Greetings!
This October update contains links to the resources on marriage for use in bulletins in the upcoming weeks in November. The Future Depends on Love is an initiative of the four bishops of Mwassachusetts through the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, which is the public policy arm of the Catholic Church in Massachusetts.
Resource Seminars distributing the "Parish Resources for Marriage" ring binders are being held throughout the state; watch for one near you. We all recognize the need for the faithful of Massachusetts to be better educated and catechized on the nature of lifelong, life-giving marriage, so we encourage you to utilize these resources. Your assistance in this work of service is greatly appreciated!
Three bulletin inserts (in PDF format) are downloadable through links given below; possible use dates are also given. In addition, it is suggested that you run a weekly The Future Depends on Love box in your bulletin ("bulletin brief"), containing a quote from a Church document. Those quotes are given below, and you can also access JPGs of these "bulletin briefs" through the links in this email. Homiletic aids are also included for each weekly theme, also linked from this email.
All these documents are available online at www.MassCatholicMarriage.org. Click on "Parish Resources." Please note the other announcements below concerning exciting events going on with The Future Depends on Love!
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For the Upcoming Weeks:
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Suggested weekly themes and bulletin items for the upcoming month are the following:
Week #11 (November 2): Life in heaven and the value of life on earth.
The Future Depends on Love (FDOL) box in the bulletin: Week 11 JPG
"The marriage of a man and a woman is not just one form of association or institutional model among many others. Marriage as the union between a man and a woman has served the common good by providing children with both a mother and father, and by bringing men and women together according to the moral order." Bishop George Coleman of Fall River, 11/18/2003
Suggested Bulletin Insert: "Marriage at the Heart of Social Justice"
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| Week #12 (November 9)
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Week #12 (November 9): The dignity of every human being and the dignity of the baptized.
FDOL
box in the bulletin: Week 12 JPG
"It is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right to life, upon which all the other inalienable rights of individuals are founded and from which they develop." Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, #101
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| Week #13 (November 16)
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Week #13 (November 16): Openness to, and education of, children as a responsibility of parents.
FDOL
box in the bulletin: Week 13 JPG
"The innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the other. This leads not only to a positive refusal to be open to life but also to a falsification of the inner truth of conjugal love, which is called upon to give itself in personal totality." Pope John Paul II, Familiaris consortio, #32
Suggested bulletin insert (If not used in September): "Marriage: God's Loving Plan for Sex"
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| Week #14 (November 23)
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Week #14 (November 23): Living justly in my intimate relationships.
FDOL
box in the bulletin: Week 14 JPG
"It is only the rock of total, irrevocable love between a man and a woman that can serve as the foundation on which to build a society that will become a home for all mankind." Pope Benedict XVI, 5/11/2006
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| Week #15 (November 30)
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Week #15 (November 30): God's mercy and our need for the sacraments.
FDOL
box in the bulletin: Week 15 JPG
"The spouses' union achieves the twofold end of marriage: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two meanings or values of marriage cannot be separated without altering the couple's spiritual life and compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family." Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2363
Suggested
bulletin insert (If not used in September): "What the Church Teaches, Social Science Confirms"
Weekly homiletic aids corresponding to these themes can be linked here.
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Sincerely,
The Future Depends on Love
Massachusetts Catholic Conference
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Parish News
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Do you want a speaker on marriage in your parish? Please contact the Massachusetts Catholic Conference at 617-367-6060 or at kathymagno@macathconf.org to schedule a speaker! See the flyer concerning the speaker-bureau program.
Parish Resource Binders will be handed out throughout the fall to parishes that did not have personnel at a Resource Seminar in the spring. Look for us coming to your area soon! |
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The Future Depends on Love TV Series!
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 A new TV show, "The Future Depends on Love," is now on Catholic TV! Drs. J. David and Angela Franks host the 13-part series that features a variety of guests speaking on topics concerning marriage, family life, and the theology of the body. Watch this interesting new series only on CatholicTV! It will be available on www.CatholicTV.com and in our video section!
Download a flyer here with more information.
You may also see it on these New England cable and satellite carriers:
Comcast: Channel 268 (183 in some areas)
FullChannel: channel 117
RCN: channel 85
SkyAngel: channel 142
Verizon: channel 296
SCHEDULE:
Mon. 5:30PM, Tues. 1:30PM, Weds. 3:30AM, Thurs. 11:30AM, 8PM, Sun. 3:30PM
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