Fr. Larry Richards

The Truth by Fr. Larry Richards
What is the meaning of life? What is true?
Who made me? God
Why did God make me? To know God.
God made me to know Him and serve Him.
The most impt thing is to come to know God.
At the end of our life, God gave us what He loved the most: JC.
I gotta be in a rel with Him.
You could know a lot about JC but never know JC.
To know JC is to have everlasting life: eternal decision.
What we do now determines our eternity.
In the end, JC is all that matters.
What do you need from God?
Do not be afraid. 365 times in a Bible
You hurt Me when you don't allow Me to give you things.
You hurt Me when you don't allow Me to love you.
In JC, you are My son.
exorcism: You are God's beloved son.
You wanna know God, you have to know who you are, too or vice versa.
Listen to His heartbeat.
prob: You do not know how much you're loved by God.
If we all knew how much God loves us, we will all be saints.
call to be disciples: He bids them to come to die
Give my life away in death if I love other people.
serve them
The only way people will know you're disciples is when you love each other.
Am I a loving person?
Do I put others in front of me?
A person who loves God is a person who loves others (family).
Be people of love.
I am 3rd: God, others, self last.
JOY: Jesus, others, you
It begins at home, not at Church.
Do we treat people as nice as we treat people at Church?
ff JC: Tell people you love that you love them.
JC commanded us to love, and He forbid us to judge.
I'm a person of love.
deathbed: The only thing that will matter is your relationship.
I wish I love my family more.
You have to tell people that you love them every day. It's time to start. The call of God.
Be people of love.
We're called to serve God.
We're called to know God: prayer.
We're called to love Him by loving others.
We're called to serve by serving others.
prayer is not about God becoming your slave
prayer is about submitting your will to the will of the Master: Your will be done.
We need to be slaves of JC.
JC got to be your Lord.
JC can't be your Savior if He is not your Lord: all aspects of your life.
All or nothing!
You prove your love by the amount of time you spend to.
St. Francis de Sales: 1/2 hr every day in prayer except when busy, needs an hr
You give time for Me, worth your time.
Is God worth your time?
Lord of your life, Lord of your time
#1 priority of a parent is to get your kids to Heaven
#1 priority of a spouse: to get your spouse to Heaven
Is He Lord of your family?
Do you pray together?
Is God in charged of your money?
All your money belongs to God.
OT: top 10th of your income to God
NT: Give everything
Take care of His poor.
sin of omission: what you failed to do
In your lifetime, millions of children die of hunger.
If you don't give 10% of your income to God, you're stealing to God.
Just give until God stops giving to you.
5% to poor, 5% to God
If God is not the Lord of your money, He cannot be your Lord of anything.
Is He Lord of your sexual life?
1st commandment God gave us: Increase and multiply
Pray at the time of intimacy.
God wants to be the One that brings you together: share your soul.
Invite JC to be in the midst of it.
Let God be the Lord of your bedroom life.
God, whatever You want, I will do.
He asks me something I'm not willing to give up: that's what He wants.
Gal 2:19 I have been crucified with JC... JC lives in me.
When JC calls you, he bids you to come and die.
Cross and resurrection
You must be crucified so that He can live inside you.
Surrender!
Commit and recommit life to JC every day.
no dirty hands in Heaven
holding on to anything
Hold so tightly
With God, you have everything.
W/o God, you have nothing but a handful of dirt.
You can be dust forever, or you can take the dust today and surrender to JC.
Hold nothing back.
Sit at the feet of the Master.
Develop the attitude of a Master, Phil 2:2.
Transform into the Master.
Be a fanatic of JC.
Go to the Word of God. Spend time with God every day.
No Bible, no breakfast.
No Bible, no bed.
Know the catechism.
Grow in JC.
Are you here to serve or be served?
Transformed into Christ.
Christian: another Christ
See JC in me.
Die more and more to self so that JC will grow in me.
The purpose is to bring people to JC.
If JC is anything like you, I cannot wait to meet JC.
St Francis of Assissi: Preach JC to others, and if possible, use words.
A Christian is one who died in Christ.
We will live with JC forever in Heaven by being a saint.
You and I are to become saints.
Be holy to see God, not an option.
St. Jean Vianney: Pray and love, the glorious duty of man.
Listen, surrendered to Him.
Pray.
Never fit God into your day.
Fill your life with God.
Tell everybody you love that you love them.
Pray and love to become a great saint.
In the end, that's all that matters is to become a saint.

Audio: The Fruit of Commitment

The Fruit of Commitment
commit to be wrecked: how to be happy
The point of a trip is to lead you to a destination.
travel: merely feeding restlessness
not what God has for us: bouncing from one to another, after a few months of trying things out
age of opportunity: unlimited freedom
purpose is to find something
reality char by order, not chaos
chace exps & events & failed the test of commitment
abandoning commitment: narcissistic
w/o cmmitment: lack happiness
if nothing is worth dying for, then nothing is worth living for.
die that we may truly live
prodigal children wandering aimlessly
excuses for avoiding commitment
afraid to make a decision
not waiting but stalling
afraid of the conseq
learn how to be a friend, mt a deadline
commitments make us become better people
tough choice
the beauty of a LT rel
embrace exp
one commitment at a time
extended adolescence
instinct to avoid commitments: figuring things out
industrial rev: youth culture
adol: a modern phenomena
break the cycle
look bkward, not forward
need initiation: mentorship
take the initiative to find someone to guide them
the student's resp,  not the mentor's
we refuse to let young ppl fail
learning confi in the face of inadequacy & insec
grow up into your destiny
no map: make your own way
get over your commitment phobia
promises: covenants
age of gratification
be ppl of covenants
embrace the hard thing: commit
contrary to avoiding pain
the ease is hardly worth the sacrifice
we must risk
any commitment is a risk
higher risk of waiting: waiting to decide
readiness doesn't come cheap
greatness has a cost, commitment: walk thru the mire (hero for the satisfaction of tom)
process of a long haul
patience: sep us from the pack
you can outlast the other guys if you try, trip 3x
commit: the only way greatness is achieved
a choice not to do something else
decision paralysis
commit to a cause
what was hard was also right
chasing the promises of something better
watching self grow
some blessings come with LT investment, better in the long haul
a deeper, lasting joy: subtle at 1st
some accomplishments take time
a decision that cost us dearly
stupid to play it safe
where we grow
don't sleep on it, don't procrastinate
embrace the challenge, make the choice
the fruit is always worth the pain
excitement of doing something new
new is always attractive
portray what we do as something new

Jeff Cavins

I'm Not Being Fed by Jeff Cavins
The number one Catholic eating disorder: I'm not being fed.
hungry: You will find some place to eat.
You will find a place to be fed.
The Eucharist that brought me back to church.
I wasn't spiritually being fed.
Who ultimately has the responsibility to feed you? JC
Psalm 23
many options in the wilderness
Jn 10:11 I am the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Paraclete: the HS
He established the Authority.
1 Tim 3:15 The Church that is the pillar and support of the truth.
MT 16:13
Mt 16, Jn 14, 31
discipline, guidance
Jn 23
If you love Me, feed my sheep, tend my sheep.
asked 3x to Peter
He has doubts.
This is My Body.
Where do the sheep eat?
Jn 6: the most powerful chapter in the NT where to eat
we feed ourselves, it's fun
Fellowship is just like dessert.
Jn 6: the feeding of the 5k
Mk 6: same story
a model of Mass
Jn 6:33
He felt compassion for them bec they were like sheep w/o a shepherd.
We need a shepherd.
Mass: the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist
the Word and the Body of God
the Mass is the great exchange
we give Him our words & He gives us our words.
My flesh is true food.
I left the Church bec I wasn't being fed.
covenant: eat the sacrifice
God will provide the Lamb.
Catholic Church: a cycle of readings, 3 years' cycle all NT
Rev 3:20

Mark Hart

Re-made by Mark Hart
The path from your head to your heart
You are designed for Heaven, eternity.
disillusioned: There's something more to life.
impersona Cristi
The only thing that's keeping you from being a saint is YOU.
God: I tattooed your name at the palms of My Hand.
His crib was a feed box. Not afraid to get dirty.
The sin against the Holy Spirit: The only sin that God won't forgive you for.
You are the sum of the Father's Love.
4k promises He made for you
When you pray to Me, I will listen.
He's a God, not a genie. It doesn't work.
He's your Lover.
There are people way better at you at sin.
Love is all about living.
annoyed people: not fulfilling their purpose
The only thing that doesn't go away is God, His love.
Don't stand on the boat when JC says walk on water.
You are created in Christ Jesus to do good works, to live life to the fullest.
Don't be a reactionary Catholic.
The whole symbol of our faith is discomfort.
He's not afraid of the dirt, mess.

Matthew Kelly

Becoming the Best Version of Yourself by Matthew Kelly
Bible: find the secrets to all of life's succcess
the message of Xmas: God wants to give us more, I got bigger plan
We'll only be happy when we're doing the will of God, what God creates us to do, what God tells us to do.
not a mystery, not out of reach, not unavailable to us
despair: a lie
We can know the will of God. We just don't ask the question, too scared to ask.
God wants you to become the best version of yourself: God's dream for you
Stop being second-rate versions of ourselves.
fundamental principle of life, Xtianity, spirituality: become the best version of yourself
Friendship is a good place to start.
What makes the best friendship? help you become the best version of yourself, hang on to them
causing or encouraging you to become a lesser version of yourself
purpose of marriage: can only be understood in relation to the fundamental principle, 2 people getting together encouraging, helping, challenging each other to become a best version of themselves, raising and educating children
To be holy means to become a best version of yourself.
e.g. St. Francis, Mother Teresa
Marriage is a God's vehicle to help people become holy, designed to help people become the best version of themselves.
Why do we work?
Work to become the best version of self: work hard to develop character, virtue
articulate the fundamental principle
There's genius in Catholicism.
Advent: We need to prepare for anything that's important.
We prepare for anything, everything we consider important in life.
Beware that your hearts don't become drowsy from the anxieties of daily life.
Repent means to turn back to God.
Any journey towards something means a journey away from something.
We reject the simple.
Our modern culture worships complexity.
We don't need complexity.
Our souls need simplicity.
If you really love God, show it. Prove it.
God is an internal mystery.
Love of God is total mystery.
proof is love of neighbor
ark of the covenant represented the presence of God
David dancing for joy in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant.
John the Baptist danced for joy in Elizabeth's womb.
Switch the focus off ourselves and on to others.
the paradox
We find joy by serving, not by being served.
Don't just tell me. Show me.
His dream for you is you become the best version of yourself. He doesn't want to control you.
common yearning of man: to be happy bec God gave it to us, uses it as an eternal homing devise
strong desire for happiness
bring us back to Him
4 aspects of the human person (rhythm of life):
1. physical: exercise, diet
2. emotional: focus on relationships, priority
3. intellectual: read a good book, change, grow
vision of self and world expand, vibrant
4. spiritual: silence a few minutes a day, reconnected with self and God, sense of peace & purpose, abundant life
We know what makes us happy. We just don't do them.
We're too busy trying to be happy.
Relationships thrive under carefree timelessness.
Take time to pray, reflect.
4 New Year's Resolution
1. Exercise once a week every week for the entire year.
your experience of life is only limited by the energy you have.
2. Have serious carefree timelessness once a month with significant other. Make it happen.
Have rich relationship lives.
the reason young people fall in love too easily and why adults fall out of love too easily
starve: wither and die
3. 10mins a day every day, 10 books
Books change our lives.
What we read today walks and talks with us tom.
We become the stories we listen to.
Read good books. Collect good books.
How do you judge a good book, movie?
Am I a better person?
music: inspire
matthewkelly.org
4. Get yourself a journal, bring to Mass.
Mass: the central experience of Catholicism
Billions of Catholics
center of our lives
The problem with the Mass is not out there.
The most powerful movement of the 20th, 21st century is the abdication of responsibility.
God, show me one way in this Mass I can become a better person.
Our lives change when our habits change.
Human behavior is so predictable.
We start everything very neatly.
Human behavior is phenomenally predictable.
God doesn't have any favorites.
Heroes had better habits.
It's all about choices.
misery
How often do you feel like working out? praying? reading?
Judge an activity not on how you feel but when you're done.
You gotta make a choice. You gotta access the options.
choose happiness or misery
Start choosing the best version of yourself.
God won't force you to do what you don't wanna do

Suffering = Sacrifice

God's ultimate message today: "The Angel said, 'Let everything you do be a sacrifice but, above all, accept all the sufferings God sends you as a sacrifice.'" - Lucy of Fatima (Kaya pala kinaya kong lakarin mula Matutum Street malapit sa Ace Water Spa Banawe hanggang sa Sto. Domingo Church sa ilalim ng araw. Buti di na-slain. :D)

Sulit din pala ang dalawang oras na tambay sa adoration. Isang realisasyon: Umiiyak din pala ang mga lalaki sa loob ng adoration. Kala ko kaming mga babae lang...

*Simply inspired to pray for the conversion of souls (including my own) to my favorite saint 

Fr. Robert Barron

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/seven-deadly-sins-seven-lively-virtues
The most important truth of spiritual life: God does not need you
you have been loved into existence
love: to the good of the other
God can't be self-interest.
what God wants us to be: that we might be fully alive
be a conduit of God's love, divine generosity
the more you give, the more you get
saintly way of being
we forget who we are
we become afraid
Fear is the root of all sins
1 John: the opposite of love is fear
I need to justify myself
wrapping self up in desperate needs: power, money
you become a threat in my well-being
allow God's love to surge through us
St. Augustine: Sin is being caved in on oneself
deadly sins: negative attitudes, distorted
keeps us from being alive
self-imposed imprisonment

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/what-every-couple-should-know-about-marriage-and-prayer

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/three-to-get-married
there is nothing beautiful in this world than 2 young people in love
spiritual and psychological differences:
man generally marries to have a woman.
woman generally marries to have a child.
man looks at the pleasure in marriage
man gives reason to love a woman (I love you because you're beautiful...).
a woman never gives reason, she gives herself: surrender
man is quicker to love bec he can love & ask things, experience with a woman
a woman is slower to love, she will not love unless she can give herself totally & completely wait longer to give self totally, discover all of inspirations, great act of self oblation
a man is afraid of dying before he has lived.
a woman is generally afraid of dying before she has begotten life.
reconcile difficulties/tensions
tensions expected in every married life:
tensions are not bec of a defect
tensions are part of fallen human nature
1. between wanting and not wanting love
courtship is a kind of masked ball, marriage takes off the mask
torn between longing and satiety
when longing disappears
love too much, there is discontent
love too little, there is emptiness
you are made for the great sacred heart of love: God's love (infinite)
finite companion the substitute to the infinite
see in the light of God
longing for love: yearning for God
finiteness of earthly love
St. Augustine: Our hearts were made for You, Lord.
in every marriage, a man promises a woman something that only God can give
a woman promises a man what only God can give
pull between the too lil and too much
too lil bec we want God
too much bec only God can satisfy, the human cannot
2. tension between wanting to be one with another person, feeling of so alone
self is lost in another
the flesh alone cannot unite, only the soul can
the flesh is the means to unity (not an obstacle) bec it is bound up by soul
love loses its soul...

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/the-true-meaning-of-christmas

Love and Suffering

God's big message and greatest insight after listening to the Marriage and the Eucharist CD by Christopher West days ago...
"Love involves suffering."
To love means to suffer, so if I were to suffer over & over again in this life, I wanna suffer with you (OTL) by my side.

Loving and Living

"To be a saint means when God's will and my will become one.
God's will for me is to go to Heaven.
It's not God's will for us to go to purgatory." - Fr. Larry Richards

Isn't it nice to hear voices of angels singing and praising God once we kick the bucket instead of prolonging our suffering by undergoing purification in purgatory? Make a decision to be a living saint today (or at least prepare to be one someday). Love like Jesus! Love unto folly! Suffering on the Cross, enduring insults and pains, and sacrificing One's life is probably the craziest kind of love there is. Love like crazy! Love as if there's no tomorrow! And you know by then that you have lived life to the full. :D

Matthew Arnold

Found a good supplement for my School of Formation...

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/which-came-first-the-bible-or-the-church
lay Catholic speaker, author,certified Christian counselor, 6 homeschooled children
www.matthewarnold.org
The Holy Bible: the most popular book of all time, the most widely distributed book in history
Pray the rosary with the Psalms.
common expressions come from the Bible: a Judas, a Jezebel, the salt of the earth
Biblia: book
Bible: a whole library of sacred book, during a course of more than 1k years
Bible: contains the inspired Word of God
All Scripture is inspired by God, profitable for reproach, teaching
2 Tim 3:15-17
CCC: God is the Author of Sacred Scripture, moved human authors (inspired, w/o error, saving truth).
Jesus: the substantial Word of God
Bible: single volume (Divine Author)
The primary Author is God.
Divided into 3 sections: Hebrew (OT), NT
OT: desire for the Redeemer, old agreement or covenant, God preparing people for the coming of the Messiah
NT: passion and death of JC, covenant
Is 42: 1, 6
46 books of OT: history, wisdom
1st 5 books: Pentateuch/Torah: Law
Pentateuch: Laws of God
Genesis: explains the beginning of many important realities (sin, salvation, etc.)
Gen 1:27
Gen 12: 2, 3

Lectio Divina by Mark Hart

Reading the Bible:
Have a plan.
Start with the Gospel of Mark: the shortest, easiest to read (writing to Christians in Rome).
The Gospel of John is the deepest.
Mark 1: the preaching of John the Baptist, baptism of Jesus, the temptation of Jesus
spend one day in one sub-section
less is more
when it comes to Scripture, you retain it in your brain and in your heart, or else God complex
start with a prayer before reading the Bible
God is not impressed with our language.
The Holy Spirit inspired.
inspiration: breathe in
respiration: breathe out
Invite the Author to the table.
Come Holy Spirit, 3 to 4 times.
There's an ancient art of reading the Scriptures: Lectio Divina.
Mark 1:9
step 1: reading: WWWWWH
pause for footnotes for explanations
step 2: meditacio: meditation, ruminating

Matthew Leonard

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/pray-like-a-saint
life, sacrifice, and suffering
We are all called to a life of self-sacrifice.
Praying is a relationship.
to raise our hearts and minds to God
Prayer gives us life, helps us go through this fallen world, offer up our sufferings, road to holiness
It is THE path.
Prayer comes in several basic forms: blessing, adoration, thanksgiving.
St. Therese: Prayer is where we encounter Christ, turn of the heart, comes from the heart.
We have an interior life.
conversation inside self: revolves around me
Prayer changes narcissistic focus.
inward to upward
a hole that can only be filled with a relationship with God

Sr. Mary Gabriel

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/power-in-prayer

All the deepest yearnings of the human heart can only be met in prayer.
Prayer: The Catechism of the Catholic Church
stillness & silence: The God who loves you is with you.
Prayer: The Lord allures you into the desert to speak to your heart.
Desert: a place where I discover my own limitations, where I see my dependency on God, where I rely on Him so that He can be God

Fr. Larry Richards

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/discerning-god-s-will

the will of God is for us to go to heaven
to be holy & blameless
the general will of God
everything else will be secondary
God made me to know Him, love Him, serve Him in this world
we become great saints
there's a universal call to holiness
It's God's will for you to be holy.
Holiness is real.
Pope John Paul II made people saints: radically in love with God
To be a saint means when God's will and my will become one.
living in a unitive way
It's not God's will for us to go to purgatory.

http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/the-mass-explained

Confession

Confession by Fr. Larry Richards
the greatest gift God gave us: His mercy
God's 1st movement is compassion.
Sin is saying no to God.
full knowledge: Eve
If God says you will die, you will die because God is not the liar.
The devil 1st instilled lies.
original sin: I become sin, I become god
sin: I don't think that's wrong; it doesn't matter as long as God does
good, pleasing, desirable
Sin is missing the mark (going the other way).
Sex is good.
sin: something good, something pleasurable, always has a desire
Sin is not hurting other people for the sake of other people.
It is wrong because God says no
ultimately wrong with sin: God says no, I say yes
The center of all sin is I: I determine (my life, will, want).
Sin always brings shame (e.g. Eve).
The 1st verse of salvation: Mary & JC analogy
"The wages of sin is death."
Sin always kills us.
God says I will give you hope.
Just God: must fulfill His justice
eternal penalty to the orig sin
I will become one of you: I will fulfill My justice.
God Himself in JC fulfilled His own justice.
In JC, the justice of God is fulfilled.
Why would you go to Heaven? Why shall I let you in Heaven? only 1 answer: because JC died for my sins
earn way to heaven: heretic
Participate by the way we live in what JC has done for us.
confession: renewed in my heart
I rejected His love.
about breaking laws or rules
God wants us to be whole & go to Heaven.
a relationship with God
God has a right to have 1st place in our life because He bought us at a price.
Matthew 16:18
"I entrust to you Peter the key to Heaven."
John 20:22-23
The priest who forgives your sin, ordinary way of forgiveness.
Sin is like a cancer.
after cancer operation: Did they get it all?
important to get it all out in confession
Know what sin is.
Sin is a spiritual disease.
You have to go to a spiritual doctor.
Give all your sins to a priest.
The one who knows us the most loves us the most.
confession: encounter with JC
We love to condemn people.
God said you shall not judge.
no condemnation in JC, only freedom
JC came to set us free (temper, pride).
Before God gave the commandments in Mt. Sinai, He set the people free 1st.
confession should be a place for freedom
The purpose of our life is to be like JC.
1st commandment: Love God above all things.
fit God into your day: break the 1st commandment
Not one of us can love God above all else (prayer).
mortal sin to miss Mass on Sunday
only 1 mortal sin to go to hell
1 mortal sin is enough to bring you to hell.
mortal sin:
1. serious matter
2. full knowledge
3. full consent of will
confession: intention of never doing it again
intention: I am done with this sin
Forgiveness: You must repent of your sins.
Every sin must be punished.
Do no cling to the sin to receive God's mercy.
Missing Mass on Sunday is a serious sin.
Honor your parents: take care.
the only commandment with a promise: long life
Anger can kill more than any knife into our heart.
6th commandment: sexual sin
All of us are sexual beings. Do it His way.
Sexual temptation is part of who we are (every day).
The body is not evil (what you do with it).
use them for your own pleasure
sex should be outside of ourselves, not inside
Porn is an addiction.
Porn takes the place of God.
Let the priest set you free from the sin.
last chapter of Revelation
Intercourse is not the only way to fornication.
Homosexuality is wrong because no life can come forth out of it.
artificial birth control is wrong
oral sex is always wrong
It's not your body, it's God's.
We all need a Savior.
The priest is also a sinner.
God is a God of mercy.
Repent & believe in the Good News: you are loved.
good examination of conscience
God comes to love you, not to condemn you.

The Truth

"Satan is the great plagiarizer." He has a knack for distorting truths. Lay a solid foundation, remain grounded on your faith, read the Scriptures diligently, protect your sacred half-hour (prayer time), find a support group (who will serve as your spiritual family), discover mentors, and you are on your way to sainthood with Heaven as our final destination. Happy journeying with others! :D

LOVE

Pope John Paul II says, "Life is senseless unless we discover love."

"Every human being is looking for God because every human being is looking for love."

"There is one path to happiness: to learn to love as God loves."

- Marriage and the Eucharist by Christopher West, CD available at catholicity.com)

(Thanks for these profound truths, Papa God. May I learn to love as You do. Prepare me for Your higher calling...)

Marriage and the Eucharist

Marriage and the Eucharist by Christopher West
intimate embrace: the union of the 2 in 1 flesh
Pope JP II: theology of the body - body, sexuality, and marriage
build a culture of true human life
the culture of death: very concrete and real
lived under the Nazi occupation
lived under the tyranny of communism
crucible of death & degradation
How can there be evil?
drink from the dregs of raw evil
root of the prob of evil: our rejection of God's plan for life and love that is stamped in our bodies as male & female
sacrament of the body
Sacrament: physical signs that reveal & communicate spiritual reality; reveals the spiritual mystery of God
sunset, starlit night: reveals the glory of God
contemplate the mystery of God through nature
men created as male & female in the image & likeness of God: the crown of creation
the invisible mystery of God made visible for us
the spiritual & the divine
hum beings are spiritual & phy creatures
physical makes invisible visible
invisible mystery of God: God is Love (bec He loves us and in the very rel of the Father & the Son)
God is an exchange of Love.
mystery of the Trinity: the Father giving Himself to the Son and vice versa (external exchange of love)
We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father & the Son.
We image God as individuals & in the communion of men & women in the intimacy of marital embrace (internal exchange of the Trinity).
a symbol of the very inner life of God
God's eternal plan of love: share in the Trinity
embodied when the Word becomes flesh so that we can become one with Him
Every longing we have for intimacy is simply a foreshadowing of the union of JC with the Church.
turbulent 60s: sexuality in full swing
consummated sex in marriage
This is My Body, given up for You: what marital love should express
The sign of marital love is a sign: one flesh.
what happened on the cross
self-giving love
In no way is God made in man's image: God is neither male nor female.
consummation of a mystical marriage
mysterious stuff we can't pin down
The Eucharist is the Sacrament of the Bridegroom and the bride.
The body reveals the spiritual reality of a person.
A call to holy communion.
The Eucharist was instituted to reveal the meaning of masculinity & femininity, the Sacrament of the Bridegroom & the bride.
As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved You: abide in My love.
call to love as JC loves: to find happiness
Pope JP II: Life is senseless unless we discover love (every human being is looking for God because every human being is looking for love.
You cannot give what you do not have.
Love of God should be abiding in your heart to give that love to others.
The heart is fully alive with the love of the Father.
receptivity: receive the gift
Be in a position of receptivity to conceive the gift of God (e.g. Mary).
Mary: our model & our hope
Abide in JC's love to discover the meaning of life.
The call to love as God loves us
Marriage is not the only way to live this out
Some sacrifice married life for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven
The celibate person is not rejecting his sexuality.
consecrated celibate men
Marriage is only a foreshadowing of a greater marriage to come.
Ephesians 5
We are called in union to one another and in union with God.
JC gives Himself totally to the Church.
No one is excluded from the marriage of the Lamb.
The true joys of married love
Spouses are not one another's ultimate fulfillment, only signs.
Peg your hat on the hook that can bear the weight.
To love with His love, we have to abide in His love.
He who eats My flesh and drinks My cup abides in Me.
There is one path to happiness: to learn to love as God loves (the 2 becomes 1 flesh).
Satan lies about the meaning of our bodies & our path to happiness
Vatican Council II: Man cannot find himself except through the sincere gift of himself.
conjugal union
A man & a woman become a mutual gift to each other.
marital union: the sacramental (a sign to proclaim the mystery of God: God is Love)
symbolizes eternal love of God
The whole of married love is this love.
All of married love is a gift.
participate in the very life of God
Pope: The marital embrace - the consciousness of gratification, participation in life of the Holy Spirit
We have not overcome the lies of the devil.
Satan is the great plagiarizer.
reclaim what satan has plagiarized.
Sex is inherently Catholic.
Marriage is the sacrament of sexual love (consummate expression).
Sex is not something you do.
vestiges of the proper use of the word
sex: male and female
The full meaning of love revealed in the Eucharist.
How does God love?
1. His love is free (w/o any reservation).
I lay down my life for you.
I have loved you to the last: JC.
2. It must be total.
3. It must be faithful.
4. It must be life-giving, fruitful.
having a full life
What the Eucharist is
free, total, faithful, fruitful love: marriage
Deacons ask the questions of the intention to marry: have you come here freely & w/o any reservation to give each other in marriage, do you promise to be faithful until death, do you promise to bear children God gives?
Marriage is a fulfillment of this great commandment.
Sexual union is where the words of the wedding vows become flesh.
The body possesses a language that proclaims the mystery of God's love.
The body speaks w/o opening the mouth.
The spouses are the ministers of the Sacraments of Marriage.
express the mysterious language of the body: Eucharistic
Eucharistic character of the marital embrace
marital union: foundation of the sacramental order, the way God makes Himself known/visible to us
marital union as Eucharistic
The Eucharist if the union of the flesh.
The Eucharist is the sign of the new covenant.
The Eucharist is the living out of our baptismal promises.
The marital embrace is the living out of our wedding vows.
The Eucharist is the source and summit of our union with JC, the Christian life.
Receive the Eucharist worthily
Men & women should receive each other worthily.
The Eucharist is a prayer of thanksgiving.
Marital intercourse is a prayer, the offering of the body.
Offer your bodies as a sacrifice.
How can sex be better if the Source of Love is not there?
Speak with the body the truth.
possible to speak lies with the body: the kiss of Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane
Are you speaking the language of your body truthfully.
A prophet is one who proclaims the mystery of love in human language.
Distinguish a true and false prophet.
Can you think of anything that will make you unfaithful to your marriage vows?
Renew vows on a regular basis.
teaching of the Church on sexual reality
internal problem of every marriage: the effort to renew marriage vows
The father of lies wants us to speak lies with our bodies.
non-marital sex vs marital sex
Even married people can have non-marital sex, not being faithful to marriage vows, blatant contradiction.
Love and the demands of love hurt.
Love involves suffering.
Spend time looking at the crucifix.
Only true love can fulfill you truly.
prefer the momentary pleasure of sterilized orgasm (condom)
What is the loving thing to do?
If today you hear the Lord's voice, harden not your hearts.
Abstaining from sex is not violation of married life.
The loving thing to do: abstain when sick
abstain after childbiirth
principle of natural family planning
Fulfill the being of your existence.
launch you into eternity
Don't live with your engines pointed at the ground.
a piece of God's own joy: to love as He loves
The marriage of the Lamb for all eternity
catholicity.com (OH): donations
The Mass needs to be the summit and source of our life.
nothing more impt than the Mass