A Husband's Contemplative Chastity of the Eyes

The Master tells us that early in our Purgative State that we must purge those things that we invite into our beings via our eyes that are not conducive to contemplating Him.

Our eyes must be fixed upon the Cross and on Him that won for us the reward of Eternal Life.

The eyes are the windows to the soul so goes the clich�. In our case, as Catholic Husbands, there is a very deep and humbling truth to this old clich�.

The eyes are truly the windows into the heart, mind, and spirit of our wife.

The same is true for her looking into our eyes. In our eyes, she can see into the depths of our being . . . if we let her.

The truth . . . or not . . . lies in what we do with our eyes when we are in the presence of our wife and family but also not in their presence.

If we truly believe that our marriage is Sacramental, that is a visible sign of an invisible grace given (New Advent definition), then we need to stop, think, and meditate on who our wife is for us.

What are those invisible graces (CCC 1641 and 1642 specifically) given to us men through our wife? And, what are the invisible graces she receives through us?

Well, if our eyes, and thus our hearts are concentrating on other things, places, and/or women we may never really get to know what those graces are.

If we take the time to stop and contemplate the gift of grace that flows both through the Sacrament of Marriage and thus our wife, then perhaps we can discover how it is that Jesus Christ is present in her and in our marriage.

As we begin to let go of those things and people that distract our eyes and embrace the yearning the Holy Spirit places on our heart to contemplate the woman we have married, we begin to discover things about her that we would otherwise have missed.

• Her physical beauty and her attributes.
• The beauty of her heart and He Who rests therein.
• Her graceful spirit and all of its radiant beauty.

The labour of love was never meant to be easy. Walking and working in His Love, and allowing that Love to become a part of who we are and what we do in our marriage is an ongoing job that we must never stop doing as husbands and fathers.

John Everett

Feast of Our Lady of Charity of el Cobre

Feasts of September 8

Charity

"If Christ had become incarnate now and were a thirty-year-old man today, he could be here in the cathedral and we wouldn't know him from the rest of you - a thirty-year-old man, a peasant from Nazareth, here in the cathedral like any peasant from our countryside. The Son of God made flesh would be here and we wouldn't know him - one completely like us." Archbishop Romero Dec. 17, 1978

I read a story in the newspaper that spoke of a lady at World Youth Day who was in a bad situation with no food. Many groups of various "Christians" refused to help her. Eventually she was told to go to the Salvadorans because they would. They did indeed.

A number of different situations happened where people were in need occurred during the World Youth Days in Cologne. Eventually they received the same answer, "Go to the Salvadorans".

Finally, a reporter spoke to the Salvadorans and asked them why they were so generous. They said, "how could we not help? Our place of origin is named for the Lord Jesus Christ! Because of this, we must take extra care to live the Gospel today!"

Jesus is clear about how we are to live the Gospel. In Matthew 25:31-46 He speaks of the call to generosity with all that we have been blessed with. "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me". What a responsibility we Christians have!

God bless those who refused to listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit within their hearts when that lady (Jesus) called to them for food. Bless them with a conversion of heart, mind and spirit to deeply understand the virtue of charity.

And, God bless the Salvadorans for their great generosity and response to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit within!

Reading these stories I see the grace of God at work in the Salvadoran community. I thank you Salvadorans for bringing a smile to my face, and a lightness of heart for the rest of my day! Muchas Gracias! :*)

Pax Vobis,

J.E.