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Today, Sunday 6th July we have 952 people from all over the world and from many Christian and some non-Christian denominations joining together in prayer.

This week I'm going to focus on marriage and the family. I'm off to the conference of the same name in Ballina next weekend, but just wanted to share a few thoughts beforehand, coz I'll probably be late
(again) in sending out next week's reflection - geesh but life can get awful busy, thanks be to God! Our reflection is by Bob and Debbie Gass from The Word for Today and called A Fruitful Life

I'd like to share a story with you please. 18 years ago my sister, Ann, walked away from a very bad marriage with her four young children, aged from 7 to just over 1. Last week there was a debate on the radio here about confession, co-habiting couples, and those in second unions. Someone had rung in because they had been refused absolution in confession as they were living in a second union. 'Tis a long time since I've heard the expression 'Living in Sin' but the debate raged over the audacity of the Priest, a young American hearing confessions in Rome where the caller was on holiday, refusing to give absolution for her sin as she said she would continue in the relationship.
Another person rang in about co-habiting couples or those in second unions - ie. married, divorced and re-married without a Church annulment, not being allowed to receive Holy Communion. This is the Scriptural scene when Jesus absolved the woman caught in adultery:

"But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8:1-11

Ann rang in to tell the listeners that there was no confusion at all over the issue. Absolution could not be given if the intent was to continue with the sinful behaviour. If she wanted to continue to receive the Sacraments and to provide a good example to her children, she had to follow the Teachings of Christ himself given to us by the Church, and remain single and celibate.

She has done so for 18 years, with the help of a daily and very strong prayer life. She made the point that the world is producing 'a la carte Catholics' - picking and choosing the bits that suit us. Jesus told us the gate was narrow and the road difficult and this is just one of the issues He might have been referring to. If we are to call ourselves true Christians we have to take on board the whole package!

Jesus' Teaching on Divorce

When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to
divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." Matthew 19:1-9 (See also Mark 10:1-12)

In this modern world the family is continually under attack in a variety of ways, some of them legislative, some of them through economic and taxation policies, but most of them through the media, especially TV. Look around at the absolute chaos there is in society today and then tell
yourself in all honesty that the modern way is good! The family is the cornerstone of society, the school of future generations, the bedrock of stability, or so it should be!

We have become de-sensitised to disloyalty within marriage through adultery and divorce. We are encouraged to leave a marriage for any reason at all rather than try to work at it. We have scorned chastity by condoning pre-marital sex, advocating a contraception mentality and supporting abortion. How? Because we have allowed the media, and especially television, to dictate the 'norms'. We swallow their liberal, non-Christian, anti-family, culture of death ethos.

Advertising uses sex to sell everything, our newspapers promote soft porn, our news stands, sex shops and entertainment industries openly sell hard porn, our TV sit-coms and other programmes promote adultery and divorce, our schools promote pre-marital sex by teaching contraception and abortion rather than chastity, we teach our children to practice 'safe sex' rather than remain chaste, our economic policies force mothers out into the workplace, parents abdicate their Christian duties by not teaching their children moral values from a very young age, and we delegate the parental role to strangers in order to pursue careers so we can fill the house with stuff we really don't need or to
give our kids a car at 16 or to take our 1 or 2 holidays abroad a year. Our governments' policies mitigate against the family in every way possible. We have got our priorities all wrong and the family is suffering!

That may sound terribly harsh and old-fashioned, but the consequences are plain to be seen. I know life is not black and white, it has all shades of grey, and economic circumstances force decisions upon us that affect family life, but prayer, and the help of God is there to guide us through it all. Our modern world, with its secular ethos, has succeeded in doing what its leaders set out to do - destroy the family and seduce us into a life of 'freedom' through 'sexual emancipation'! Would these 'so-called
freedoms' not be better called 'slavery to a modern world, greed and sin'?

Getting back to Ann's contribution to the programme - her belief in the Teachings of Christ, guarded and taught by the Catholic Church, was her conviction to remain celibate. She's divorced but does not have a Church annulment, so to her, in the eyes of God she is still married to her estranged husband. It was a tough decision. She always was a good-looking girl and is an extremely attractive 44 year old now. But she has no regrets, only that the marriage didn't work out as she had hoped when she married as a 19 year old. So young sez you - yes - but this lady always had a mature approach to life and it has proved itself in her moral values and Christian conviction. Would any of the
rest of us have the courage to do as she did and follow Christ, body and soul? Do we believe in Him enough to say a resounding Yes? It's something to think on and pray about! Here's a wee prayer for the family and one for our grown-up children:

"O Dear Jesus, I humbly implore You to grant Your special graces to our family this day. In Your Divine Mercy make our home a shrine of peace, love and faith. I beg You, Dear Jesus, to protect and bless all of us and our families absent and present, living and dead. O Mary loving Mother of Jesus and our Mother, pray to Jesus the Divine Mercy for our family, and for all the families of the world. Ask Him to guard the tiny infant in the womb, the cradle of the newborn, the young in the schools and those about to start their vocations in life. Amen"

"Heavenly Mother, keep us always in mind of Your Son's great mercy and understanding as we pray for our children. They are grown up now and have left us and are living their own lives according to their own ideals. We feel anxious and worried because they do not seem to feel the need for Christ. to understand the wisdom of His ways, or to be fully at ease with us or themselves. Intervene, dearest Mother, in their lives at the moment You know to be right and help them to understand the things that lead to their peace. Help them to see the need of Christ and to experiance the greatness
of His love, so that we may all proclaim as You did, that His mercy truly is from generation to generation. Amen"

All of the Reflections to date are available to read on the website for anyone who's interested and can be found from the Archives Page

The Weekly Intentions are available on a plain page to be able to print off and kept to hand for your own prayer time. The list has become too long now to include each week but please say the two wee prayers below. The Loving Father knows the heart of each person requesting prayer.

"Father, bless all those who have requested prayers in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! Father, we ask You to heal the broken bodies, broken minds, broken spirits, broken hearts and broken marriages and may all their lives be full of Your peace, prosperity, and power as they seek to have a close relationship with You. Amen."

"Thank You Jesus for answering our prayers because we know You hear every prayer and never refuse to answer. You are providing answers and healings from the prayers of all these wonderful people. Praise God!"

"Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy;
Act in me O Holy Spirit that my work, too, may be holy;
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit to defend all that is holy;
Guard me then O Holy Spirit that I always may be holy."

"O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me, tell me what I should do. Give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will. Amen"

God Bless you all for praying for and with each other and may the Holy Spirit ever be your guide,

Mary in Galway

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A Fruitful Life

" NO CHASTENING SEEMS TO BE JOYFUL FOR THE PRESENT,
BUT PAINFUL. "  HEBREWS 12 : 11 (NKJ)

Why would a loving God permit us to experience pain, even a small dose? To get our attention! To bring about change! Listen: '.God disciplines us for our good.' (Hebrews12:10 NIV). God's intention is always to nudge us lovingly, wisely, persistently, toward the life and character we desire - but can't reach without His help.

The Bible says, 'No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.' (Hebrews 12:11NKJ). What is God wanting? Fruit! He knows that without regular pruning, the vine will only live up to a fraction of its potential.
That's why we all have our 'pruning stories'.

God's discipline usually starts because of a sin problem - an unconfronted behaviour or attitude that's blighting our lives. It ends when the problem ends. The discipline doesn't have to continue! It's up to us! We only experience pain as along as we hang on to our sin.

Does discipline feel good? No! Is discipline the way of committed love? Absolutely! Satan would love to convince you that because your Father is dealing firmly with you, you're a worthless loser. The opposite it true!

Only if you've never received discipline should you doubt His favour. The Bible says, 'If you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons' (Hebrews 12:8 NKJ). Today, you can lengthen or shorten the discipline process in your life - it's entirely up to you!

May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you and yours and may Mary keep you in Her heavenly mother's care.

Mary