I am With You - Year A - Softcover

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O Connor: I am delighted to support this simple but highly significant and innovative resource. I Am With You Year A, is not just the final volume in a trilogy of reflections for spouses on the weekly scripture readings for Sunday Mass. The entire work, so lovingly undertaken and generously offered to the Catholic community by these faithful married couples comes at a time when the need to restore and affirm the true nature of matrimonial love has never been so acute in our contemporary culture. All of us, and especially parents are reeling from the rapid social changes and shifting mores, too often dictated by public policy, that are impacting so negatively upon the institution of marriage. Nevertheless, it is precisely because we are a people of faith, that despite these times of trial, we can and must hold fast to that which we know firmly to be true regarding God s plan for humanity in marriage. It is as always, to the sacred Word of God which we must turn for sustenance, inspiration and encouragement. This book is an invaluable contribution to this task. I sincerely pray that as many couples as possible within our parishes may benefit from the practical reflections in these pages. We are immensely blessed at this moment in the Church s history with a successor of St. Peter who truly appreciates the importance of marriage. In his address to volunteers at the Rio de Janeiro World Youth Day, Pope Francis said: God calls each of us to be holy... Some are called to holiness through family life in the sacrament of Marriage. Today, there are those who say that marriage is out of fashion. Is it out of fashion? In a culture of relativism and the ephemeral, many preach the importance of enjoying the moment. They say that it is not worth making a life-long commitment, making a definitive decision, for ever , because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, I ask you to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes you are incapable of responsibility, that believes you are incapable of true love. It seems to me that I Am With You is a timely reminder of this true love that God speaks in and through marriage and it is called to be revolutionary. May the good Lord bless all married couples and may the prayers of Our Lady be with you in your journey of faith.