en Español

   Every so often I hear brother priests complain that they would rather do a funeral than a wedding.  The reason they say that is their experience (and mine) has been that some couples don’t seem to take the sacrament seriously.  There seems to be a weak idea in our culture of what should occur in this sacrament.  In marriage a couple who have experienced love and unity as a couple now solemnly seal that in the eyes of God and the Christian community.  That public witness adds permanence to their union.  This is so crucial that Jesus says that when a man leaves his father and mother and becomes one with his spouse they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore, no one should put asunder what God has joined.
  That is why there is a presumption that every Catholic marriage that is celebrated by a priest in front of witnesses is valid and permanent.  Likewise, since Vatican II, the Catholic Church has said that all Christians, even two Protestants, if they join together validly in their own church have a permanent bond which cannot be broken.  This sometimes is puzzling to non-Catholics who have divorced. They wonder why an annulment might be needed since the marriage did not take place in a Catholic Church.  The reason is that we presume permanence until it can be proven otherwise. If, God forbid, that couple separates and divorces, the Church then looks to see if there were factors present which prevented that  unbreakable bond from occurring.  That is what an annulment is all about.  But what might those factors be?  Couples need to realize they are entering a permanent union.  If one or both did not have that in their mind and heart when they contracted marriage then it wasn’t a valid marriage.  If one or both of the parties had the intention of permanently excluding children, that is not a valid marriage.  If a couple gets married, but later it is discovered that one of the partners has an addiction or severe mental illness where they could not freely contract marriage, it can be annulled.  Abuse, abandonment, frequent infidelities, a lack of compassion and forgiveness can all be factors that will be looked at.  If any of these exist in some appreciable way, the Church will declare that marriage null for those reasons.
  So, the Church earnestly desires that couples marry with the complete freedom and forethought to know what they are doing.  Our marriage preparation is designed to help couples discern whether they and their partner have what it takes to have a sacred covenant.  There is no shame in discovering that they don’t and canceling the wedding plans beforehand to avoid a breakup later on.  It would be better that occur than a divorce happen six months or a couple of years into the marriage. Marriage preparation doesn’t begin when a couple gets engaged.  It should begin at home from the time a
child is able to learn.  They watch their parents and see what love is. They understand that forgiveness is necessary,
even if you love someone.  They see how important it is to talk about problems rather than to fight or walk away.  Then,
as a child grows they discover what friendship means.  They learn about commitments and how hard they can be to
keep.  They learn about sacrificing for the good of another person. Still later in the teenage and young adult years they
discover that some people won’t be true to their word.  They learn that sometimes you get hurt.  All of this is
preparation for that commitment to one other person for life.  As you can see this is big, very big.  For that reason I also
believe that not every person should be married.
   The single life is better for some people.  Sadly, our culture thinks that someone is missing something if they remain single. Marriage is so important and requires a daily recommitment.  The Church provides help in making that so.
Marriage Encounter is one tool to help couples who have good marriages have great marriages.  For troubled marriages there is counseling and help.  Don’t let things get to that point.  Pray, seek the help of other committed couples and ask the Church for what you need to have a happy and holy marriage.
     Peace,
     Fr. Chris

April 8-12 / Sunday 7 p.m. – Thursday noon / Retreat participants are invited into a focused time of personal and communal prayer, and a restful schedule that tends both body and soul.  An opportunity each day for spiritual direction – the art of graced listening – enables the directee to deepen and savor the experience of God and to respond more faithfully to the God who desires intimacy. $210, includes private room, meals, spiritual director.  For reservations or more information, call 407-671-6322.

April 21 – The Grand Finale – LITTER DAY!
Litter Day starts at Wes Crile Park at 8:00 a.m. and runs until noon, with a picnic afterward. There will be large dumpsters and igloos for recyclables at Wes Crile Park, a dumpster for tires at Dupont Lakes Park, a dumpster for trash at Denver Ave, and a tire corral & trash dumpster at the City’s Public Works Depot on Howland Blvd.

PUBLIC MEETING - Attention Deltona/Orange City Area Citizens Volusia County Human Services invites you to attend a public meeting on Tuesday, April 3 at 3:00 p.m. at the Deltona Library, 2150 Eustace Avenue.   The meeting will provide
information on the services available and to elect a representative to serve on the Volusia County Human Services Advisory Board.

  To talk with Michael Rossi is different. His topics and viewpoints can be quite varied in content and in depth, and he seems able to relate at once to what is being said in Holy Scripture.  His knowledge and understanding of The Bible seem extremely broad for a lay person.  Not only does he connect what’s being said to one or more specific biblical passages; he also is able to recite most or all of the passage or passages then cite source by book, chapter and verse. There is something else about Michael Rossi: he writes poetry.  His poems require some thought and are not always easy to read; they are almost a kind of spiritual event.
  Through his poems (about 20 have been published in the International Library of Poetry) Rossi hopes to induce the spirit of God in his reader’s hearts and souls.  He also collects other people’s poems that touch him when he reads them.
Here are two examples of his work:
----
CREATOR
Because of the birds and the bees, flowers and trees.
For him and him alone do many link into the God phone.
Yet as a practice to many from sea to sea, they’re on their knees.
For he is the perfect rock of tone, links to many are shown!
---
What you are
Is God’s gift to you.
What you become
Is your gift to God.
---
Rossi has been in Deltona and worshipping at St. Clare for less than two years.  He is single, but has a fiancée presently living and working in Hong Kong.

          --- Bob Sayre

La Importancia del Matrimonio

Paz,
     Padre Chris