Association Of Catholic Bloggers

On the Feast of the Holy Family, December 29, 2013, Pope Francis invited all Catholics to pray for families as the Church prepares for an Extraordinary Synod to examine the troubling disconnect between Church teaching and the reality of modern family life. In his  Angelus address  given to the crowds in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis recited for the first time his new Prayer to the Holy Family. (Full text available  here .) The prayer seeks the help of the Holy Family while at the same time revealing Pope Francis' vision of the family as it is and as it could be. It paints an ideal portrait of family life and yet acknowledges the severe difficulties faced by many. It concludes with a heart-felt petition for the renewal of the sacredness and inviolability of the family. Pope Francis' prayer is a short primer on the theology of the family and deserves careful contemplation. Let's see what he says. The Splendor of True Love Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we cont

What is the  first  thing that comes to mind when you think of   LOVE ? A chubby baby dressed as a Greek god for Halloween? Sappy pictures of hands joined together? A red rose? A box of favorite chocolates? Let's go a bit deeper, shall we?   Relationships .  Cuddly feelings?   Smiles? Are these really great examples (or even, for goodness' sake,  realistic ) examples of true love?  (By the way, I never  really  understood the whole last part of  The Princess Bride  where they rated the kisses ~ what kind of job would that be to do such a thing?  It would stink.) But, it seems as if society has  twisted  the definition of true  love. One of the definitions for "love" on dictionary.com is   " a   feeling   of   warm   personal   attachment   or   deep   affection".  If love becomes reduced to a happy emotion, it quickly   deteriorates   and loses its value.  "Love is not affectionate feeling, but a s