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Friday, August 18, 2006

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St. Jane Frances de Chantal


Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63
Isaiah 12:2-6
Matthew 19:3-12

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"The two shall become as one." —Matthew 19:5

In marriage, the Lord miraculously makes a man and a woman into one flesh (Mt 19:6). This divine unity is unbreakable and irreversible. This is not the only time the Lord creates a miraculous unity in our lives. By the one Spirit, we have been baptized into the one body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13). This divine unity is the deepest unity possible for a human being. Through Baptism, we have the potential of being united with our baptized brothers and sisters as Jesus and the Father are one (Jn 17:21). We can have Trinity-unity.

From Baptism to Holy Communion to Matrimony, the Lord has created us to be one with Him and each other in a miraculous way. He died "to gather into one all the dispersed children of God" (Jn 11:52). "There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope given all of you by your call. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all" (Eph 4:4-6).

"Behold, how good it is, and how pleasant, where brethren dwell at one!" (Ps 133:1)

Prayer:  Father, give us a unity stronger than self and death.

Promise:  "Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl, and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you."—Ez 16:60

Praise:  St. Jane Frances was a baroness and mother of six children before becoming foundress of convents and monasteries.

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 26, 2006

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