Gotta love Pope Benedict
The Pope recently addressed the Pontifical Council for the Family and had some pretty powerful stuff here is a little bit:

The greatest help that can be given to children is a family where mother and father love them and each other, Benedict XVI says.

"Certainly," he said, "it is precisely the family, founded on marriage between a man and a woman, which is the greatest help that can be given to children. They want to be loved by a mother and a father who love one another, and they need to dwell, grow and live together with both parents, because the maternal and paternal figure are complementary in the education of children and in the construction of their personality and their identity.

"Hence, it is important that everything possible is done to make them grow in a united and stable family."

"A family environment that is not serene, the division of the couple and, in particular, separation with divorce do not fail to have consequences for the children," the Bishop of Rome cautioned, "whereas supporting the family and promoting its good, its rights, its unity and stability, is the best way of protecting the rights and the genuine needs of minors."

Read more at: www.zenit.org/article-28291?l=english

Yearning for wholeness

What I desire most in my life right now is for my family to be made whole again. I want so much for my wife to love me and even more to learn to be a better husband. My heart aches so much for my children everyday because children suffer the most when families fall apart. I frequently thank God for such a precious gift, but yet lack the understanding of why they deserve such hurt. I feel like a great failure to my kids because as father I cannot protect them from the devastation of our broken family. I often wonder why God gave us free will when all we do is screw things up with it. He had to know all of the hurtful and sinful things we would do with free will and yet He gave it to us anyway. With my free will I choose to be strong for my kids. Raising them is my top priority right now. I gain strength through prayer, going to Mass, and by making use of the Sacraments such as Confession and Adoration.

From the mouth of Pope Benedict XVI!

Recently Pope Benedict XVI spoke about families saying "families are beleaguered and under siege". He noted that this was especially true in western countries that have embraced a culture of divorce. He spoke the hard truth and sometimes the truth is very hard. Here are some excerpts of what the Pope said:


"This is the principle that is being undermined and compromised by the practice of divorce, through the so-called extended and mobile family which increases the number of 'fathers' and 'mothers' and leads to a situation today in which the majority of those who feel orphaned are not children without parents but children with a surplus of parents. This situation, with its inevitable ... crisscross relationships cannot but generate internal conflict and confusion that contributes to giving children a distorted idea of the family".

"The firm conviction of the Church is that the true solution to the problems which married couples currently face and which weaken their union is a return to the solidity of the Christian family, a place of mutual trust, of reciprocal giving, of respect for freedom and of education to social life".

"With all the understanding the Church feels towards certain situations, couples in their second marriage are not like those in their first; theirs is an irregular and dangerous situation which must be resolved, in faithfulness to Christ, finding, with the help of the priest, a way possible to rehabilitate everyone involved", the Holy Father said.

The rest, and I strongly encourage it can be read here:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/e0_en.htm

It' s a boy!

My sister-in-law Sarah, and brother-in-law Justin are having a boy! I just want to congratulate them again as they embark on parenthood and all of its joys!

Marriage under attack

Sadly yesterday a Judge granted my wife a divorce despite that he said he had trouble finding any grounds by which to grant it. This was one of the worst times of my life. My mother-in-law even testified against me on my wife's behalf. Family has turned into people testifying against each other. Worst of all there are two beautiful children that we are all supposed to love while we are turning on each other and tossing accusations. Before the hearing I prayed the St. Michael prayer and a Hail Mary. There were only a few grounds to choose from. Adultery, drug and alcohol abuse, convicted/in jail, abandoning the family home for at least a year, or physical/sexual/emotional abuse. Basically she had no grounds however she claimed emotional and sexual abuse. Though she and her mother both testified against me I was able through my testimony and my questioning of them to prove both completely false. The Judge said that he took marriage whether covenant or not very seriously. He also told us that regardless of whether he granted a divorce we were stuck with each other forever because family doesn't stop at divorce. He said he didn't believe for a second that I physically or sexually abused my wife. He then went on to say that this was a difficult case and was hard pressed to find any grounds to grant the divorce. Then he shockingly said that it was a very close call and that I "may" have emotionally abused her on one or two occasions and that was grounds enough to dissolve our marriage. He wasn't convinced that I actually had, but since it may have happened that was enough for him to end a marriage. It is hard to express the emotions that I felt. Hurt, betrayel, sadness, shock, disbelief. The ones that are going to suffer the most by all of this of course are our two beautiful children. She is of course still my wife as we were married in the Catholic Church and I will continue to live my vows. I hope that through the annulment process I can defend the validity of our marriage. It is important to me to show my sons that marriage is a lifelong commitment, a Sacrament, and indeed a Covenant no matter how difficult the circumstances. I love my family.

My brother-in-law Justin and Sister-in-law Sarah are expecting their first child! I am very excited for them! They are due next March! I find it very interesting watching them go through all the exciting and joyful times just like my wife and I did, not so long ago. In just January they entered into the Sacrament of Marriage! Now they are on their way to becoming parents and experiencing the joys of having children! I pray for them that they will be able to navigate through all of lifes difficulties that may come their way.

Right from the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I don't think it can be any clearer what the church teaches about marriage and divorce:

347. What sins are gravely opposed to the sacrament of Matrimony?
1645-1648
Adultery and polygamy are opposed to the sacrament of matrimony because they contradict the equal dignity of man and woman and the unity and exclusivity of married love. Other sins include the deliberate refusal of one’s procreative potential which deprives conjugal love of the gift of children and divorce which goes against the indissolubility of marriage.

Here is a link to the compendium:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html