Faith Blog: My God and My All, Let Thy Name Be Glorified!

Presentation is an act of love, thanksgiving, charity, sanctification, and unification of family with God's will in Holy love. Love is a decision and family call of life is a decision of responsibility, accountability, and love. Love has a mystical side and the reality side to it. Many times we romanticize the mystical side of the love and care less about the reality and responsible side of love. The reality side of the family love is that it comes with the parcels of challenges, which is common to all the marriages. Sometimes the challenges may be equivalent to the Cross. When I think of that, the Cross has a meaning, purpose, function, and fruits to the total goodness of the family. It is the natural design, some of them are designed by divine purpose along the family life. The meaning, functions, and purpose of the cross is invisible and it is beyond human ability to understand, as it is divine and holy. Suffering is holy and it is like a fire that consumes all malice and ...

Family is a disciple of Jesus Christ and Holy Trinity in this world. In discipleship role, the family participates in God's mission of creation and becomes the co-creator through procreation and sharing the gifts of the love, faith, life, and womb. Children are fruits of love and gifts from God. In presentation mystery, we reflect upon the offering of baby Jesus in the temple by the Holy Family.  Presentation mystery highlights the love and faith of the Holy Family, which is the role model for all the family's disciple role. Families bring their gifts to the altar through their lives, love, faith, and children. Presentation function of discipleship life applies to both biological and foster families.  Presentation is the hallmark function of the discipleship life of a Christian family.  Christian families receive their gifts in union with the Holy Trinity and reflect the fruits in their life, which results in the presentation of the gospel and good news to the world...

As I have visualized the visitation as an interaction and collaboration between the Holy Church and the secular families, I reflect upon the gift of Mother of God carrying the word of God to the world. I visualize the Holy Catholic Church represents the role of the Mother of God in salvation, redemption, and restoration, as she carried the good news in collaboration with the Holy Spirit. The Mother Church carries the word of God (Good news) to the world through the collaboration with the Holy Spirit and her children in this world. In visitation, I see two different gifts being shared with joy by two different families who share one call but in different perspectives. While Mother of God shared her gift as carrying the savior, Elizabeth shared her gift of joy and her gifts, which represented the gifts of the secular families' discipleship life. Secular families are endowed with abundant gifts, which include all that the world can offer, all that the humanity can offer, all that t...

Every family needs the transformation experience which comes through the sacrament of Holy matrimony. In wedding function at Canaan, wine was an essential component of a wedding. When there was lack of wine the families were worried and they feared of shame. Similarly, I reflect, the wine, symbolizes the saving blood of Jesus, saving grace of God in the family. When there is a lack of  acknowledging God's presence within the families, there may be darkness within the family, which would mask the gifts and fruits of the families. Acknowledging and seeking God's help and His presence within the family is the first step of the transformation. In the light of the first miracle, there were two different things are seen. One side wine is needed, it is over, another side there is plenty of water. If I may visualize water as the natural gifts of the family, which is abundant within each family, which may not substitute the required wine in quality, appearance, and taste. Therefore, ...

I continue to reflect upon the family's discipleship life in the context of first joyful mystery. I extend my thoughts into the first miracle of Jesus. A disciple is a person who follows Jesus. Here I view the family unit as a disciple of Jesus, because in Holy Matrimony, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the couple is united in Holy Matrimony and the couple transform into one body, mind, spirit, and soul. In Holy Matrimony, family becomes the disciple of Jesus, as in the mystical state and in the secular status, two bodies become one, two souls unite as one, two hearts join as one, two minds join in determination to function as one, and two systems of families come in unison as one family. Let us dwell in the first miracle little more time. Jesus performed many miracles when He walked this earth. But the first miracle was performed towards the joy of the family. I question myself, is it because the first family's sin corrupted the humanity and nature, now the Son of God begi...

Parenting is a sacred call One of the functions of the family is parenting. Parenting is a sacred gift and call. Parenting involves a discipleship, call of life. When Apostolic priesthood, which is the redemptive priesthood involves feeding the sheep, feeding the lamb, and tending the flock; Family's natural priesthood call is parenting, which is a discipleship way of life, which is called to Co- create, Co nurture, and tend the children with the help of the Holy Spirit. Let me place the parenting roles and function near Holy Family, which included Jesus Mary and Joseph. Allow me to reflect the concepts of parenting in the light and context of Joyful Mystery of Holy Rosary, which include the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation, and Finding Jesus in the Temple. While all other mysteries addresses the redemptive apostolic priesthood roles of Jesus that which is continued by His Apostles till today, the Joyful mysteries present the fullness and gift of the Holy F...

1994 - YEAR OF THE FAMILY LETTER TO FAMILIES FROM POPE JOHN PAUL II GRATISSIMAM SANE      Dear Families! 1. The celebration of the Year of the Family gives me a welcome opportunity to knock at the door of your home, eager to greet you with deep affection and to spend time with you. I do so by this Letter, taking as my point of departure the words of the Encyclical  Redemptor Hominis,  published in the first days of my ministry as the Successor of Peter. There I wrote that  man is the way of the Church . With these words I wanted first of all to evoke the many paths along which man walks, and at the same time to emphasize how deeply the Church desires to stand at his side as he follows the paths of his earthly life. The Church shares in the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of people's daily pilgrimage, firmly convinced that it was Christ himself who set her on all these paths. Christ entrusted man to the Church; he entrusted man to her ...