B
bwdiaz
Guest
Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for
the happiness and peace of my family,
strength to be a good mother and to continually do my best,
as well as all the intentions of all on this thread
and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
I just wanted to update about our recent issue with my husband’s job. I am so grateful to God right now that my husband is still employed and that his position is out of danger. He was able to work out the problem, and while it was an emotionally rough few weeks, we seem to be on the other side of it now. Many thanks to all of you for your prayers.
In other news, my husband and I had a really good heart to heart about religion yesterday. He and I have realized that we come to view the purpose of religious belief and action differently. He seems to enter religion in more of a communal or service oriented way. For example, he like that his church assigns him to regularly check on the welfare of other parishioners, or that they ask him to do acts of service and charity that involve such things as taking food, running errands, or actively visiting others. In my case, I am intensely attracted to ritual acts of worship, I need to pray, to go to Mass, read scripture, and ponder the mysteries of God, as a way of facilitating my ability to be compassionate and act Christlike. Up till now he has felt those things were only a means to an end and did not feel they were actions that had merits in and of themselves. I asked him if he has felt I’ve been fighting with him less, or been more available to him emotionally, He said he had, and I told him it is because I’ve been relying more on my “means” to be able to do so. He was impressed and while he still feels those things aren’t for him, he seems to understand me a little better. I think that is a huge blessing. One way I can tell is because yesterday evening, at dinner, he said a lovely prayer himself, instead of just putting up with me doing it. Also, he said he would support me if I decided to attend RCIA this year (I have had no education in the church since I was 8 and have not been confirmed) though he needs to think more about whether he would be comfortable with getting our marriage blessed by the church. We decided we will commit to revisit the issue around Thanksgiving.
To me, those are such powerful things and I feel thrilled to have another affirmation that my husband loves me, wants me to be happy, and has opened his heart up to the holy spirit. I am going to continue to pray to St. Monica, St. Rita, St. Philomena, and the Holy Family for intercession on behalf of my husband, our family, and our continued spiritual growth. I am also praying for all of you.
Bev
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for
the happiness and peace of my family,
strength to be a good mother and to continually do my best,
as well as all the intentions of all on this thread
and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
I just wanted to update about our recent issue with my husband’s job. I am so grateful to God right now that my husband is still employed and that his position is out of danger. He was able to work out the problem, and while it was an emotionally rough few weeks, we seem to be on the other side of it now. Many thanks to all of you for your prayers.In other news, my husband and I had a really good heart to heart about religion yesterday. He and I have realized that we come to view the purpose of religious belief and action differently. He seems to enter religion in more of a communal or service oriented way. For example, he like that his church assigns him to regularly check on the welfare of other parishioners, or that they ask him to do acts of service and charity that involve such things as taking food, running errands, or actively visiting others. In my case, I am intensely attracted to ritual acts of worship, I need to pray, to go to Mass, read scripture, and ponder the mysteries of God, as a way of facilitating my ability to be compassionate and act Christlike. Up till now he has felt those things were only a means to an end and did not feel they were actions that had merits in and of themselves. I asked him if he has felt I’ve been fighting with him less, or been more available to him emotionally, He said he had, and I told him it is because I’ve been relying more on my “means” to be able to do so. He was impressed and while he still feels those things aren’t for him, he seems to understand me a little better. I think that is a huge blessing. One way I can tell is because yesterday evening, at dinner, he said a lovely prayer himself, instead of just putting up with me doing it. Also, he said he would support me if I decided to attend RCIA this year (I have had no education in the church since I was 8 and have not been confirmed) though he needs to think more about whether he would be comfortable with getting our marriage blessed by the church. We decided we will commit to revisit the issue around Thanksgiving.
To me, those are such powerful things and I feel thrilled to have another affirmation that my husband loves me, wants me to be happy, and has opened his heart up to the holy spirit. I am going to continue to pray to St. Monica, St. Rita, St. Philomena, and the Holy Family for intercession on behalf of my husband, our family, and our continued spiritual growth. I am also praying for all of you.
Bev
That’s great that you two were able to have an honest conversation about faith and are agreeing to continue the discussion. 
:grouphug:
But no matter, it still was definitely kneeling and I was trying to hold back my tears and smiles. I didn’t want him to feel I “caught” him in the act. 
But I so hope it wasn’t just a one time event, I hope he enjoyed it and wishes to do so every week. Please pray for him! 