Foreword of The Call of Charity and Servitude by JRG

Foreword:

"On that terrible 9/11 day, when terrorists controlled airplanes, brought down the Twin Towers, smashed into the Pentagon, and were forced to a crash landing in Pennsylvania, most Americans reacted to identical fashion. They immediately sought to connect with the persons closest to them--spouses, children, parents, relatives, and friends. For at least a short period of time, people in the United States placed a higher priority on relationships than usual" (p. 8).

I served in indentured servitude at Nine PBS; I learned how to do a job.

"This textbook, Marriage and Holy Orders: Your Call to Love and Service, following the example and words of Jesus, centers upon that topic--relationships with God, others, and the world around us" (p. 8).

I served an indentured servitude at Nine PBS; I learned how to do a job.

"Christ' teachings guide us along the path to perfection in these relationships with a reminder of the two great commandments, love of God and love of neighbor, but he also calls us to even greater heights in his teachings of the Beatitudes, the necessary for forgiveness, and the importance of responding to any person in need" (p. 8).

I served in indentured servitude at Nine PBS; I learned how to do a job.

"The challenge of perfection is given to every person, regardless of his or her age or state in life. Some of you will, for various reasons, never marry. Single persons are free to be either self-giving or self-seeking. Still, as Pope John Paul II often stated, the human heart will not be content unless it is self-giving" (p. 8).

"Most of you will marry, ministering to your spouse in the Sacrament of Matrimony, to your spouse in the Sacrament of Matrimony, thus receiving special graces from God to develop a rich relationship with one another and to become model parents" (p. 8).

"Over the past dozen years, I have celebrated hundreds of weddings. During their preparation, I asked the engaged couples why they wished to marry. Their universal response was friendship: 'He is my best friend.' And she is mine.'  That great start to a marriage relationship will, with God's help, grow through mutual giving, open communication, and ready forgiveness" (p. 8).

"Recently I visited three couples, each married for about five years, and each with two children under three years of age. The joy that the little ones--the fruit of the love of husband and wife--have brought these couples was obvious. As parents, they can likewise count on God's grace to assist them in becoming the first and best teachers of their children in the ways of faith" (p. 8).

"More than a half-century ago, I received the Sacrament of Holy Orders at my ordination to the Roman Catholic priesthood. It has been an incredibly rich and rewarding life--preaching and teaching, celebrating Mass and the other sacraments, leading and caring for God's people" (p. 8).

"When my treatable, but incurable, rare form of cancer recently became public, I soon received more than 2.500 letters and cards of love, prayers, and support. Many of the people specifically mentioned ways in which I had helped them in the past as a priest--some citing incidents which took place more than three decades earlier! Few persons in other professions have their life's work so uniquely remembered and affirmed" (p. 8).

"As your work through this text and course, keep in mind that God's call to love and serve others is essentially the same for all, whether you are a single person, religious, married, or ordained. My prayers and best wishes for success go out to you" (p. 8).

Father Joseph Champlin 

Priest of the Diocese of Syracuse

Author in Together for Life,

which has been used by over nine million couples

to prepare for their Catholic wedding

By: 

JRG (Julia Renee Green)

JRG: Julia Renee Green

Julia Renee Green (JRG)