Personal and family prayer, along with the Sacraments, form the foundation of love upon which family unity is built. Living our faith-filled life now becomes part of the heritage we pass down to our descendants. And as we prepare to enter the holidays, what greater gift can we give than the lived life of grace?
It is autumn, a season unique in the variety and sometimes brilliance of colors seen around us. While this can be said of spring and summer too, those seasons reflect the burst of new life. Autumn, on the other hand, shows us the beauty in life matured.
So too with the cycle of human life.
The world makes idols out of those with power and strength. But real beauty lies in the vulnerable, the forlorn, the forsaken. It is in these that we see the majesty of God, who created and carries them forward even when they are without means to sustain themselves.
80% of marriages end up in divorce within five years of a child loss. Don’t become one of the silent sufferers, part of the 95% of parents who do not seek support after the loss of a child. And don’t be afraid to accompany others as well. It’s time to embrace radical solidarity.
In Mary’s life we see exemplified the beauty of all life from conception to natural death, a life grounded in family who came and remained together through thick and thin to the very end. She remains with us, her spiritual children, this very day unto our dying breath too.