Church is for lovers

His banner over me is love. – Song of Songs 2:4

May our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, bless your marriages and relationships. May He be the source and example of love and fidelity in your lives. May He grant you the gifts of love that are patience, kindness, selflessness, forgiveness, truthfulness, trust, and perseverance. May He be the center of your love, for He is love.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Prayers for the Solemnity of the Christian Family

In Gratitude for Parents:

I thank you, God in Heaven, for my parents. When morning wakes, when daytime ends, I have the consciousness of loving hands that touch my own, of tender voice and gentleness, of thoughts that cheer and bless!

If sorrow comes to me I know that my parents will talk about the way I go. And, as the shadows fall, I know that I will raise my eyes and know with a Hope that never dies! — to You, the Dearest Parent of All.

A Parent’s Prayer — From A Book of Devotions and Prayers According to the Use of the Polish National Catholic Church:

Merciful Father, who gave me my children, and committed them to my charge to bring them up in the first place for Thee, for Thy Church and this our country, as also to prepare them for everlasting life; assist and help me with Thy heavenly grace, I most humbly beseech and implore Thee, that I may be able to fulfill this sacred duty. Make me gentle, patient, and considerate, yet firm and watchful; teach me both what to give and what to withhold; when to reprove and when to forbear; deliver me from the weakness of indulgence, as also from the excess of severity. Grant, O Gracious Father, that both by word and example I may lead them in the ways of Thy faith, love and wisdom, that as they advance in years, they may grow in grace and true piety, so that in the end, I may with them be admitted to Thy eternal glory. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Child’s Prayer — From A Book of Devotions and Prayers According to the Use of the Polish National Catholic Church:

Heavenly Father, who gave me my father and mother, and commanded me to love, honor, and obey them in all things; give me Thy grace, I implore Thee, that I may cheerfully and with my whole heart fulfill this Thy law; that I may love them fervently, honor them truly and comply with their wishes. Deliver me, O God, from pride, rebellion, stubborness, and carelessness. Make me diligent in all my duties and studies, patient in all my trials, and humble in Thy presence. Create in me a clean heart and make me strong in Thy faith, that I may grow in grace and wisdom, from day to day, to Thy glory and to the pride and benefit of my dear parents. Through Christ, my Lord and Saviour. Amen.

For Families — From A Book of Devotions and Prayers According to the Use of the Polish National Catholic Church:

Our Father, in Whose family all men are children: we remember before Thee all homes broken by separation. We pray for mothers and children separated from each other; for husbands and wives compelled to live apart; and especially for homes from which the husband, son or brother has gone forth to the service. Soften, we pray Thee, these hard blows by the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Be with the lonely. Help them to maintain the links that bind them to those they love. May fellowship in spirit be kept though bodily presence be denied. Teach us all that neither death nor life can separate us from Thy love which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

TO DO: on the Solemnity of the Christian Family

In the ministry of parenting and being children in a family, there are ways of working in family traditions or just a way to “lighten up” the family experience. Remember, being a family in the coming millennium takes some work; consider the following:

  1. Rent a funny movie and watch it together.
  2. Put a funny message on your telephone answering machine.
  3. Play a game of “Pictionary” with your family.
  4. If you have a home video camera, make a family “music video” to send to relatives. Make outrageous costumes, use household times as musical instruments, and lip sync a rock and roll record. Let the kids be the lead singer(s).
  5. Make ice cream sundaes for desert, but secretly make them with a scoop of mashed potatoes instead of ice cream.
  6. Hide love notes in your teenager’s underwear drawer.
  7. Write a note to your child/parent on his/her bed with jellybeans.
  8. Organize your family’s personal quest for the “world’s greatest pizza” by visiting every pizza place over the next two or three months.
  9. Come up with your own family holiday to celebrate once a year, like “National (your family name) Day”. Make it a day in the middle of the week (like the third Wednesday of October each year when everyone can cut school and do something fun together as a family.
  10. The best activity to do as an entire family: celebrate Holy Mass together each Sunday. It is one of the “glues” that keeps the Christian family strong not only in your home but in our culture.

May God bless your family activities together!!!