its overwhelming the complexity of these issues and we feel totally powerless. Jesus said ‘Trust in Me’ when times get difficult.

During Eucharistic Adoration I surrendered all these problems of the world to the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, saying to Him ‘why Lord do we have so many problems today’. The reply came ‘You were born for this moment in history, to face it and be courageous’. It was a surprise to hear it, but I needed to hear it!

We are all born for this time to be brave and courageous, we have to face these problems with God on our side. With God’s help only we can find the strength and courage to do whatever He tells us. Each of us have gifts that is given to us by God and we can only pray and ask Him what it is He wants us to do in this present age. We can very well shirk our duties, let someone else do it, shrug our shoulders and say ‘well blame the world’ and bury our head in the sand.

God has created you for this moment in world history, to be loving to your family, forgive, help one another at home and those around you, someone on the street needs your help, offer them help, stand up for justice for the good of all around us, not just for ourselves, but for the good of all. Increase your prayer life, yes even in the middle of housework, study, working, travelling to and from school or work, at the doctors, wherever, just say a little prayer.

Spend time at Mass, receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, Confession, Eucharistic Adoration, daily Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet. It seems a lot to build into your daily time schedule, but if you give God the time, He will reward you a hundredfold.

A lot of people want to help the world with donating their time and it seems out of reach, but with prayer we can achieve more. Pray for the Missions, the hungry, the homeless, those in prison, those at war, for the sick, the disabled, the dying, the elderly. God will fill our souls with immense Grace we need to lead a more fulfilling spiritual life and prepare us for our Eternal Home.

Shalom!

 

 

 

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How to be salt and light in our homes

Every day blessings for Catholic moms

 

 

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For wives

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For husbands and fathers

 

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Common pitfalls for Catholic parents

 

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Addiction to technology

 During this season of Lent, I have been thinking about how much time we spend on mobile phones, computers and TV!

Last night I was driving down a neighborhood and I glanced across at a house which had their front room window open for all to see and I saw 2 young men staring into their separate computer screens. This was evening, a time where we usually gather as a family after dinner and chat. I had a sense of sadness that we seem to be caught up in this technology world that we can’t even look at another human being near us. How do you know by not looking at another person that you could pick up a sense of sadness on another’s face and ask them ‘what is wrong, can I help you?’. Or you can tell by looking at a person’s face that they are not well and help them. How can we help one another, if we are constantly looking at a mobile!

While I have been commuting by tram during the week, I notice everyone has a mobile phone in their hand, while waiting by the tram stop and even when they get on the tram, they are still holding that phone and staring at the screen and swiping the screen with their fingers. What are people missing out on? Enjoying the fresh air and sunshine after being cooped up in an office perhaps? A lovely sunny day, looking around them and thanking God for all the beauty of creation, looking at someone and smiling, start chatting with someone or helping someone. All those opportunities are gone forever. I once stepped onto a train with a lady who I never knew was blind and she started chatting cheerfully about something (just a few humorous words) which made me smile and respond to her as well and soon we got talking!

I myself have been guilty of spending extra time on the net. I think about the cost of electricity, battery chargers, extra cost of internet downloads. All that extra time using electricity does eventually add up each month. Cutting out an extra hour of TV or computer each day will reduce your electricity bill each month, even if it is a small amount.

What can you do with that extra hour (of not staring at the TV screen or mobile)?

1. Family prayer time.
2. Chat with family around you or phone someone you have not spoken to in a while.
3. Read a book.
4. Pray the rosary and read a passage from the scriptures. Meditate on whatever words grab your attention or meditate on a scripture story.
5. Go for a walk.
6. Clean and tidy your home.
7. Organise your day with a To Do list.

I hope all the above ideas are productive and will help you grow your spiritual life during this Lenten season.

God bless you and yours!

~ Mary

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Natural Family Planning

http://catholic-link.org/2015/07/22/5-short-videos-that-help-explain-natural-family-planning/

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