Family Formation

There are two Church events coming up regarding the institution of the family which may merit a little place in your prayer life.  First is an event at the Vatican in October – an Extraordinary Assembly of the  Synod* of Bishops which will examine  “The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation”.  For this one the Holy Father is specifically asking for YOUR prayers, that the whole process be guided by the Holy Spirit:

Dear families …

This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and mission in the Church and in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task.

The second event is a little more than a year away and will be more local.   Philadelphia is host to the upcoming World Meeting of Families on September 22-27, 2015.  The theme is LOVE IS OUR MISSION: THE FAMILY FULLY ALIVE and the goal is to strengthen the bond of family life around the world, especially through the support of the Church.

It’s a huge privilege to be hosting this meeting in America and we expect additional blessings to American families as this topic is sure to be a prominent news story next fall.  Please pray with us, that the Holy Spirit would unleash amazing graces to all who participate, both in person and in spirit!

* For more on just what a “synod of bishops” does, click here.

Pope Francis has officially presented his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (the Joy of the Gospel), at a press conference in Rome.  The Exhortation marks the end of the Year of Faith celebrated by Catholics around the world, and was presented to a bishop, a priest and a deacon in St Peter’s Square by the Pope on Sunday.  It aims to encourage believers to “embark upon a new chapter of evangelisation marked by joy”, and presents a vision for the life of the Church in the future.

In the document, Pope Francis declares that all Catholics are called to proclaim the Gospel and to see the responsibility to evangelise as their own.  He reminds the faithful that “the word of God constantly shows us how God challenges those who believe in him ‘to go forth'”.

Source for the article quoted above.

Source for the announcement from the Vatican News Service

And, of course, source for the document so you can read it for yourself!

This morning, the Holy Father celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s square to mark the International Day for Catechists.  I think his words about passing on our personal memory of God’s history with each of us are such a beautiful description of what a catechist (and parent-catechist) does, that I wanted to share this section with you:

So, as I look out at you, I think: Who are catechists? They are people who keep the memory of God alive; they keep it alive in themselves and they are able to revive it in others. This is something beautiful: to remember God, like the Virgin Mary, who sees God’s wondrous works in her life but doesn’t think about honour, prestige or wealth; she doesn’t become self-absorbed. Instead, after receiving the message of the angel and conceiving the Son of God, what does she do? She sets out, she goes to assist her elderly kinswoman Elizabeth, who was also pregnant. And the first thing she does upon meeting Elizabeth is to recall God’s work, God’s fidelity, in her own life, in the history of her people, in our history: “My soul magnifies the Lord … For he has looked on the lowliness of his servant … His mercy is from generation to generation” (Lk 1:46, 48, 50). This canticle of Mary also contains the remembrance of her personal history, God’s history with her, her own experience of faith. And this is true too for each one of us and for every Christian: faith contains our own memory of God’s history with us, the memory of our encountering God who always takes the first step, who creates, saves and transforms us. Faith is remembrance of his word which warms our heart, and of his saving work which gives life, purifies us, cares for and nourishes us. A catechist is a Christian who puts this remembrance at the service of proclamation, not to be important, not to talk about himself or herself, but to talk about God, about his love and his fidelity.

Emphasis mine.  Read the entire homily here.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

166     Faith is a personal act — the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith.

Good to remember in family life, but also in these last few hours before the election.  Wherever you are in your faith life, keep growing and then share it with others!

I just read the Holy Father’s address to the bishops of the USA (from May) and thought you’d be interested in a few things he told them:

It is no exaggeration to say that providing young people with a sound education in the faith represents the most urgent internal challenge facing the Catholic community in your country. The deposit of faith is a priceless treasure which each generation must pass on to the next by winning hearts to Jesus Christ and shaping minds in the knowledge, understanding and love of his Church. It is gratifying to realize that, in our day too, the Christian vision, presented in its breadth and integrity, proves immensely appealing to the imagination, idealism and aspirations of the young, who have a right to encounter the faith in all its beauty, its intellectual richness and its radical demands.

…

First, as we know, the essential task of authentic education at every level is not simply that of passing on knowledge, essential as this is, but also of shaping hearts. There is a constant need to balance intellectual rigor in communicating effectively, attractively and integrally, the richness of the Church’s faith with forming the young in the love of God, the praxis of the Christian moral and sacramental life and, not least, the cultivation of personal and liturgical prayer.