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On this week's Come Receive The Light podcast: His Grace, the Right Reverend THOMAS (Joseph), a bishop of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America, serving in the Diocese of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid-Atlantic, leads a discussion to the topic - Where We Send Our Children to School.

By Kh. Maggie Hock M.A., M.S., LMHP

Jesus answering the Pharisees said: "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. Consequently they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." (Matthew 19: 5,6)

The marriage relationship between a man and a woman is a gift from God. The grace to walk in that gift comes with the blessing of the Sacrament of Marriage. It is here that the priest and the attending community offer many intercessions for the longevity and fruitfulness of the union. If marriage is our chosen path to salvation, we need to understand that we have vowed together to help both our spouse and ourselves attain this eternal state.  Therefore, our task as a married person is to learn how to apply that grace and blessing throughout our marriage, through the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows, the hopes and disappointments. For what marriage doesn't experience these emotions? What happens, then, when the marriage is suffering? Where do we find hope for reconciliation and reconnection to the grace that God offers?

First it's important to go back to where the marriage began- by standing before God asking for His forgiveness and blessing. By searching our hearts we may find where we have separated ourselves from His plan for our marriage. Many couples who have strained relations have found that their expectations have not been clearly articulated to each other. Perhaps assumptions were made about the married lifestyle without clear communication and therefore the couple does not have a shared vision for the relationship. Some may find that their expectations were full of worldly pursuits that did not honor God or each other. Still others may discover that they have not modeled Christ's example of servanthood and obedience.

What is the Freedom of Choice Act and how will it affect Orthodox family values? A majority of Americans oppose this Act but it is due to be signed into law this month if we do not act to contact our representatives in Congress and the Senate to let them know our opposition. The Orthodox Faith has always protected the sanctity of human life and opposed abortion. Now is the time to make your voice heard in Washington. Please visit the Fight FOCA web site today to learn more and take action!

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would eliminate every restriction on abortion regardless of previous States' rulings.  

• FOCA will do away with state laws on parental involvement, on partial birth abortion, and on all other protections. Parents will lose their influence on their minor children's reproductive rights.
• FOCA will compel taxpayer funding of abortions without regard for moral beliefs and objections.
• FOCA will force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform abortions. It will also require the disposal and dismemberment of live abortions regardless of the health care team member's religious, moral or ethical convictions.
• FOCA will prevent the States from enacting future protective legislation for the unborn.

The Orthodox Faith has always protected the sanctity of human life and opposed abortion. You have the opportunity to vote your conscience by going to this web site http://www.fightfoca.com/ and sign the petition opposing this Federal Act. You will also need to contact your elected representatives in your region to register your opinion in order to influence their vote. It only takes 50 letters or 10 phone calls to a representative to make a difference in a vote.  You may reach your Representatives and Senators at 202-224-3121.

To keep in touch with this Act and many others that threaten traditional family values, go to the American Family Association web site at www.afa.net.

Click here to read the complete text of Federal Marriage Amendment - H.J. Res 56 

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 24, 2004

Remarks by the President
The Roosevelt Room
10:43 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Eight years ago, Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage for purposes of federal law as the legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.

The Act passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 342 to 67, and the Senate by a vote of 85 to 14. Those congressional votes and the passage of similar defensive marriage laws in 38 states express an overwhelming consensus in our country for protecting the institution of marriage.

In recent months, however, some activist judges and local officials have made an aggressive attempt to redefine marriage. In Massachusetts, four judges on the highest court have indicated they will order the issuance of marriage licenses to applicants of the same gender in May of this year. In San Francisco, city officials have issued thousands of marriage licenses to people of the same gender, contrary to the California family code. That code, which clearly defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, was approved overwhelmingly by the voters of California. A county in New Mexico has also issued marriage licenses to applicants of the same gender. And unless action is taken, we can expect more arbitrary court decisions, more litigation, more defiance of the law by local officials, all of which adds to uncertainty.