focus on the family
"I kneel before the Father from Whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name." —Ephesians 3:14-15
Jesus has "come to light a fire on the earth" (Lk 12:49). He begins this by dismantling families held together by factors not according to His will (see Lk 12:51ff). For example, many marriages and families stay together because of fears, addictions, finances, or confusion. Under such circumstances, these families will never be what God wants them to be. Therefore, Jesus will dismantle these families and then reunite them in love, self-sacrifice, holiness, and peace. In this way, He will light a fire to purify and renew the face of the earth (see Ps 104:30).
Do you have mixed motives in your relations with your family members? Is your family staying together in pure love, or are there other factors? Cooperate with Jesus as He picks apart any sins, selfishness, or self-deception in your family. Then ask Jesus to give to your family:
- "gifts in keeping with the riches of His glory" (Eph 3:16),
- interior strength "through the working of His Spirit" (Eph 3:16),
- His indwelling (Eph 3:17), and
- charity as its "root and foundation" (Eph 3:17).
After being dismantled and re-assembled by Jesus, you and your family "will be able to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love, and experience this love which surpasses all knowledge, so that you may attain to the fullness of God Himself" (Eph 3:18-19).
Prayer: Father, make our families holy by Your standards.
Promise: "To Him Whose power now at work in us can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine — to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations, world without end. Amen." —Eph 3:20-21
Praise: St. John was governor of his city. He was captured and imprisoned during a battle. While in prison, he gave his life to Jesus, and when released, he became a priest.
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 24, 2014
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