This Sunday, we are celebrating all the married couples in our parish, so I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the three goods of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.  St. John Paul II describes these goods in his apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio.

“Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter- appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, the unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility (cf Humanae vitae, 9). In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new  significance which not only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the extent of making them the expression of specifically Christian values.”

His Holiness begins with the goal of marriage: “a deeply personal unity, that goes beyond union in one flesh.” Marriage is not merely physical; rather, its aim is to form a union of the heart, mind, and soul of two people. This does not mean that the two persons lose or forget who they are and become a new person who cannot act unless their spouse is in the same room. Rather, the unity that forms helps the spouses become more fully who they have always been called to be. This unity helps each person become more fully alive and free, allowing them to draw on the grace God bestows through their marriage bond. For this deep spiritual union to exist, the goods of marriage, which also serve as requirements of the sacrament, must be lived out:

1.Indissolubility: Marriage cannot be dissolved. Once the spouses exchange their consent to one another in the presence of God (before a member of the clergy and two witnesses), there is no end to the marriage. Only death dissolves a marriage.

2.Faithfulness, or fidelity: Just as Jesus Christ was completely and totally faithful to His Father and to the Church, so too should spouses be totally faithful to God and to one another. Because Jesus lives His covenantal union with His Bride in this way, those who have entered into marriage are called to the same lofty goal.

3.Openness to life: Spouses must always remain open to life. This is non-negotiable, because true love and faithfulness always bear fruit, whether physical fruit in children or spiritual fruit. Spouses must remain open to that fruit in the conjugal act. To close oneself off to being fruitful in any way denies one’s spouse an integral part of oneself: one’s paternity or maternity. Even NFP can be used with a contraceptive mindset. If that is the case, the deep spiritual union between the spouses cannot continue to develop, because one or both of them is withholding something incredibly important from the other.

All three must be lived out for this deep union to grow.

May God bless you in your vocation of marriage, and may we all give thanks to God for the incredible blessings He bestows on our parish because of your willingness to say yes to His will.

Happy Twenty-Eighth Sunday! Among the many rich traditions of our Catholic life, you may know that the Church dedicates each month to a particular devotion. For example, March is dedicated to St. Joseph, May to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary because of the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, which we celebrated this past week, as we do every year on October 7.

The dramatic history of this feast dates to 1571, but the history of the Rosary goes back to the Middle Ages and the life of St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (the Dominicans, known for their white habits). According to tradition, in 1214 the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Dominic and gave him the Rosary as a spiritual tool to counter the heresies of his day and promote orthodox Christian belief. He and his fellow Dominicans spread devotion to this prayer throughout Europe, helping the faithful meditate on the divine mysteries revealed in the lives of Jesus and his mother, Mary.

The distinctive feature of the Rosary, of course, is the string of beads that shares its name. These beads come from an ancient monastic tradition tied to the Divine Office, also known as the Liturgy of the Hours. In the Divine Office, monks offered the hours of each day to God by praying the biblical psalms.

As part of monastic life, the monks recited and memorized all 150 psalms. Most lay faithful could not read, so they joined in the Divine Office by praying 150 Hail Mary’s instead, keeping their place on knotted cords. Some used shorter cords of 50 for convenience. The Rosary transformed this daily prayer by turning our gaze to the mysteries of the Incarnation. As we ponder the many ways Jesus showed his human love, which we name in the mysteries of the Rosary, we come to know the divine love of God himself.

Centuries later, the Rosary took center stage during the pontificate of Pope Pius V. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was the leading power of the Islamic world and was pushing west into Europe by force. The Ottomans assembled a great fleet that threatened Rome and the heart of Christendom. Pope Pius V formed the Holy League, an alliance of Catholic states, and its fleet sailed east to meet the Ottomans. As the battle approached, the pope urged the sailors and all the faithful to pray the Rosary for protection and deliverance. The two fleets met off the coast of Greece at Lepanto, and the Holy League won an overwhelming victory.

Pius V then declared October 7 the Feast of Our Lady of Victory. His successor, Gregory XIII, renamed it the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Ever since, this feast has reminded us of the Rosary’s power to sustain and deliver us, especially in our hour of need.

From Fr. Brian

The Good Shepherd Advent Service is back! After a multi-year break, we are thrilled to welcome everyone back for our cherished annual gathering! All parish ladies are invited as guests or hostesses. The service will be held on Sunday, November 29, from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Registration forms are available at the front entrance of the church and on the table outside the parish office. RSVP is required. Seating is limited. Deadline to register is Sunday, November 22.

Please join us for a Rosary Rally on Saturday, October 17 at 12:00 Noon. We will meet on the sidewalk across the street from the Riverside Market in Montrose. Prayers are for our communities and country.

Men of the parish are invited to come and enjoy growing in their spiritual walk with others. We will meet in the Knights of Columbus Hall from 6:30—7:30 on Wednesday, October 14 for our next Cor Meeting. We always have snacks and refreshments! Invite a friend or family member. We look forward to seeing you!

See what men are saying about it in the film below:

The mission of the Cor is to refocus Catholic men on Jesus Christ and to form and strengthen them in faith and virtue through a brotherhood committed to prayer, formation and fraternity.  The goal of each Cor gathering is to provide the opportunity for men to encounter Christ, to pray together, to be formed in their faith, and to strengthen their bonds of brotherhood, preparing them for courageous leadership and the mission of Evangelization for their families and communities.

The next meeting and breakfast will be held on Saturday, October 10 at the Family Worship Center in Montrose from 6:30—8:00 a.m. Breakfast at 7:00 p.m. All men are welcome to attend.