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Becoming a Marriage-Building Church
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The Minnesota Marriage Minute
Click here for the latest video
The Minnesota Marriage Minute is an ongoing dialogue with
Minnesota voters hosted by veteran news anchor Kalley Yanta.
The educational videos are designed to explore issues
related to the marriage amendment. The videos are in a
question and answer format and are released on a weekly
basis.
The Marriage Minute series is a great resource for
understanding the proposed Marriage Protection Amendment and
equipping you to speak about the amendment. Please share
this important educational resource with family, friends and
neighbors. It's critically important that all our supporters
be as informed as possible about the amendment, and this
series of videos is a quick and easy way for you and your
friends to learn about what is at stake in this election
Click here for Minnesota Marriage
Minute Past Episodes |
Help your parish become a marriage-building community
of faith.
Leaders of Catholic organizations from across the country who
minister in various ways in the field of marriage and family life
were invited to the first-ever Marriage-Building Summit, in
Milwaukee, WI. The Summit was sponsored by the National Association
of Catholic Family Life Ministers (NACFLM) and the Committee on
Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The goal of this summit for all of us was to understand our personal
role and our organization's unique role in becoming a
marriage-building church as well as making a commitment to share
information with our members and collaborating with the other
organizations to become a marriage-building church. The following
information is taken from Abridged Version of "Marriage: Love and
Life in the Divine Plan."
What Is Marriage?
"Marriage is a natural institution established by God the Creator.
It is a permanent, faithful, fruitful partnership between one man
and one woman, established by their free mutual consent. It has two
purposes: the good of the spouses, called the unitive purpose, and
the procreation and education of children.
Challenges To Marriage
Contemporary society poses fundamental challenges to the meaning and
purposes of marriage, including contraception, same-sex unions,
divorce, and cohabitation.
Marriage as a Christian Sacrament:
Although marriage remains a blessing from God, Original Sin has had
grave consequences for married life. As a break with God, it
ruptured the original communion between man and woman. Jesus healed
this rupture when he raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament.
Marriage and Family: A Communion of Love
The Christian married couple, with their children, form an image of
the Trinitarian God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Marriage and
family life reflect the Trinity in two ways. First, like the
Trinity, marriage is a communion of love between co-equal persons,
beginning with husband and wife and extending to all the members of
the family. Second, just as the Trinity's love is life-giving, a
married couple's love conceives and cares for children.
Growth In Virtue
With God's grace, couples are called to grow in holiness.
The Eucharist:
In the Eucharist, Catholic couples meet Christ, the source of their
marriage.
Bishop George J. Rassas, USCCB Liaison to NACFLM, "asks us to pray
together and to share our experiences, hopes, and plans in our
common effort to strengthen marriage in our church, in our
ministries, and in our culture. This is no easy task but so
necessary and so needed today more than ever."
Action Plan: Take Part in this Marriage-Building Initiative
Talk with your parish priest about what you can do this year.
Put quotes in your weekly bulletins about marriage-use the Catechism
of the Catholic Church, the Bible, and the USCCB Pastoral Letter.
Have special recognition of wedding anniversaries one Sunday of each
month.
Brainstorm with others in your parish to bring families together for
church activities.
PRAY - PRAY - PRAY
Lorrie Gramer, the new president of the National Association of
Catholic Family Life Ministers said, "whoever wants the next
generation the most will get them." We must work to improve the
family unit in our world today. Families come in all shapes and
sizes, many as a one parent unit, but they are a family.
Resources
Read Patty Johnson's lead article in this newsletter.
Watch for Joanne Pohland's article in the September-October issue of
Catholic Woman magazine.
From the USCCB: Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan. You can
find many related materials on the USCCB website, including the
Pastoral Letter in English, Spanish, and an abridged version, a
leader's guide, discussion group handouts, a power point
presentation, and bulletin inserts. |
