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JMJ
This crisis is difficult for cradle Catholics and converts alike.
Pray for Steve Wood that he perseveres in the Faith and in his Apostolate!
P^3
From: Steve Wood
Subject: News
Dear Friends of the Family Life Center:
I’m facing three tough problems this Christmas Season – the like of which I’ve never before faced in the twenty-three year history of the Family Life Center.
Problem Number One is the historic attack on marriage and the family through our cultural slide into sodomy and the corresponding U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling that our beloved Constitution supposedly guarantees the right to same-sex marriage. Justice Kennedy, the Catholic jurist writing the majority opinion, said that marriage is “the keystone of our social order.” I agree with that particular statement by Justice Kennedy. Therefore, I allege that he, along with the four other justices in the majority opinion, are responsible for the legal demolition of the keystone of our social order.
Mark my words: this isn’t the final attempt to deconstruct marriage and the family in American culture. Just as the contraceptive mandate in Obamacare was used to attack religious freedom, so the homosexual activists will not stop until all opposition inside and outside of sanctuaries and classrooms is silenced. Those religious leaders hoping to stay on the sidelines in our country’s battle for marriage are in for a rude surprise. The opposition is not interested in reasonable compromise with “nice” leaders who will not make a peep in the public square for the moral law.
Problem Number Two is the attack on marriage and the family from powerful Catholic leaders before, during, and after the Family Synod. Threats to the faith come from hostile enemies on the outside and, according to Jesus and St. Paul, from wolves in sheep’s clothing on the inside (Matthew 7:15 & Acts 20:29).
Any leader advocating the giving of Holy Communion to someone living in adultery or in an active homosexual relationship is a wolf -- even if he wears a pectoral cross.
Make no mistake: Catholic marriage is under attack from within using pious sounding poison promising that “the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads” to heaven. Jesus said that such a way leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).
The final report from the Family Synod was a severe blow to me personally when it quoted only a portion of St. John Paul II’s Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World). The report omitted the full text of Section 84 which explicitly states that communion cannot be given to those remarried after divorcing from a sacramental marriage. St. John Paul II also warned that doing so, “the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.” Section 84 was the very page that prompted my conversion as it convinced me that the Catholic Church was the true church preserving the full teaching of Jesus Christ on the indissolubility of marriage.
It’s hard to admit, but I never imagined that I’d be fighting for St. John Paul II’s Section 84 against forces within the Church. Many are asking, “What in the world and in the Church is going on?” I’m reminded of Revelation 12:12, “The devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.”
The devil is accurate in aiming his arrows. He knows with perfect clarity that marriage and the family are indeed the future of both the Church and the world as St. John Paul II declared. If marriage and the family are perverted, he wins. To prevent that means we have a fight on our hands since God has intentionally placed us here for the battle before us. This leads to Problem Number Three.
I’m not going to sugarcoat the third problem that I’m facing this Christmas. It has been a very tough year financially. Oddly, our financial situation was weakening, just as the attacks against the Catholic family were strengthening.
Last year the Family Life Center had to tap into our reserve funds in order to close the year. I really don’t want to repeat that this year, so I’m asking you for a special Christmas gift.
Could I ask you for a Christmas donation of $100? Your gift will help an international Catholic family apostolate that:
- Offers free-of-charge our Faith & Family Radio program to EWTN and to Catholic radio stations anywhere in the world.
- Sends our Dads.org newsletter to 19,378 subscribers in countries all around the world.
- Strengthens family life by producing faith and family resources that equips parents, guides young adults, and provides help to the hurting.
- Defends the historic Catholic teaching on marriage, human sexuality, and family life against sinister attempts inside and outside the Church to weaken teachings.
What’s the best vehicle to defend our Faith and our children from our toxic culture? According to St. John Paul II, it’s the family. That’s why I founded the Family Life Center International in 1992 after hearing his exhortation to focus on the family. For twenty-two years we haven’t changed our purpose as advocated by St. John Paul II.
It’s obvious that contemporary parents are facing unprecedented challenges. To meet the challenge of collapsing cultural supports, I’ve developed a resource focusing on a dynamic strengthening of spiritual life as the best solution to enable faithful Christian living in today’s world.
Although I had produced a longer series by this title, I was asked by family life directors and others to produce an abbreviated course for moms and dads in mp3 format that can easily be downloaded to smartphones. It’s entitled, “Transformative Parenting: A Practical Theology of Catholic Parenting.”
Because I believe that Transformative Parenting is one of the most important things I’ve ever produced, I want to send this mp3 CD to everyone who can assist us meet our financial challenge this Christmas season. Regardless of how much you can sacrifice to help us, I want you to have this mp3 CD.
Please remember the challenge I’m facing. Our problem is the end-of-the-year deficit of $68,707. I’m praying that you’ll help me solve that problem. Your end-of-the-year giving will help put us on sound financial footing.
Could you be among those making a vital difference at this critical time? Your end-of-the-year tax-deductible gift would be of great assistance and enable us to go into 2016 stable and strong.
Let me give you my heartfelt thanks for your prayers and financial support. Your gifts enabled us to continue our threefold mission: faith, family life, and fatherhood.
Will you help us continue our mission? Without you, the Family Life Center’s outreach wouldn’t exist. Could you consider sending a special gift to help us finish the year strong?
There are three easy ways to make an end-of-the-year donation to the Family Life Center:
1. You can make a quick and secure online donation. Make your donation before midnight December 31st to receive credit for a 2015 tax deduction.
2. To make a donation using your online banking, enter our name and address just like you do when paying any other bill online (Family Life Center, 2130 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 29615). You will receive an acknowledgement letter. Be sure to make your donation before midnight December 31st to qualify for a 2015 tax deduction.
3. Write a check and send the gift to: Family Life Center, 2130 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 29615. Make sure your letter is postmarked before midnight December 31st in order to receive credit for your 2015 tax deduction.
I can’t thank you enough for your past support, and I must turn to you once again for help to solve the $68,707 deficit.
Even if your gift is sent after December 31st, I would certainly welcome your donation as soon as you can send it. We remember our benefactors and their families and businesses in our prayers as part of our appreciation for your prayerful and financial support.
Yours in His Majesty’s Service,
Steve Wood
P.S. If you have already sent an end-of-the-year gift, then let me express my deepest thanks. You will receive a thank you letter from me in the mail.
P.P.S. If you haven’t recently reviewed your estate plan, please consider making a provision in your will or trust for the Family Life Center to receive a percentage of your estate. That way, when you’re born into eternal life, you’ll still be helping us change lives through our worldwide outreach.
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