Parenting

The Two Ends of Marriage

DVRodriguez2025-03-11T09:39:09-04:00

The primary end of marriage is to "increase and multiply" (Gn 1:28). God wants souls with which to share His goodness – Himself – for all eternity. Parents are 'stewards' of their children with the duty for help children reach the perfection God has planned for them (think of the parable of the talents). The secondary end is mutual help and the quelling of passion (Gn 2:18,23). Marriage demands a man and woman who are open to all the children God wishes to give them. They must be ready to die for their vocation, and not be motivated by self-interest or [...]

The Two Ends of MarriageDVRodriguez2025-03-11T09:39:09-04:00

The Family Needs Purity of Intent

DVRodriguez2025-02-11T09:03:13-05:00

Our Lady provides a great model for what it means to be pure, which is far more than just purity in body. Purity begins in the mind. A family can't be happy unless it is a pure family. Purity helps us resist pride, selfishness, and the world. It means not judging things by our feelings but according to what God wills. Parents, practice purity and form your children accordingly. Children should not face these things alone. It is far easier to shun vice when we know the truth. Marriage is not for pleasure or self, it is to die; to die [...]

The Family Needs Purity of IntentDVRodriguez2025-02-11T09:03:13-05:00

Families Need A Spirit of Development

DVRodriguez2022-09-22T11:11:17-04:00

We are fighting a battle we can't afford to loose. Catholic families need to foster an environment that is all about continual development. Examine your level of desire to attain perfection and the means you are using to attain it. Spouses and parents must set goals, establish strategies, and provide accountability. This require constant communication, collaboration, and evaluation. Our weakness and strengths play a critical and unique role in how God is calling us to sanctity. When spouses say "I DO" they should be promising that every day, for the rest of their lives, they will slave away to build saints [...]

Families Need A Spirit of DevelopmentDVRodriguez2022-09-22T11:11:17-04:00

Teach Catholic Men to Fight

DVRodriguez2022-04-05T06:48:52-04:00

Catholic manhood is under attack. Modern men suffer from effeminacy of the body, mind, and will. Man is attached to pleasure and fears that which is difficult. He suffers an inability to seek the truth, preferring emotion over truth. He rationalizes and justifies everything to get what he wants. Christ's rebuke of the Apostles during the storm illustrates three points integral to a manhood: [1] Christ wanted them to face something difficult and overcome fear. [2] Christ was intentionally asleep; wanting them to wake Him. [3] Christ called the Apostles to get into the boat, to cast out into the deep. [...]

Teach Catholic Men to FightDVRodriguez2022-04-05T06:48:52-04:00

Families Recover Catholic Identity

DVRodriguez2022-02-19T16:48:13-05:00

The Catholic family is in decay. Two things families are not accomplishing on a wide scale are [1] establishing a firm Catholic identity and [2] fighting against the spirit of the world. Our youth lack a clear identity. Parents, be consistent! Don't give up and allow your family to be entrenched in worldliness. The world is the enemy and is seeking to destroy the souls of your children. Be in love with your vocation - with forming saintly souls for Heaven!

Families Recover Catholic IdentityDVRodriguez2022-02-19T16:48:13-05:00

Eight Points of Reflection on Motherhood

DVRodriguez2021-05-12T10:00:25-04:00

Motherhood is under a terrible attack by the diabolical errors or Russia. Using typology we can look to the Ark of the Covenant (Our Blessed Mother) for eight points which help heal the wound in woman caused by Eve. These points of reflection include teaching, correcting, compassion, chastity, modesty, self-effacement, and others. Dear Mothers, know and take up your place, mirroring the Ark of the Covenant: to raise up saints to help the Church in this time of need. You may not be known in this world but many will say of your children, 'You must have had a good mother."

Eight Points of Reflection on MotherhoodDVRodriguez2021-05-12T10:00:25-04:00

Feminie Modesty

svfonline2019-07-09T06:36:26-04:00

We live in a time of great immodesty; yet it has not always been this way. Society reveals itself by the fashions it promotes. Modesty is connected to self-control and acts as a guardian for purity. There are objective standards for modesty provided by the Church, and to set our secular time of utter immodesty as any kind of standard is insanity. Women in the past lived far harder lives, raised larger families, on less income, without modern conveniences, and still managed to engage in all their activities in modest attire appropriate to their gender. Women have a duty to dress [...]

Feminie Modestysvfonline2019-07-09T06:36:26-04:00

Widows and Orphans

svfonline2019-06-01T05:09:12-04:00

Our society has been attacked by a great enemy - Feminism. We have suffered the loss of our husbands and fathers and become a society of widows and orphans (in biblical terms, that denotes those who are in great tribulation, suffering and need). Feminism, created in the 1800s, seeks to eliminate patriarchy and masculine vocations. It wages its war in two ways: [1] by masculinizing women and [2] by feminizing men. We must get over the lie that feminism can ever be good -- it only has rotten fruit. How to resolve this? [1] Reject the evil and purge ourselves from [...]

Widows and Orphanssvfonline2019-06-01T05:09:12-04:00

NotreDame Abandoned Mother

svfonline2019-05-29T11:59:50-04:00

Children who visit their mothers regularly are sorrowful when they see her die, but their grieving is healthy and natural. They are sad but still hopeful. But children who distanced themselves from their mother, even abandoning her in her old age, are struck with a grief at their mother’s death … a grief that can be coupled with a deep guilt. Now consider the scene which horrified us all - Notre Dame burning. Parisians gazed upon their mother dying and they were filled with grief … and with guilt, for so many have abandoned Holy Mother Church. Let us make sure [...]

NotreDame Abandoned Mothersvfonline2019-05-29T11:59:50-04:00

Motherhood and Priesthood

svfonline2019-05-19T22:41:31-04:00

It is helpful to consider how various faithful members of the Mystical Body of Christ act as branches on the vine, supplying what is needed for dying branches to be saved or for dead branches to return to life. This theme naturally leads us to focus on priests, especially in light of the current crisis in the Church. However, on this Mother’s Day, let us consider the connection between motherhood and the holy priesthood. Sacrifice is essential to both. Holy mothers help raise good priests. In particular, let us examine two historical cases: Concepcion "Conchita" Cabrera de Armida (1862-1937) from Mexico [...]

Motherhood and Priesthoodsvfonline2019-05-19T22:41:31-04:00