Happy St. Valentine's Day - the Joy of "Yes" forever

"Courtesy is the sister of charity, it extinguishes hatred and kindles love", St. Francis
The other is a gift from God - Give Thanks
No-one is perfect - Apologize & forgive

Pope Francis, met with ten thousand engaged couples from around the world today, gathered to consider the vocation of marriage, with the theme “The joy of 'Yes' forever”, organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family. The starting point was that couples marry to face problems together, and concludes that it is still possible to take the risk and courageously promise “forever”, because "forever" brings joy and allows us to look to the future with hope.

The Pope answered three main concerns:

1. Fear of "forever": Couples must start from the premise that "love is a relationship, ... a growing reality, ... built in the same way that we build a house. ... together, not alone! … on the rock of true love, the love that comes from God, stable and lasts forever... that becomes the locus of affection, help, hope and support. The quality is important and couples were advised to entrust themselves to the Lord daily to renew their love and overcome every difficulty.
2. Living together: is “an art, a patient, beautiful and fascinating journey … which can be summarised in "please", "thank you" and "sorry".
   
3. Marriage should be a Christian celebration: “What happened at Cana two thousand years ago, happens in reality at every wedding feast. It is the presence of the Lord, who reveals Himself and the gift of His grace, that will render your marriage full and profoundly true. … So, the wedding should be sober and emphasize what is truly important: joy in the Lord's blessing upon the couple's love.
   

Such joy and promise!

Messages of joy and hope for everyone of us!

Let us pray daily that the Holy Spirit guides our Franciscan Family in our JPIC relationship with the world: forever seeing and being thankful for the gifts from God, seeking to make it better where damage has been or is being done, in joyful one-ship with God who will light our way, encourage us in times of need and fill our hearts and minds with the resources to say "yes" like Mary and "do" what God is asking of us - our gift of "love" in the world, in our own individual capacities.