Now we all know God has a lot to say about marriage; Jesus’ first miracle was at a wedding and He made it very clear how He felt about marriage as a whole:

“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,b 8and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”, Mark 10:5-9

I’m committed to keeping my marriage together and like to think I help others as well. In that regard, did you know I’m on the radio? I’m a part of Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak’s More2Life segment on EWTN radio, through Ave Maria Radio – More2Life

In prepping for a show, I often take a stroll through social media, on-line sources to find good material for my segment on Catholic family life.

I recently come across an article that wants to tell you the “Four Things Happy Couples Do to Stay Together” written by A. Pawlowski, 4 Things Happy Couples Do

At this same time, I saw that CBS is planning on doing a new Fall series called, “By the Book”, which highlights the life of a modern day man at a crossroads in his life who attempts to live his life according to the Bible. Honestly, I don’t have high hopes for the series for several reasons (the least of which is that it is on CBS and not EWTN).  So, I’m not offering a link to that but I did decide to see if I could “live by the book”, as it were, in regard the article I saw.

Those “Four Happy Things” include: Think About Your Free Time, Reconnect with Nature, Quiet Time Can be An Invitation to Talk and Remember Eye Contact.

Think about Your Free Time is easily translated into one of my favorite verses:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”, Phil. 4:8

Not that free time needs to spent on your knees saying the Rosary but it probably shouldn’t be spent bingeing on shows you know are contrary to Jesus’ teaching or wasted by hours on the internet in separate places in the home. Are you together in your free time or actively seeking to avoid each other? The solution could be as easy as watching videos of cats playing the piano together but I really recommend just being together away from technology. Maybe you can spend some time watching each other; slow down and remember why you fell in love in the first place!

Which is the last recommendation of “Remember Eye Contact”, it reminds us to make sure we actually take time to look at each other!

Check out the Song of Songs in the Old Testament if you need a reminder:

“How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves.”, Song 1:15

In fact, we could rely on the Songs for each of the recommendations but God’s reminders about how to stay in love with our sacramental spouse are sprinkled throughout the Bible.

The idea of Reconnecting with Nature is a reoccurring theme in the Psalms where God is not only compared with things of nature but we are reminded, again and again, that He is the Creator of all things.

Just a few include Psalm 96: 11-12, Psalm 95:4-5, or Psalm 19:1:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

Again, we don’t have to spend our hiking time discussing Scripture (unless you want to) but just allow God’s miracles of creation to seep into our souls as we spend time with our sweethearts brings forth feelings of companionship and commitment.

We might even take a line from Job as you enjoy a starry night away from the city’s light pollution, “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me if you understand.”, Job 38:4.

Spending time in nature and really rejoicing in its gifts and the gift God gave us in our spouses is sure to re-ignite feelings of love.

Finally, let’s talk that Quiet Time that is recommended. Again, walking away from the television, the phone, the internet and any number of distractions will give us time to walk towards each other’s arms. Quiet time might be time after the kids have gone to bed, or just after dinner or even on a car ride. These times should be treated as the rare treasure they are and not always wasted on other people or other things.

You might decide to have your quiet time just be quiet time together or you might decide to use that time to share what you are reading, or seeing on-line as a chance to share a laugh, discuss an issue of concern or find a new place for a date!

However, if you decide to talk don’t forget to be careful what you say and how you say it. The Book of Proverbs is full of reminders about how to talk:

“The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4

While Ephesians 4:26 reminds us of when to talk, “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry…”

This special quiet time is not the time to give your spouse a litany of complaints or whine about life with them. In James 3:1-12 we find the powerful reminder to ‘tame your tongue’; a struggle we all face. In the dark of the night, we need to remember it will soon be morning. Soon enough, the kids are going to wake up and work (both inside and outside of the home) will demand our attention. Nighttime quiet time is best spent actually letting our honey know of our love and confidence in them. There will be time enough to discuss struggles and problems at another (scheduled) time.

So, just as you thought, we don’t worry too much about living by the Bible when it comes to advice. Though I’m still worried about the TV series, I’ve been reminded that spending time in Scripture reassures us that paying attention to what God says about how to treat our spouses and our sacrament of marriage is just as helpful, if not more, than any study or article. But it is always nice to know they are in agreement about a few things!

I’m not sure if being a happy couple will be our topic tomorrow, but feel free to follow the link to listen on-line any morning you have time, and know I’ll be there every Friday around 10:15 a.m., EST, EWTN Radio

Pray the Rosary for World Peace

Our pastor had a great homily on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. He said that when hate and violence of men collide and produce war, it is often the women and children who suffer. He commented on the fact that Our Lady appeared during World War I, one of the most senseless and brutal wars of all time. Men playing God, caused millions to die senselessly. The result was impoverished women and children.

It was so appropriate, then, that Our Lady appear to three peasant children to bring her message of hope, penance, conversion and prayer to the world. She, the first of among all women, comforted three children and prayed with them for peace. In the end, it was her Immaculate Heart that brought down communism and put an end to the Cold War.

When talking to my children, and to our parish youth group, about Our Lady of Fatima and her call to pray the Rosary for the conversion of sinners, I asked them to especially pray for the conversion of North Korea and all the leaders of the world who wish to rip apart the fabric of peace which would result in more women and children suffering. I know that no prayer is ever wasted, so please add world peace to your daily Rosary, especially during these six months of grace between May 13 and October 13 when the Miracle of the Sun showed the great power of God.

Blessings to all! Don’t forget to dance today!

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

I’ll be remembering all of you when I go to Mass this morning with my family. As we continue to celebrate the Easter season and Fatima’s centennial, may our Lord and his Blessed Mother watch over you and your family.

Forgive the delay in these posts. My mothering over the end of the week and this weekend included an unexpected visit to urgent care for one child, a homeschool used book sale with two other children and a gallery opening for another one. In other words, I wasn’t posting as I was mothering. I know you understand.

Day Two of Fatima was going to be COME 2 CAMP! 

Visit Portugal this summer at one of our already scheduled camps in Virginia, Minnesota and Kentucky. Check out the link and and see registration info on the right hand side.

Day One of Fatima was going to be One, Two and Three as we count back up to 153. This is the number of days between May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, and October 13, 2017, and that day we all know is the day the sun danced.

As we count down the days, my family will try to remember to dance each day between yesterday and 10/13/17 (so far so good), because regardless of what the skeptics say, regardless of what the headlines print – our God is in charge, our God is full of love and mercy and He made the sun dance so that we might have proof of His watchful gaze on us all. He gave us a Mother in heaven to help us be the best mothers on earth we can be.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

This article link from Crux was left as a comment on Day 5 and 4, but it is too cool (and important) to be left in the comments box. I, myself, have always wondered what anyone outside of the Church thought about what happened or even if they saw it; now I know!

Fatima and the Atheists

Forgive my ‘forgetting’ about yesterday but yesterday was full to the brim – with today almost cresting at the top of the cup as well. To make things a bit easier on myself and more comprehensive for you I’ll just give you the link to the National Catholic Register. If you don’t already subscribe to the paper itself, you should at least bookmark it so you can check it out sometime during the week.

This week they’ve got a great deal of articles on Fatima, so enjoy: The National Catholic Register

 

It’s five days but I’ve got nine things – actually, I’ve got Jimmy Akin’s (love his beard) list: 9 Things to Know and Share about Fatima.

Perhaps you’ll find something you didn’t know, I did!

The Miracle of the Sun, listed over at EWTN as the Sixth Apparation is considered by many to be the highlight of Mary’s visit. It was well documented by newspapers of the time and viewed by 70,000 or so spectators.

It might be nice to make a family craft to honor this miracle. If you just google or pinterest ‘sun crafts’ you will find crafts that need nothing more than tissue paper or wax paper, pipe cleaners (aka fuzzy craft sticks), paper plates, crayons & markers or other easy to find materials.

Check out this site About Family Crafts. I like the “Catching the Sun” craft the most as it can be hung in the window to really catch the sun as it dances across the sky in our own backyards. The mere fact of its warmth and presence is a science miracle of its own.

 

 

Saturday is often movie night here at the Wonderful World of Watkins (www). We rotate who picks the movie from Mom and Dad to the younger ones. We revisit favorites (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) or find something new (Kubo and the Two Strings).

There are several movies out there on Fatima and I recommend heading over to Decent Films, for a great review of these: Our Lady of Fatima at the Movies

Perhaps you might find some time to watch one of these as a family – popcorn is optional!

If praying a family rosary is not a part of your domestic Church, May is a great time to start. Here at Watkins’ central, we don’t say a complete rosary every day but that’s our goal :-)!

You might start by doing just one decade (easy to add to bedtime prayers). You might find one on YouTube to join with (easy to do while taking a break for lunch). You might get a CD that has all five mysteries available so you can pray along with lovely music (easy to have in the car for car line, commuting, and any trip taking more than 30 minutes or so).

Be sure to include the Fatima prayer:

Prayers taught by Mary and angels at Fatima

 

9. Novena! Nine days of prayers for a specific intention or within a specific devotion.

Novenas are a long standing devotion in our Church owing its history to the nine days the Blessed Mother and apostles prayed and waiting in the upper room for the descent of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:12-14: When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

There are several choices for your Fatima novena. Head over to Pray More Novenas or America Needs Fatima or a favorite site you already know to make your home into its own Upper Room. Ask the Lord and His Mother to renew in all of us a devotion to the messages she imparted when she first came: Message of Fatima.