Saturday, January 15, 2022

CELL PHONE ADDICTION CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM


 He looks so natural!
or
Did you remind him to call you when he gets there? 
or
Thank God, you chose the one with the "forever" plan!
or
Did he try turning it "off" and then turning it "on" again?  

Thursday, January 13, 2022

PLEASE! THANKS! SORRY!

 


WISE WORDS TO MARRIED COUPLES

 POPE FRANCIS 

December 26, 2021


Pope Francis sought Sunday to encourage married couples, acknowledging that the pandemic has aggravated some family problems but urging couples to seek help and always remember three key words in a marriage: “Please, thanks and sorry.”

Francis penned a letter to married couples that was released Sunday, a Catholic feast day commemorating Jesus’ family. It came halfway through a yearlong celebration of the family announced by Francis that is due to conclude in June with a big family rally in Rome.

Speaking at his studio window Sunday, Francis said he intended the letter to be his “Christmas present to married couples." He urged them to keep having children to fight the “demographic winter" which, in Italy, has led to one of the lowest birthrates in the world.

“Maybe we aren't born into an exceptional, problem-free family, but our family is our story — everyone has to think: It’s my story,” he said. “They are our roots: If we cut them, life dries up!"

In the letter, Francis said lockdowns and quarantines had forced families to spend more time together. But he noted that such enforced togetherness at times tested the patience of parents and siblings alike and in some cases led to real difficulties.

“Pre-existing problems were aggravated, creating conflicts that in some cases became almost unbearable. Many even experienced the breakup of a relationship,” Francis wrote.

He offered his closeness to those families and reminded parents that the breakup of a marriage is particularly hard on children, who look to their parents as a constant source of stability, love, trust and strength.

“The breakdown of a marriage causes immense suffering, since many hopes are dashed, and misunderstandings can lead to arguments and hurts not easily healed," he said. “Children end up having to suffer the pain of seeing their parents no longer together."

He urged parents to keep seeking help to try to overcome conflicts, including through prayer. “Remember also that forgiveness heals every wound,” he said.

He repeated a refrain he has often used when meeting with families and married couples, listing the three most important words in a marriage: “Please, thanks and sorry.”

Picking up the theme in his remarks to tourists and passers-by in St. Peter's Square, Francis said a failure to make peace before going to bed at night can lead to a “cold war" the next morning.

“How many times, unfortunately, conflicts originate within the domestic walls due to prolonged periods of silence and from unchecked selfishness!" he said. “Sometimes it even ends up in physical and moral violence. This lacerates harmony and kills the family."

He urged families to put down their cellphones at the dinner table and talk. “It's sad to see a family at lunch, each one with his or her own cell phone not speaking to one another, everyone talking to the mobile phone," he said.

Then when an argument breaks out, each one repeats their refrains “staging a comedy they've already seen where everyone wants to be right and in the end a cold silence falls. That sharp, cold silence, after a family discussion, is ugly, so very ugly!" he said.

He urged parents to think not of themselves but others, and to pray “for the gift of peace."

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

NO EXCUSES, NO WHINING, NO BLAME

IT'S EASIER TO PUT ON SLIPPERS THAN CARPET THE WORLD
You Can't Change Others But You Can Change Yourself 



 

Sunday, January 9, 2022

CALLED TO ACT BETTER, DO BETTER AND BE BETTER

FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD


Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God's children?

Do you reject the glamor of evil and refuse to be mastered by sin?

You have become a new creation and have clothed yourself in Christ. Receive this baptismal garment and bring it unstained to the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that you may have everlasting life.

You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as a child of the light and keep the flame of faith alive in your hearts. When the Lord comes, may you go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.

From the Rite of Baptism of Adults

CALLED TO WALK THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

 

TAKE THE NARROW CONSTRICTED PATH AND AVOID THE WIDE EASY ROAD 

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.
Matthew 7:13-14

 Keep Watching This Amazing Video Until You Really Understand It.
Once You Understand It, Commit to Living It Out.