SFX for LifeA Web Ministry of the Gospel of Life Committee,
The Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier, Hunt Valley, Maryland

Subject Area: Marriage

Articles on this Page (Click on item to go there)

Becoming a Lifelong Partner

From the "For Your Marriage" website, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

One of the challenges of marriage is balancing individuality with togetherness. Spouses in a healthy marriage don’t give up their own personality, interests, and opinions when they say “I do.” But joining your lives together means compromise. You can’t always get your own way.

Read the rest of the article: http://www.foryourmarriage.org/interior_template.asp?id=20398764

Hat Tip: Shannon

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How the financial downturn affects marriage: Crisis and Opportunity

From the "For Your Marriage" website, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

by Mary Jo Pedersen
(Mary Jo Pedersen is an author and teacher who conducts workshops and retreats nationally and internationally on marital spirituality. She is the author of "For Better, For Worse, For God: Exploring the Holy Mystery of Marriage.")

Pete and Jenny were married for seven years when Pete’s job was downsized. He was out of work for eight months while car payments, school debt and credit card bills piled up. Jenny worked overtime and Pete got a part time job at night while job searching during the day. Their personal differences in spending, saving and accounting for money made it difficult to face their money problems. Panicked that they might lose their home, they sat down with a financial counselor and created a plan that cut extras, including their son’s piano lessons, pedicures for Jenny, and Pete’s summer fishing trip.

Read the rest of the article: http://www.foryourmarriage.org/interior_template.asp?id=20399024

Hat Tip: Shannon

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Securing the Foundation - The Maryland Catholic Conference Marriage Page

Preserving Marriage in Maryland
In marriage, a husband and a wife make a public and reciprocal commitment, assuming duties to society, to themselves, and to their children. Society and the law reciprocate by bestowing on marriage a juridical status that recognizes the essential role that families play in society. The family, based on marriage, is a natural institution that is prior to the state. As such, the reservation of marriage to the union of one man and one woman is a fact of nature, not a social prejudice. The law grants traditional marriage exclusive privileges because it is the seedbed of future generations.

View the marriage page at the Maryland Catholic Conference Website: http://www.mdcathcon.org/marriage

Hat Tip: Shannon

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How Does Legalizing “Same-Sex Marriage” Deny the True Nature of Marriage?

The Situation Read the Article: http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage/samesexeng.shtml

Hat Tip: Shannon

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Help and Hope for Those Struggling to Leave Homosexuality

Regeneration Ministries

Regeneration, Inc. is a nonprofit, tax exempt Christian ministry associated with Exodus International - North America. We seek to bring God's healing to men and women struggling with homosexuality, sexual addiction and other relational issues, and to help the Body of Christ in reaching out to these men and women. Permission is granted for churches and ministries to photocopy or reprint for noncommercial purposes any article from this website. Abridgements or modifications of articles do require prior approval by Regeneration. Regeneration News is sent to those who request it. Our continued operation is entirely dependent on contributions, and we appreciate any financial help from our subscribers.

Find out more by clicking here http://www.regenerationministries.org/default.asp

Exodus International

What is Exodus?

Exodus is a nonprofit, interdenominational Christian organization promoting the message of Freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ.

Since 1976, Exodus has grown to include over 230 local ministries in the USA and Canada. We are also linked with other Exodus world regions outside of North America through the Exodus Global Alliance.

Within both the Christian and secular communities, Exodus has challenged those who respond to homosexuals with ignorance and fear, and those who uphold homosexuality as a valid orientation. These extremes fail to convey the fullness of redemption found in Jesus Christ, a gift which is available to all who commit their life and their sexuality to Him.

Find out more by clicking here http://exodus.to/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

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Editorial: From Breakpoint: What Matters Most Part 2 - Marriage and Family

Prison Fellowship Ministries Founder and Chairman Chuck Colson discusses Marriage and Family in light of the Theology of the Body.

This has been a great Christmas. Our son Wendell and his daughter Rebekah are about to arrive. And Emily and our grandson Max were just with us. As you may have heard me say before, Max, who is autistic, can be a handful. I marvel at Emily’s love for him and at the strength God has given her to be such a good mother. I am so proud of her, as I am of my sons Chris and Wendell, and their families.

In fact, I experience no greater joy than simply basking in the love of my wife, children, and grandchildren.

But I am also aware of how painful Christmas can be for many who mourn the loss of loved ones, or who are separated from their families—in the military or through imprisonment, or most sadly, through broken relationships.

Especially at Christmas, we are reminded what a precious gift a healthy family is. And it’s a time when I, myself, am very aware of the powerful and malevolent cultural forces that seek to tear families apart.

Read the rest of the article

You can find part 1 of this series on our Embryonic Stem Cell page by clicking here.

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Relevant Quotations

Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family - a domestic church.
Pope John Paul II

We only regard those unions as real examples of love and real marriages in which a fixed and unalterable decision has been taken. If men or women contemplate an escape, they do not collect all their powers for the task. In none of the serious and important tasks of life do we arrange such a "getaway." We cannot love and be limited.
Alfred Adler

Being a Catholic is a bit like being married. We have a relationship with the Church and with Jesus Christ that's very similar to being a spouse. And that has consequences. If a man says he loves his wife, his wife will want to see the evidence in his love and fidelity. The same applies to our relationship with God. If we say we're Catholic, we need to show that by our love for the Church and our fidelity to what she teaches and believes. Otherwise we're just fooling ourselves, because God certainly won't be fooled.
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap

It is not morally possible for any Catholic to support abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem cell research, human cloning, or same-sex marriage. There are no ways around this, no justifications whatever. Why? For the simple reason that the Church holds these things to be intrinsically evil. They are evil in themselves, and no circumstances or subjective conditions can ever change that.
Fr. Corapi

Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.
Amy Bloom

Marriage is our last, best chance to grow up.
Joseph Barth

Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century.
Mark Twain

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
Mignon McLaughlin:

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