Articles of the Month

A New Year--A Chance for a New Life

     We are all now in a New Year.  We have the chance to come clean before Our God and Our Lord Jesus Christ and to wash away the sins of our past.  Hopefully, people have made it to the confessional where they have disclosed all of their past sins and have made a commitment to God to change their lives, not only for their own sake but for their love of God and the Lord Jesus.  The New Year also brings with it hope for a future life with Christ and a spiritual renewal of their own lives.  Our Lord Jesus wants singles all to live holy, happy and fulfilled lives but to live with the knowledge that He is there for them, loves them and wants to restore them back into his favor, if they have previously sinned.  Jesus is always with us, no matter where we are in this life. 
     People need to realize that Jesus is not only Our Savior but also our closest friend.  No one will ever be able to find someone like Him in our lives.  He laid down His life for us so that we would have eternal life.  How many people can say that their own friends would be willing to lay down their lives for them?  Not many, I'm sure.  We should all keep Jesus close to us, not as if He is in a far off place somewhere in outer space.  Many people think that Jesus is dead and He is not.  He is alive even though we may not see Him.  He knows everything about us and knows what happens to us every day of our lives. 
     Single Catholics need to start having a relationship with Our Lord, talking to Him about their lives, telling Him that they love Him and asking for help whenever they need it.  He needs our love too just as our own family needs to be told that we love them.  Many people treat Our Lord as if he is an impersonal God that only wants to punish but the fact is that Our Heavenly Father and Our Lord Jesus wants to forgive and be merciful to us.  They are waiting patiently for us every day of our lives to come to the knowledge that They love us and want to have a close relationship with us all of our lives.  Will we say "yes" to Them and learn to love Them as we should?  Hopefully, this will be the year that we will discover that we cannot live without God, Our Lord Jesus and Our Blessed Mother.  Let this year be the year that you say "Yes, I will love God, Our Lord Jesus and Our Blessed Mother and I will try my best to make that love known to them, not only by my words but also by my actions."
     The New Year also gives us a chance to make a new beginning--to change our relationships with people we know, get rid of bad habits, make good habits, start going to Church and receiving Holy Communion, start going to confession more, etc.  These changes are good for us because they allow us to humble ourselves and to know that we cannot do without God.  We should reconcile our differences with people we know and improve our lives every day.  As the Bible says, we should not let the sun go down and still maintain an angry word against our neighbor.  The greatest commandment that Jesus talked about was to "Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself."  So, if someone is angry with their brother, sister, mother, father, cousin, co-worker or anyone else, they should forgive them and ask for their forgiveness too. 
     People should also take the time to get rid of their bad habits that are keeping them away from God, whether it is the habit of not going to Church, not going to confession, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, using drugs, having sex before marriage, and committing other serious mortal sins, or breaking the 10 commandments.  We all need to keep our lives in check and make sure that we are doing everything we need to do so that we can go to Heaven at the end of our lives.  There should be no excuses to do what is right for our lives.  Nothing in this life is forever.  The only thing that will last forever is our souls and it depends on us to make sure that we make it to Heaven.
     Many people, especially single Catholics also think that they have to live in this life without any spiritual support.  Single Catholics should all have access to a Bible and to Catholic prayer books.  The Bible itself becomes a two-way dialogue between them and God and the Lord Jesus.  They can pray to Jesus and God and when they read the Bible, they will be able to find many answers to their questions and concerns that come up in their life.  It serves as a guide for people to know how to live their lives.  The Bible was not just written for early Christians but even for our modern world today. 
     It should also be emphasized that spiritual support also comes from the Catholic Church.  They are like our extended family.  When single Catholics have questions about their faith, they should feel free to make an appointment to see their local priest.  Priests can answer many questions concerning a person's life.  They can tell you what the Catholic Church teaches about a subject that you may be struggling with and they will be able to direct you to other ways to solve your problems.  Single Catholics can also participate in Catholic Bible studies to learn more about the scriptures and can also participate in other Catholic parish ministries which can enrich their lives. 
     Singles can take the blessing of the New Year to learn more about their faith.  If single Catholics find that they are not as knowledgeable about their Catholic faith, they should buy the Catechism of the Catholic Church and find time every day to read it and learn more about the teachings of the Catholic Church and about their faith.    Catholics should all find time to read Catholic literature which will not only keep them updated on the latest Catholic teachings but will also fill their time with holy leisurely reading. 
     Our Blessed Mother has specifically asked throughout the ages, in various apparitions throughout the world, for people to repent their lives and come to the knowledge that God loves all and so does all of Heaven and wants people to come to the Heavenly Father, Our Lord Jesus and the Blessed Mother with their problems, trials and difficulties.  When singles turn their lives over to God, Our Lord Jesus and the Blessed Mother, they should know that their have put their lives in Heavenly hands.  No problem is too big, no sin too awful for the Heavenly Father, Our Lord Jesus and the Blessed Mother to help people with and to forgive.  We just need to humble ourselves before them, ask for their forgiveness, confess our sins before a priest and make a commitment to keep our lives pure and holy from that point onward. 
     With the world the way it is, the wars that are going on in several parts of the world, nuclear proliferation in some of those troubled countries and while time is still on our side, people can no longer hesitate and wait to change their lives, especially single Catholics.  People do not know what is in their future.  The end can come at any time.  Our Blessed Mother has also warned many times that if people do not change, God will punish the world for its offenses.  Let us pray the Rosary every day, and change our lives for the better.  Single Catholics need to pray for peace in the world, for a good resolution to the down-turned financial economy, for an end to abortion, for the conversion of sinners and for their own salvation.
     We would like to ask any single Catholic who enjoy this website to tell other single Catholics, friends, family and acquaintances about BlessSingleCatholics.com because we wish to spread our single Catholic message to the world, especially to all single Catholics around the world.  Eventually, our website will slowly expand and we are grateful to God for His blessings.  Let this year be a better year for single Catholics around the world.  So, do the right thing and turn your lives over to God, Our Lord Jesus and Our Blessed Mother and They will bless you and keep you close to Them all of your life.  May the Lord bless you, keep you holy and protect you now and forever. 

Cohabitation--Why  is  it immoral  and what  Are  the Catholic  teachings  on  it?

     Cohabitation is when a man and a woman live together as a couple and engage in sexual activity without the Sacrament of Marriage of the Catholic Church.  They are people living together as man and wife in mortal sin because it goes against the 9th Commandment--"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or anything that is your neighbor's."  "Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  And, it also goes against the sixth beatitude which proclaims, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  Even though the commandment talks about adultery which is sexual activity committed with married persons, this commandment also is against anyone who is engaging in sexual activities and other impure acts committed with other people, even single people because they are considered our "neighbor".
     According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church "purity of heart" refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness, chiefly in three areas:  charity, chastity or sexual rectitude, love of truth and orthodoxy of faith.  There is a connection between purity of heart, of body and of faith:  "The faithful must believe the articles of the Catholic Creed 'so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe."  It also states that St. John distinguishes three kinds of covetousness or concupiscence:  lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life.  Therefore, the ninth commandment forbids carnal concupiscence...  Concupiscence can refer to any intense form of human desire.  Christian theology has given it a particular meaning:  the movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of the human reason. 
     The apostle St. Paul identifies it with the rebellion of the "flesh" against the spirit.  Concupiscence stems from the disobedience of the first sin of Adam.  It unsettles man's moral faculties and, without being in itself an offense, inclines man to commit sins.  This struggle between the Spirit and flesh belongs to the heritage of sin.  It is a consequence of sin and at the same time a confirmation of it  It is part of the daily experience of the spiritual battle.  The struggle against carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance:  "Remain simple and innocent, and you will be like little children who do not know the evil that destroys man's life." 
     The "pure of heart" are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him.  Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God.  Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body--ours and our neighbor's-- as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.
     Even though cohabitation is gaining popularity in our culture, it will always be the wrong choice, not only for others but for our own souls.  Single Catholics have a moral responsiblity to be models to their nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, cousins, children and to other young people they may know to show them the true Catholic obedience to the Church and to God.  If you would like to read more on the subject of cohabitation, please go to:  www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource.php?n=407 and it will give you a longer explanation of the teaching of the Catholic Church on cohabitation and why it is immoral and will ruin the life of the soul if not corrected and repented.