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Showing posts with the label Domestic Church

Feast of the Holy Family

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December 31, 2017  The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is the model for all Christian families. Beginning in the 17th century, devotion to the Holy Family spread throughout the Church. In 1893, Pope Leo XIII approved the feast of the Holy Family; composing part of the Divine Office observing it. Since ancient times, the Coptic Church has celebrated this memorial in light of the flight into Egypt. Succeeding Pontiffs have affirmed the feast as an efficacious means of reminding Christians of the sanctity of the family and it's essential role in disseminating and preserving the Faith. The example of the Holy Family at Nazareth is a template for the restoration of family life and a safeguard against diabolical, present-day efforts to redefine or end the institutions of marriage and the "Domestic Church" as ordained by God. For Mary and Joseph, having God Incarnate in their midst was an unrivaled joy. Looking at the Holy Family, we see the love, the protectio

By What Vision? The Attack on Marriage and Family

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Contemporary times have witnessed a continued and sustained attack against the traditional family. On the excellent EWTN DVD series, The Domestic Church , Dr. Joseph Atkinson of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family presents a lucid, God-centered vision of the family as a Domestic Church. The following is a partial excerpt of Dr. Atkinson's presentation from the first episode. By What Vision? We live in a world where the family is under attack. It is safe to say that the institution of both marriage and family has never been as threatened as it is today. In fact, its very survival as an institution is questionable. There is hardly a person reading this who is not touched by the disintegration of family life. It can take many forms; divorce, co-habitation, the acceptance of a contraceptive mentality, abortion, fatherless homes, the rejection of the faith and numerous other dysfunctions which plague and threaten to destroy family life all together. Be