Be Filled

This episode we continue our conversation about purity of heart. We discuss Audiences 52.4-57. We talk about true freedom that comes when we completely offer ourselves to the Lord out of love and as a response to his love for us. We will look at what gives us both power and motivation to live our lives in accordance with God's plan. 

Quotes: 

“...if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:12-13) 

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from unchastity; that each one of you knows how to keep his own body with holiness and reverence, not as the object of lustful passions, like the Gentiles who do not know God…For God did not call us to impurity but to sanctification. Therefore whoever rejects these norms rejects not a human being but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7) 

…“ceases to be capable of this freedom for which ‘Christ has set us free’; he also ceases to be suitable for the true gift of self, which is the fruit and expression of such freedom. He further ceases to be capable of the gift organically linked with the spousal meaning of the human body” (TOB 53:3) 

“The task of purity is not only a turning away from unchastity…but is also a turning toward the holiness of the body, a holiness that calls for our reverence, admiration, and respect.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, p.267) 

“God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he willed…the members of the body that seem weaker are more necessary, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater reverence, and our unpresentable members are treated with greater modesty; whereas our more presentable members do not need this. But God so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the member that lacked it, so that there may be no disunion within the body, but the members may have care for one another.” (1 Corinthians 12:18; 22-25)

 “...from shame is born “reverence” for one’s own body, a reverence that Paul asks us to keep. Precisely this keeping of the body “with holiness and reverence” is to be considered essential for the virtue of purity.” (TOB 55:5) 

“When a mother and father are concerned about the way their teenage daughter dresses, rather than focusing only on the clothes, they would do better to instill in her a sense of awe and wonder for the divine dignity of her body and the gift of her sexuality.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, p.271) 

“Flee from prostitution! Any sin that a man commits is outside of his body;but the one who gives himself to fornication sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you do not belong to yourselves?” (1 Corinthians 6:18-19)

“...has the effect of a new supernatural elevation in every human being, which every Christian must take into account in his behavior toward “his own” body and obviously toward another’s body: man toward woman and woman toward man.” (TOB 56:4) 

“In this Gift, which makes every human being holy, the Christian receives himself anew as a gift from God.” (TOB 56:4) 

The Holy Spirit dwelling within us works and develops the gift of “piety” which, JPII writes, makes “the human subject sensitive to the dignity that belongs to the human body in the mystery of creation and redemption.” (TOB 57:2) 

“This anthropology grows from roots that plunge down into the reality of the redemption of the body achieved by Christ, a redemption whose final expression is the resurrection.” (TOB 57:5) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke to your heart most in this episode? 
2. Do you find yourself vacillating between either self-reliance and self-indulgence? Pray and ask the Lord to help you learn to trust Him and to open up to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. 
3. What is your understanding of “sanctifying grace”? Have you heard of infused supernatural virtues? What is your response to this? Pray for openness to all the grace that God wants to pour out on you. (see the link below for Fr. Ripperger’s talk) 
4. What does true freedom look like for you? Is it doing whatever you want or being able to do what is truly good? 
5. How do you see the relationship between your “effort” and God’s work in your heart? 
6. How can you apply this as you teach your children about modesty? 
7. How do you view your body? Ask the Lord to show you the wounds you carry in regard to your body. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to your goodness and holiness. 
8. How has the view of your body impacted your behavior? When have you kept your body in holiness and reverence? When have you not kept your body in holiness and reverence? Take all of this to prayer and ask the Lord for mercy and healing. 
9. What are your thoughts about Katie’s reflections on photosynthesis as an analogy for life in the spirit? How does God speak to you through creation? 

Resources: 

The Spiritual Life with Fr. Ripperger

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Welcome to Season 4!! We are continuing our study of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. This episode we are taking a look at Audiences 50-52.3 where JPII analyzes St. Paul’s view of purity, how it corresponds to Christ's call to purity of heart, and what is meant by “life according to the Spirit”. 

Quotes: 

“But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”  (Matthew 15:18-20) 

“In this manner Christ directs an appeal to the human heart: he invites it, he does not accuse it…” (TOB 50.1) 

“I say to you, live by the Spirit and do not satisfy the desires of the flesh; for the flesh has desires contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires contrary to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.” (Galation 5:15-16) 

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit on things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5) 

“The desires of the flesh lead to death while the desires of the Spirit lead to life and peace. In fact, the desires of the flesh are in revolt against God because they do not submit to God’s law, nor are they able to. Those who live according to the flesh cannot please God. But you are not under the dominion of the flesh but of the Spirit from the moment that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. And if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of justification. The one who raised Jesus from the dead will give life also to your mortal bodies by his Spirit which dwells in you.” (Romans 8:6-11) 

“Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these….The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-mastery.” (Galatians 5:19-23) 

“The “fruit” grows in them as the gift of a life whose only Author is God; man can, at the most, provide for favorable circumstances that the fruit may grown and mature.” (Man and Woman He Created Them, pg. 334, Footnote 62)

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke to your heart most in this episode?
2. What has been your experience of the relationship between outward action and interior spiritual growth? What do you tend to focus on most? Ask the Lord to reveal any way in which you are too focused on exterior actions and not on the condition of your heart.
3. What are ways you might be avoiding what is in your heart? Are you “stuffing” things away? Pray with this and ask the Lord for grace to let Him see those places you want to hide.
4. What is your understanding of what it means to live “life according to the Spirit”? How do you stay open to the Holy Spirit? When desires come up, do you ask the Spirit for guidance?
5. Think back on your life. When have you been living your life “according to the flesh”? When have you lived your “life according to the Spirit”? How can you recognize this difference within yourself? 

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This episode we discuss Audience 49 of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body entitled “The Ethos of the Redemption of the Body”.  JPII explains how what Christ is proposing to us is a “new” way of living. We discuss how Christ’s words are always through the lens of the Redemption and true power to free us from sin and change our hearts. We end the episode talking about this season as a whole and how God has been working in our lives. 

Quotes: 

“...the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning with labor pains together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:21-23) 

“…we can never forget that in the teaching of Christ the fundamental reference to the question of marriage and the problem of the relations between man and woman appeals to the beginning. Such an appeal can only be justified by the reality of the redemption.”  (TOB 49:3) 

“As St. Paul says, a man engrossed in sin does not know what sin is without the law. Such a man will avoid lust only begrudgingly at first, out of obedience to the law. If he perseveres, however, lust itself becomes more and more distasteful to him. His subjective desires come more and more in tune with the true, the good, and the beautiful. In this way, the negative and prohibitive ethic of Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount become a positive and liberating ethos.” (Christopher West, The Theology of the Body Explained, p. 251) 

“Purity is a requirement of love. It is the dimension of the inner truth of love in man’s “heart”.” (TOB 49:7) 

“In this behavior, the human heart remains bound to the value, from which it would otherwise distance itself through its desire…“The value in question is that of the body’s spousal meaning, the value of a transparent sign by which the Creator…has written into the heart of both the gift of communion, that is, the mysterious reality of his image and likeness.” (TOB 49:5) 

When tempted to devalue someone:  “I affirm that this is a person made in the image and likeness of God. He or she is loved into existence by Him and deserves to be loved and not used. Lord, thank you for this person you have made. Please open my eyes to the gift this person is and how I can be a gift to him/her.” 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What stuck out to you most from this episode? What do you think the Lord is saying to you?
2. Spend some time meditating on Romans 8:21-23. Here is a guide for Lectio Divina.
3. Reflect on your current spiritual condition. Are you growing in your faith and hope? What are some barriers to your growth right now?
4. What are some “labor pains” you are experiencing right now? Are you able to sit in them in the hopes that God is working for your good? Are there ways in which you are avoiding the pain? As Katie said, “Throw yourself on the floor.” What fruit might God be trying to bear through them?
5. How could Our Blessed Mother walk with you through difficulty? Consider consecrating yourself to Jesus through Mary. Here is the resource Patty mentioned in the show.
6. What are your thoughts regarding temperance and self-mastery? Have you seen the Christian life as just “white-knuckling” or a real transformation of your desires? Thank you so much for listening or watching the show! Be sure to connect with us through our e-mail: befilledpodcast@gmail.com or through our YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook pages. 

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In this episode we discuss Audiences 44-48 of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. Is Jesus merely accusing the human “heart” of concupiscence or is he calling our “hearts” to something higher?

 Quotes

“The body in its masculinity and femininity has been called “from the beginning” to become the manifestation of the spirit.” (TOB 45:2)

“To gain a true victory over lust, John Paul says that purity must mature from the “negative” turning away to the more “positive” recognition and assertion of the real beauty, dignity, and value of the body and of sex.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, p. 234) 

“Man must feel himself called to rediscover, or even better, to realize, the spousal meaning of the body and to express in this way the interior freedom of the gift, that is, the freedom of that spiritual state and power that derive from mastery over the concupiscence of the flesh.” (TOB 46:4) 

“The inheritance of the beginning, the inheritance of his heart, which is deeper than the sinfulness inherited, deeper than the threefold concupiscence. Christ’s words, set in the whole reality of creation and redemption, re-activate that deepest inheritance and give it real power in human life.” (TOB 46:6) 

“Redemption is a truth, a reality, in the name of which man must feel himself called, and “called with effectiveness” (TOB 46:4) 

“According to Plato, “eros” represents the inner power that draws man toward all that is good, true, and beautiful.” (TOB 47:2) 

“People often maintain that ethos takes away spontaneity from what is erotic in human life and behavior…Yet this opinion is mistaken and, at any rate, superficial. If we accept it and obstinately maintain it, we will never reach the full dimensions of eros.” (TOB 48.2) 

“Christ’s words are demanding ... .they demand that man has full and deep consciousness of his/her own acts, and above all his interior acts, and that he is conscious of the inner impulses of his own “heart” so that he can identify and evaluate them in a mature way.” (TOB 48:3) 

“When eros and ethos meet, they bear fruit in purity. Purity leads us in truth. Those with a mature purity of heart simply do not “look with lust”. Even if concupiscence still tugs at them, the pure of heart can recognize it, resist it, and allow grace to “untwist” it.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, page 244) 

Reflection Questions

1. How do you view your body? Do you believe that your body is good or only the “spiritual” part of you?
2. Is there anything that keeps you from being at peace with your body? In what ways do you “devalue” your body? Pray with this and ask the Lord for healing in this area. Thank you Lord for my body, Help me to care for my body out of a desire to love others well, so that I become a self-gift and learn to love as you love. Heal any false views of what I need to be and help me to embrace your vision of me as a whole person, body and soul.
3. What is your experience with Natural Family Planning? Is this new to you? We encourage you to seek to learn more. A link for more information can be found below!
4. Do you believe that Christ has “real power” to set you free from sin? If you really believe it, how would that impact your relationship with him and the way you live?
5. You are called to “this supreme value, which is love.” Sit with this thought. You are called to love and be loved. Ask the Lord to help you see how it is you can love others and allow yourself to become more receptive to being loved.
6. “The inheritance of the beginning, the inheritance of his heart, which is deeper than the sinfulness inherited, deeper than the threefold concupiscence. Christ’s words, set in the whole reality of creation and redemption, re-activate that deepest inheritance and give it real power in human life.” Do you believe this? The power you have access to through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is more powerful than the inheritance of Original Sin! What does that mean for your life today? Are you claiming this truth?
7. What are the “knots” in your life that you feel are impossible to “undo”? Consider praying the “Mary, Undoer of Knots Novena”. Link below!
8. Imagine that your life is part of a masterpiece. Are you playing the part God is asking you to play? Ask the Lord to help you make beautiful music with him.
9. What has your definition of “eros” been up to now? How was your definition challenged by what JPII wrote?
10. We must “burn but not be consumed”. Take this to prayer. Get in touch with your passions. What makes you feel alive? Where are you in awe? What (or to whom) are they actually pointing you to? What is it you really want? 

Resources: 

Mary, Undoer of Knots Novena 

TOB Institute Recommended Therapists 

More Therapists! 

https://centerforhealingkc.com/ 

Jana Burns https://inviacounseling.life/jana

Jackie Stone https://www.mendpsychotherapy.com/our-team

Karley Daniels https://www.newdaycounseling.co

 

We continue our discussion on Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching of the Theology of the Body. This episode we discuss Audiences 42 and 43 in which Saint Pope John Paul II analyzes the words of Christ found in Matthew 5:27-28: “...has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” 

Quotes: 

“The concupiscence that arises as an interior act on this foundation changes the very intentionality of the woman’s existence “for” the man by reducing the wealth of the perennial call to the communion of persons, the wealth of the deep attraction of masculinity and femininity, to the mere satisfaction of the body’s sexual “urge”.” (TOB 43:3) 

“...the knowledge about man that allows us-as we emphasized elsewhere-to unite the awareness of human sinfulness with the perspective of the redemption of the body.” (TOB 42:7) 

“Christ makes the moral evaluation of “desire” depend above all on the personal dignity of the man and the woman; and this is important both in the case of unmarried persons and-perhaps even more so in the case of spouses, husband and wife.” (TOB 43:1)

“Adultery in the heart” is not committed only because the man “looks” in this way at a woman who is not his wife, but precisely because he looks in this way at a woman. Even if he were to look in this way at the woman who is his wife, he would commit the same adultery “in the heart”.” (TOB 43:2) 

"...A man can commit such “adultery in the heart” even with his own wife if he treats her only as an object for the satisfaction of drives.” (TOB 43:3) 

“...the grace of marriage offers a healing of concupiscent desire. Through the healing power of the redemption of the body, men and women can progressively (re)experience sexual desire as God created it to be-the desire to love as he loves in the sincere gift of self.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, pg. 225) 

“...man must rediscover the lost fullness of his humanity and want to regain it.” (TOB 43:7) 

“Human life is by its nature “co-educational” and its dignity as well as its balance depend at every moment of history and in every place of geographic longitude and latitude on “who” she shall be for him and he for her.” (TOB 43:7) 

“Should we fear the severity of these words or rather have confidence in their salvific content, in their power?” (TOB 43:7) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke to your heart in this episode?
2. How in tune are you with your heart? What attitudes do you have that keep you from living out the commandments from the heart? 
3. If you are not living from your heart, do you have a desire to grow and go deeper? If not, ask the Lord to meet you where you are and give you the grace you need.
4. In what ways are you living out the “perennial call” to the communion of persons-to be a gift to another? What areas do you feel you need to grow?
5. If you are married, how do you see your spouse? Are you treating him/her with dignity or as an object to satisfy the sexual urge? Are you acting selfishly or not? If you are not married, how do you view marriage? Is it an outlet for lust or the remedy for concupiscence?
6. Have you ever thought of marriage as healing? What are your thoughts about this?
7. Reflect on Katie’s experience of NFP and how it has led to deeper intimacy with her husband. What feelings are stirred? Pray with this and continue to ask the Lord to reveal how He wants to love you through your marriage

   
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   Resource:

   Rachelle wrote this article describing the Theology of the Body Summer Program we need for kids. It contains a link to a document with the list of movies we used. 

 

 

This is our second episode discussing John Paul II’s analysis of Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5:27-28. This episode we will be looking with JPII at the words, “Whoever looks to desire” found in Audiences 38-41.

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Quotes:

“Christ did not die on a cross and rise from the dead merely to give us coping mechanisms for sin (we already had plenty of those without a savior). Christ died and rose again to set us free from sin…The more we gaze with faith upon Christ, the more “his gaze purifies our heart.” In turn, the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in light of his truth.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, pgs.213-214) 

“Desire, blazing like a furnace, will not die down until it has been satisfied; the man who is shameless in his body will not stop until the fire devours him; to the impure man, all bread is sweet, he will not grow tired until he dies. The man who is unfaithful to his own marriage bed says to himself, “Who can see me? There is darkness all round me, the walls hide me; no one can see me, why should I be afraid? The Most High will not remember my sins.” What he fears are human eyes; he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun; they see all the acts of men and penetrate into the most secret corners…Likewise the woman who abandons her husband, who provides him with heirs received from a stranger. (Sir 23:16-22)” 

“...the comparison between concupiscence of the flesh and fire: flaring up in the man, it invades his senses, arouses his body, draws the feelings along with itself, and in some way takes possession of the “heart”. Such passion, springing from carnal concupiscence, suffocates the sense of responsibility before God…It is true that, when passion is set into the whole of the spirit’s deepest energies, it can also become a creative force; in this case, however, it must undergo a radical transformation.” (TOB 39:2) 

“Once the inner man has been reduced to silence and passion has, as it were, gained freedom of action, passion manifests itself as an insistent tendency toward satisfying the senses and the body…This satisfaction…ought to extinguish the fire; but, on the contrary, it does not reach the sources of inner peace…the man whose will is occupied with satisfying the senses does not find rest nor does he find himself, but on the contrary “consumes himself.” (TOB 39:2) 

“If we allow our passions to “undergo a radical transformation,” they can become, once again, the desire to love as God loves.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, pg.216) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke most to your heart in this episode? 
2. Has lust been an issue in your life? Do you believe that Christ came to set you free? 
3. “Christ did not die on a cross and rise from the dead merely to give us coping mechanisms for sin (we already had plenty of those without a savior).” What are your thoughts on this? 
4. Do you want the freedom Christ came to give you? What would it look like to be set free from lust? 
5. Could you see your own experience in JPII’s description of how the “fire” of lust grows from a flame to consuming the person? 
6. Were you surprised at JPII’s understanding of lust? Why or why not? 
7. Can you relate to Charlie Brown trying to kick the football when it comes to temptation to give in to lustful desire? 
8. “If we allow our passions to “undergo a radical transformation,” they can become, once again, the desire to love as God loves.” Pray with this. How is God speaking to you? 

This is the first of three episodes covering a new section of Saint John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body entitled “Commandment and Ethos”. We discuss the words of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, “It was said, “Do not commit adultery” in audiences 34-37. 

Quotes: 

“...the human being of every time and of every place feels himself called in a manner that is adequate, concrete, and unrepeatable, because Christ appeals precisely to the human ”heart”...With the category of “heart,” everyone is identified in a singular manner, even more than by name; he is reached in that which determines him in a unique and unrepeatable way; he is defined in his humanity from within.” (TOB 35:4)

“The discernment of good and evil inscribed in the human conscience can turn out to be deeper and more correct than the content of a legal norm.” (TOB 35:5) 

“One can say that this law, while combating sin, at the same time contained in itself the “social structures of sin”; in fact, it protected and legalized them.” (TOB 36:1) 

“...the less the heart conforms to truth, the more the need arises for laws that must corral the people into maintaining some semblance of order.” (Theology of the Body Explained, Christopher West, pg. 208) 

“In the revelations of the prophets...the God of the covenant, Yahweh, is often represented as Bridegroom, and the love with which he joined himself to Israel can and should be equated with the spousal love of a couple.”(TOB 36:5) 

“Out of love, God-Yahweh makes the covenant with Israel; for Israel he becomes a Bridegroom and Husband who is most affectionate, attentive, and generous toward his Bride.” (TOB 37:3) 

“Adultery is a sin because it is the breaking of the personal covenant between the man and the woman.” (TOB 37:4) 

“...in order to determine what is good, we only need to ask a simple question: Does this sexual attitude, thought, or action truly image God’s free, total, faithful, and fruitful love?” (Theology of the Body Explained, Christopher West, pg. 211) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. Do you prefer a list of rules over really listening to your heart? Pray with this and ask God to show you what fears may be getting in the way for you. 
2. Spend some time with the Lord and ask yourself: Am I interpreting Church teaching or Jesus’ words in a way to justify sin in my life? Are there Church teachings I avoid learning about because I don’t want to change? 
3. Spend some time with the photos of the woman caught in adultery and Jesus (link in the resources section) Imagine the way that Jesus looks at you. Let him gaze upon you in love. Allow him to love you wherever you may find yourself on this spiritual journey. 
4. What are your thoughts about the Church not changing our teaching to conform to the culture? Are you frustrated by this? Do you find it comforting? 
5. What is keeping you from prayer? What consumes your thoughts? Ask the Lord to show you what might be keeping you from growing in your relationship with God. 
6.  Do you believe that God is in love with YOU? What is your response to this? 

Resources: 

“Male, Female, Other?: A Catholic Guide to Understanding Gender by Jason Evert

Navigating Gender with Charity and Clarity: A New Course by Jason Evert

Jesus and the Woman Caught in Adultery

Bill Donaghy Commentary Audiences 34-37

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Welcome to another episode of the Be Filled Podcast! We are continuing to discover the beauty of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. We have spent the last two episodes discussing the “Man of Concupiscence”. This episode we are discussing Audiences 31.5-33 which is entitled “The Corruption of the Spousal Meaning of the Body”. 

Quotes: 

“Historical man has this lifelong task: to give voice to the deepest aspirations of his heart by accepting the grace of ongoing conversion.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained)

“That “meaning” does not modify the reality in itself, that is, that which the human body is and does not cease to be in the sexuality that belongs to it, independently of the states of our consciousness and our experiences.” (TOB 31.5)

“The human body in its masculinity and femininity has almost lost the power of expressing this love in which the human person becomes a gift…The “heart” has become a battlefield between love and concupiscence.” (TOB 32:3) 

“From John Paul’s analysis we learn that if men and women are to “belong” to each other in the full expression of the communion of persons, they must first belong to Christ. They must first be in communion with him. The road to restored communion between the sexes passes by way of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And there is no detour.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. When you think about your body, what comes to mind? Do you seek to glorify yourself through your body or glorify God (or a little of both)? Pray with this and ask God to reveal any ways in which you idolize your body.
2. What are the deepest aspirations/desires of your heart? How could you find moments of silence throughout your day to listen to God? This week, try to slow down and pray with God’s word. See below for a guide to Lectio Divina.
3. What meaning do you give to your body? How does that impact the way you live?
4. What do you feel God calling you to do to help your children understand the meaning of their bodies? Please reach out if you need support or a list of good therapists to work with.
5. What has your experience been with fighting concupiscence in your relationships? Pray with this and ask God to show you areas in your relationship that need His grace in order to grow.
6. What did you think about the “Crazy Cycle”? Could you think of any examples of this in your relationships? If you are a man, how do you see your role with your woman and how can you encourage her to live a holy life? If you are a woman, how do you see your role and how can you encourage your man to live a holier life?
7. “Let your man be Jesus.” Whatever your vocation, Jesus is your protector and guardian. What are your reactions to this? Pray with whatever comes up.
8. What does it mean to you to belong to another? Do you see this in a positive sense or negative?

Resources:

Lectio Divina Guide

Love is a Battlefield 

Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

Holy Family School of Faith Rosary Podcast: The Mission of Marriage 

Bill Donaghy Commentary 

Meditation on Givenness by Pope John Paul II 

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