12 Oct Thu   27th Week in Ordinary Time Gal. 3:1-5 (R. Ps.) Lk. 1:69-75 Lk. 11:5-13 How To Pray With Shalom Home Page of Shalom Index of This Month        Today we are reminded that the gift of the Spirit is a reality in our midst. The Spirit is a gift we have already been given and a gift that is given again and again. The Lord asks us to have faith - that we believe in what we have been given and that we believe that God's power at work in us can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. If we do not believe in what has been given us, we are indeed foolish. If we do believe, we come to a deeper realization of the goodness of God and the giftedness of our own lives. We come to a deeper realization of our dependence on God and a greater awareness of God's faithfulness to us. Asking, we know we shall receive. Seeking, we know we shall find. Knocking, we know that it shall be opened to us. For God lavishes the Spirit upon us and works wonders in our midst.      Father lavish Your Spirit upon us today. DAILY OFFERING Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen. PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH INTENTION That young married couples may be sustained by the example and assistance of their parents and other families MORE
- END - P R A Y I N G    W I T H    T H E    C H U R C H     INTENTION : That young married couples may be sustained by the example and assistance of their parents and other families The testimony and help that parents and other families must offer to sustain young married couples finds its place in the ambit of post-matrimonial pastoral care. Parents and other families are the most suited to offer this assistance to young spouses because clearly they have lived personally the values which they must transmit. These parents show faithfulness through living in the best possible way the commitments assumed during their marriage. One could ask, but why is it necessary for young couples to be sustained by the testimony of their parents and other families? The answer is, because today there are many negative attitudes which scandalise and discourage young people. Being new to the condition of matrimonial life they need advice, encouragement, moral support, correction and prayer. They cannot be left alone or abandoned in this phase of their lives. Couples need to take advantage of the wealth of the experience and wisdom of their parents. "The pastoral action of the Church must be progressive, also in the sense that it must accompany the family, following it step by step in the various stages of its formation and development," (Familiaris Consortio n65, 69). - END -