Sacred Heart of Jesus

June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is a Catholic devotion practiced by many Catholics for many years.

Here is a brief explanation from the Catholic website EWTN:

Devotion to the Sacred Heart, as we know it, began about the year 1672. On repeated occasions, Jesus appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun, in France, and during these apparitions He explained to her the devotion to His Sacred Heart as He wanted people to practice it. he asked to be honored in the symbol of His Heart of flesh; he asked for acts of reparation, for frequent Communion, Communion on the First Friday of the month, and the keeping of the Holy Hour.

When the Catholic Church approved the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she did not base her action only on the visions of Saint Margaret Mary. The Church approved the devotion on its own merits. There is only one Person in Jesus, and that Person was at the same time God and Man. His Heart, too, is Divine -- it is the Heart of God.

There are two things that must always be found together in the devotion to the Sacred Heart: Christ's Heart of flesh and Christ's love for us. True devotion to the Sacred Heart means devotion to the Divine Heart of Christ insofar as His Heart represents and recalls His love for us.

To read more go here.

I have always loved the icon of the Sacred Heart. It reminds me of God's love for us. God loves us so much that he sent his only son to died for us. Jesus Loves us so much he was willing to die for us on a cross. God is love and he wants us to love one another. His love is unlimited and unconditional.

Reading the lives of Catholic Saints is inspirational to me. Because of their passion for Christ and the way they showed love to others. Even when they were mistreated by others, they continue to do good things. Even through their own suffering illnesses, they never gave up. They continued serving the Lord Jesus on till their last breath.

This week I have been reading the Gospel of Mark. In Chapter 10 verse 43, Jesus tells his disciples, " whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Are we willing to humble ourselves and be treated as slaves, mistreated, and even give up our life for others. Not many of us are willing but Jesus was willing and he gave his life for us.

And that is my goal, not to be considered a Saint or be canonized, but to live a life in the service of God. Loving others, helping those in need. Using the talents God has given me for the good of others. Showing my children how to be servers. Having a charitable heart.

Holy Matrimony

There is a prayer on my bedroom wall. It is in Spanish. This prayer was given to my husband and me at a marriage encounter retreat we attended a few years ago.

Here is my translation:

Prayer for the Spouses

Our Lord Jesus, You have united us by the Sacrament of Matrimony.

We give you thanks for all the joys that are born of our reciprocal comunion,

thank you for our children and the peace in our home.

We ask you to keep alive every day our love,

do not permit it to be lost due to monotony

or to much activity in our life.

Do not permit lack of communication among us

or that we live together as strangers.

My husband and I, we have been married for now 13 years and counting. It is quite a long time, and we have had our ups and downs like a every married couple. What keeps us going ? God. He is the one that united our lifes into one. He is the one that strenghtens us in our weak moments. I can guaranteed you that if God was not the center of our family, we will not be a family.

My parents divorced when I was four years old. The cause of the broken marriage was my father's alcohol addiction, and lack of responsibility as a spouse. I know the pain of living my childhood fatherless. But I thank God that he blessed my mother with another spouse that was more than we could had wanted. God blesses broken roads. He mends our mistakes and brings blessings out our mistakes.

I could have decided not to ever marry because of what my mother experienced, but I decided to trust God. He will bring to my life the right person and he will help us to not make the same mistakes of our parents.

My husband' parents were a normal marriage. He is the youngest of nine children. His father immigrated to the United States every harvest season to provide for his family. My husband's mother will stay in Mexico taking care of her children. The older kids will help with the house chores and take care of the younger ones. As the years went by, the older ones got married and eventually began immigrating to the States too.

Husband does not talk much about his parents relationship. All I know is that their marriage lasted until death separated them. My mother-in-law died peacefully on her way to a doctor's appointment many years before I met my husband.

My husband was already here in the United States. All of his other sibblings were here too. The only one that was still with their parents was one sister already married. My husband took very hard the death of his mother.

I remember that when we were recently married he will look very sad on his mother's death anniversary. She died in the month of May.

I think it is very important to know your spouse well, and know his/her background. Sometimes it helps us to see why they are a certain way. My husband was amazed that my mother was able to be a provider for us and brought us up well, even without the help of a husband. Husband has recognized too, that my mother was blessed with a husband like my step-father.

I have noticed, that the fact my father-in-law was away for many months from his family, did not allowed him to be there for his children when they needed him. I see it in the way my husband treat our children. He wants to give them all he yearned for, in his growing up years.

I do this too. I want my children to always have their father in their life. That is why I make a strong effort to make this marriage last forever. Not just for my children, but for us too. "Love" is the most important ingredient in a family. Faith and Hope are too. God is love. And He should be the center of every family. Our first priority. Then comes our spouse, then our children, then everyone else.

I always remind my husband this, that without God in our life we will not be here, together. God had a reason in uniting our paths. We come from different pathways, but we are now walking together, on the one that God has blessed. "For God blessed the broken road, that led me straight to You." ( A verse from a song by Selah.)