July 2017 - Paradisus Dei

Vocations Start in Your Home

August 01, 2017

“But as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;
since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
-1 Peter 1:15-16

Meditation
86% of newly ordained priests say that they come from an intact family that keeps the sacraments close.

Vocations do not grow from trees; they grow from a family that stays close to The Sacraments. Rhonda Gruenewald, author of Hundredfold: A Guide to Parish Vocation Ministry, is a dynamic speaker and leader in the Church. She runs vocationministry.com and travels around the world helping parishes create a vocation awareness environment. Rhonda tells us that the job of parents is to guide their children to keep The Sacraments close, to pray constantly for their children, and to encourage an ever growing relationship with Jesus.

If this happened in all Catholic households, the vocation crisis that people keep talking about would no longer be an issue. What we are seeing now is that families are not intentionally answering the universal call to holiness.

We all must strive to answer that universal call to holiness for ourselves,
so that we can raise children who are ready to answer Jesus when he
calls them.

Live It! Tip of the Week: In addition to going to Mass every week, work to make it to confession once a month as a family.

Prayer
Father you call each one of us by name and ask us to follow you.

Bless your church by raising up dedicated and generous leaders from our families and friends who will serve your people as Sisters, Priests, Brothers, Deacons, and Lay Ministers.

Inspire us as we grow to know you, and open our hearts to hear your call.

We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Feast of Sts. Anne and Joaquim

July 25, 2017

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way.”
-1 Timothy 2: 1-2

Meditation
When Steve and his wife Shelly were preparing to get married, they decided that they wanted to consecrate their wedding to Mary. To do this, they planned to bring a statue of Mary into the sanctuary. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, the pastor at the time would not allow them to bring Our Lady into their wedding.

Shelly was not ready to take no for an answer. She decided to make a deal with Mary’s parents, Sts. Anne and Joachim. Watch this week’s Live It! video for an amazing story of the power of intercessory prayer.

Live It! Tip of the Week: Ask for intercession for something that has been weighing on you. Don’t be afraid to ask the saints for some help. They want to pray for you!

Prayer
My family is the heart of my life. It is my little Church. Saint Anne, guard the members of my family against all physical and spiritual danger.
You lived in the presence of your husband Joachim and your little daughter Mary. Later, you welcomed your son-in-law, Saint Joseph, and above all your beloved Grandson Jesus, our Saviour.
May your family inspire our families. May we remain united in a deep mutual love. If my family is broken by separation or divorce, remain for us the Saint of tenderness and lead us to God.
Saint Anne, you were a spouse, a mother, and a grandmother; bless all the members of my family. Keep us faithful to the Lord.
May we remain attentive to the needs of other families. Protect all families. Amen.
-Text from a prayer card from the Shrine of Sainte Anne de Beaupré in Quebec, Canada.

Emotional and Intellectual Fidelity

July 18, 2017

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up.”
-1 Thessalonians 5:11

Meditation
Fidelity to your spouse doesn’t stop with sexuality. The emotional and intellectual connection is very important as well.

The Hermanns schedule couple dialogue time to make sure that their emotional and intellectual needs are being met. When they are not
connected to each other intellectually and emotionally, they do not feel connected to God.

That emotional and intellectual connection feeds into the physical connection between a couple as well. When a couple doesn’t take time to understand one another’s emotional and intellectual needs, it can lead to a feeling of being used within the physical aspects of the marriage. The opposite is also true: when the emotional and intellectual relationship is strong, overall intimacy is much stronger.

Live It! Practical Tip for the Week: Schedule time every night, whether that’s 10 minutes before bed or a full blown “date night,” to talk to each other to make sure that you are able to meet your spouse’s emotional and
intellectual needs.

Prayer
O God, we want to live our life together with you and always to continue it with you. Help us never to hurt and never to grieve each other. Help us to share all our works, all our hopes, all our dreams, all our successes, all our failures, all our joys and all our sorrows. Help us to have no secrets from each other so that we may be truly one. Keep us always true to each other, and grant that all the years ahead may draw us ever closer to each other. Grant that nothing may ever come between us and nothing may ever make us ever drift apart. And as we live with each other, help us to live with you, so that our love may grow perfect in your love, for you are the God whose name is love. This we ask for your love’s sake. Amen

Media in the Home

July 11, 2017

“Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is sound, your whole body
is full of light; but when it is not sound, your body is full of darkness.
Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.”
-Luke 11: 34-35

Meditation
If the Devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.

Technology has been slowly seeping into our family lives making it harder and harder to just have family time. We are substituting quality time for emails, game nights for texting, and sitting around the table at mealtime for sitting around a TV.

The Hermanns realized that technology was taking away from their family time, so they decided to put limits on it in their household. Mark compares being on his phone to eating candy. It tastes good, but it’s unfulfilling and can weigh you down. At the end of the day, if someone is spending time on their phone, they are not connecting with the world or with each other.

Live It! Tip Practical Tip for the Week: Set aside media free times in your home everyday. Use these times to spend time as a family!

Budgeting Your Time

July 4, 2017

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of the time, because the days are evil.”
-Ephesians 5:15-16

Meditation
Mark and Leigh Hermann came to the office to share how they give God some of their time and why that is so important for their marriage.

For them, the key has been learning to budget their time like they do their money. Mark explained that because of the craziness of their lives, they began to realize that they weren’t spending any intentional time with each other or with God. In response, they went through each day hour by hour, and scheduled prayer time and intentional couple time.

That was a game changer for their family. They decided to start having breakfast together every day. They get up a little earlier, but it allows them to share a meal and pray together before the distractions of the day creep in.

Live It! Practical Tip for This Week: Budget your time. See what you can cut out of your schedule in order to spend more intentional time with God and with your family.