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

Second Desert Day at SoF

SoF's Second Desert Day
God's big messages: There is "truth in love."
                                Life is beautiful.
                                Love is beautiful.
                                God will provide.
I went because God revealed to me that I should go... - Galatians 2:2
In the time of Noah, I promised never again to flood the earth... - Isaiah 54:9 (Parts of the earth na lang po ba ang babaha? Sana wala na po talaga.)
Your days of grief will come to an end... - Isaiah 54:60 (Love this most!)

Thank You, Lord, for the "simple joys" at the desert. Nabusog po kami sa kuwento, tawanan, at sa "divine providence." :D

Transient Life

On the Transience of Life: "Youth is a passing breeze; beauty dissipates like smoke; love ages like a dress in a wardrobe; life expires in one breath. Nothing is left... If you would only taste the height and breadth of the Lord's love... there isn't an ocean that contains as much solace as the Lord... We need a Spouse that knows neither age nor death." - Brother Francis of Assisi by Father Ignacio Larranaga

Everything and everyone come and go... but the love of God remains. Excited for God's BIG message and soft and gentle voice in another Desert Day in a few hours! Praying for a good weather to discern His will more... Where do I go now, Lord? Guide my steps.

For Better Forever

For Better Forever by Dr. Gregory and Lisa Popcak
exceptionalmarriages.com
NFP: ccli.org
Gift: what you should be to your spouse
Grow together in your Xtian identity
Invite each other to experience original unity
Foster companionate and romantic love
Treasure the sacred power of marital intimacy
St. Paul: See those Xtians, see how they love.
original unity God intended for man and woman
sacrament: the power to sanctity, grow in rel with JC
a vital and deep love for prayer life, HS
your faith changes everything, makes each of you God's gift to each other
self-donation: a kind of love, heroic generosity, completely loving to the other
What do you need from me?
4 components:
Grow
Invite
Foster
Treasure
marriage as growing together in Xtian identity
the values you wanna uphold & stand for
living up ideals and values
who I wanna be known for
daily life and choices reflected by those values
how to apply what the church teaches
strong identity or not
values reflected in choices & actions
eternal wedding feast
a clear sense of mission & helping each other live it out
a marital mission statement: spouse & children
list 3 or 4 most impt qualities
1. love
2. joy
4. self-control
3. compassion
5. humor
6. generosity
1. LOVE: patient with me
2. RESPECT: understanding his personality, where he is coming from
3. ACCEPTANCE BUILDING UP ONE ANOTHER
separate but complementary ways to nourish each other
marital grace, embrace
be JC to your spouse
learn to be those things he needs you to be
men and women are fully masculine and feminine when they are loving
an invitation from God to be the person He wants us to be
companionate love: deep friendship, core of rel, heater and a fireplace (char, homey, cozy), kps warm and comfy
romantic love burns up a lot of energy, time
you don't have to live up to each other's hip pockets
gives me an excuse to be with you, share exps (ftball)
JP II: self donation
be your spouse's bf
have conversations abt what she's doing
help me be a better friend, supportive
added spark to hubby's eyes, spring
stop being afraid & resistant, be self donative
opportunities for frndshp
I dnt care what it is we do as long as we do it together.
romantic love: impt part of sacrament of marriage
appreciate how much God loves them
love each other passionately
song of songs
st. catherine of siena refers to God as her passionate lover
intimate, passionate union bet God & humanity: a great mystery
marriage: captures the romantic heart of God
visual: see what needs to be done
God gives you your mate so that you can become who He wants you to be, cannot become that w/o him
2 diff schs of Catholic sexuality:
sex is holy
as long as i think holy thoughts, i don't care what i do with my body (heresies)
sex is the celebration of the sacrament
physical union
JP II: theology of the body: look at each other w/o lust
sacramental power of marital intimacy
1. guard each other's dignity: no name calling
5:1 ratio be conscious
1:20
10:1 ratio of positivity & negativity
be observant
attentive, generous service to each other: I'm here for you, I love you
serving each other
Be each other's mad lover as a sign of His love for you.
Approach lovemaking joyfully.
lovemaking is a recreation of wedding vows.
draw strength from each other
what the sensual rel is all abt
reexp wedding vows
intimacy, communication, trust, self-mastery
create a community of love, a family
become like the trinity
the gift of natural family planning (NFP): a discernment process
approach each other in prayer
a lover's prayer: let me kiss her with Your lips, let me love her with Your undying passion
share bodies and souls in intimate union, talk to God together
powerful prayer life together
ask God how to understand this gift He gave you
Lord, help me be the spouse You want me to be.

Good Things

"All good things have come to me since I no longer seek them for myself." - St. John of the Cross

Have You thanked the Lord enough for all the good things He's sent along your way? It's never too late to say a little thank you today. 

Autobiography of St. Therese

"... your soul is very simple, but when you are perfect, you will be more simple still. The nearer one gets to God, the simpler one becomes.
Now I wish for only one thing -- to love Jesus even unto folly! Love alone attracts me." - The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul 

What is one thing your soul is wishing for? 

"The Lord is a Rock upon which I stand; He teaches my hands to fight and my fingers to war. He is my Protector and I have hoped in Him." - The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul

Where do you get your protection and hope? In your darkest and scariest nights, look up and make a silent prayer. Someone listens... :D

"The power of prayer is really tremendous. It makes one like a queen who can approach the King at any time and get whatever she asks for.
For me, prayer is an upward leap of the heart, an untroubled glance towards heaven, a cry of gratitude and love which I utter from the depths of sorrow as well as from the heights of joy. It has a  supernatural grandeur which expands the soul and unites it with God."  - The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul

Prayer is a two-way communication between the one praying and God. It should be as indispensable as taking a bath to cleanse one's body. We pray to commune with God and cleanse our souls among other reasons. "Protect your sacred half hour, and your sacred half hour will save you." - Father Ignacio Larranaga

Who do you run to when your soul needs saving?