National Marriage Week and More

02-03-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Welcome to the month of February! We will be observing National Marriage Week from Feb 7 through Valentine's Day on Feb 14. This includes the World Day of Marriage which we will observe next Sunday, Feb 10. The celebration of National Marriage Week started in 2010. This is part of an international movement seeking to celebrate and strengthen marriage. The theme of the celebration this year will focus on "Marriage: Made for a Reason." The US Bishops' Conference (USCCB) has developed a number of resources including homilies, bulletin inserts, flyers and a virtual retreat to assist couples during the celebration.

Throughout National Marriage Week, couples will be able to partake in daily online virtual retreats through the USCCB website (www.usccb.org). These retreats will help couples further reflect on what makes marriage unique as established by God, between a man and a woman, and as the basis for family and society. Other resources, including books and prayer cards, are also available on the USCCB website. The USCCB will also be live-streaming a Rosary on its Facebook and Twitter feeds for engaged and married couples, as well as for families, in need of healing.

As Catholics, we often sound "Old Fashioned" to many people when we talk about our values such as marriage as a union between man and woman and respect for life at all stages. This is simply because we are now living in a society that promotes a revolt against moral and religious values. We learn from the First Reading and Gospel today what prophets faced when they found themselves in a situation like we find ourselves today. Like Jeremiah, we are all called to be prophets by the virtue of our Baptism. Likewise, we also share both in the blessings and burdens of being prophets, sent to speak the truth and to stand with and for the helpless. People will oppose us when we speak the truth and fight for justice for the helpless. In the Gospel today, we hear about the people in Jesus' town who missed the opportunity to receive mighty miraculous healing and deliverance from Jesus simply because of their lack of faith. We learn from the experience of Jesus and the prophets never to measure the success of our prophetic role by how well we are accepted, but rather by how faithful and loving we are in carrying out the mission entrusted to us.

Thank you and Remain Blessed.
Fr. James

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