“Celebrating God’s Love In Your Domestic Home Church” was the title of the Radical Love Marriage Retreat filmed at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on November 16, 2013. Terry Modica of Good News Ministries presented two one-hour sessions on God’s design for family life and the vocation of marriage.
Handouts referred to in this video are available for download.
You might also like
Radical Love: Reflections for Couples
An ebook of 215 short inspirational messages that bring God’s radical love into the context of romantic relationships. See full description and order form →
To understand the vocation of marriage, we have to first look at a vocation as the fulfillment of the calling to continue the mission of Christ. How are married couples to do this mission? We call this “radical love”. Jesus called it laying down one’s life for the other. Saint Paul called it (in Ephesians 5) submitting to one another while explaining that husbands are to love their wives the way Christ loves, which means laying down his life for his wife. And why did Christ lay down his life? To bring us to heaven. So, the vocation of marriage is – at its root (radical) level – helping the spouse reach heaven. This in turn evangelizes those around us to help them reach heaven, too.
Marriages are under huge pressures in today’s world. Only through faith can marriages survive as a reflection of God’s radical, faithful, enduring expression of love. The keys that unlock the power of faith are hope and love. Hope is the fuel that energizes our faith; love is the wheel that drives faith forward. If we knew God cares about us in every circumstance, we would trust in the way of holiness and sin less. It is highly recommended that a priest is present to offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation during the retreat.
We cannot give what we do not have. Only God can love us fully. To better understand how much God loves us, we need to look at who we are to God: Sacred in the womb, baptized into His life, empowered to be priest, prophet and king, loved unconditionally, important, favored and cherished, seen through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Each person is a unique masterpiece with a purpose that no one else can fulfill. Men and women relate to God differently and reflect God in our separate but collaborative masculine and feminine natures.
Radical love is the root of all successful living. It’s what heals our wounds, our broken hearts, and our embattled relationships, and then we are called to minister to others. Radical love motivates us to overcome the trials we face, and it motivates us to serve others with the same love. Radical love is what takes us to heaven, and on the way we evangelize others. It also defines the vocations of parenthood, Holy Orders, religious life, secular work, and volunteer service.
Next step: Sign up for free GOOD NEWS REFLECTIONS on the readings from Mass!
Do you believe more people should hear our podcast shows? Please sponsor upcoming episodes. Go to gnm.org/podcast-sponsorship.
