Don’t miss the current episode of “Franciscan University Presents,” which is a most thought-provoking and grace-invoking discussion of the sacrament of marriage.

The guest, Father John Riccardo, sets the stage in the first half hour with a discussion of the challenges of marriage in the context of the spiritual challenges we face in our lives and in human nature. Then, the second half of the program soars with an exploration of how God’s grace can make marriage so holy and healing that calling family “the domestic church” is only a first step in our understanding.

Watch this show with your own family, and you’ll want to have a celebration afterwards. The program airs again on EWTN on August 10 at 4 am (thank God for digital video recording!) and on August 12 at 5 pm.

(By the way? How is the message Franciscan? I would say it’s very incarnational; it focuses on bringing God’s presence personally to the other, namely, in this case, our spouse. And it recognizes the spiritual power we can receive from the Lord through grace when we seek Him with great humility. And it’s a wake-up call that prompts us to be penitent, to seek conversion, when we fall short of welcoming the Lord fully into our marriage and family, which are at the heart of the New Evangelization.)