TODAY, Oct 9, is observed as Life, Marriage and Family Sunday. Whatever our situation in life, we all come from a family.
Link to Pope’s booklet
Two Synods (2014 & 2015) allowed Pope Francis and the Church to examine marriage and the situation of families in today’s world and has raised a renewed awareness of the importance of marriage and the family. We are encouraged to value the gifts of marriage and the family and to be a sign of God’s love from both within and through the family.
The family is the natural human ecosystem in which we first learn how to give and receive love. It is from the family that love is communicated and experienced, between husband and wife, parents and children, siblings, extended family, friends and the wider community.
The family home is a place where faith is nurtured and passed on. Family life can arouse a desire for God and reflect the beauty of the Gospel and its way of life. Therefore Christian marriage and families enliven society by their witness in making God’s love present.
No family is perfect, however, Pope Frances encourages us to always have an attitude of hope and gratitude. All of us learn what love means, romance, joy, self-sacrifice, disappointments, and hardship of marriage and family life.
But God sees our heart, and to him s small step in the midst of limitations can be more pleasing than a life which appears outwardly in order, but moves through the day without confronting the difficulties. The strength of the family lies in its capacity to love and to teach how to love.
We are called to help sow the seeds; the rest is God’s work. Pope Francis regularly refers to the concept of accompaniment. It means to walk with or alongside another. He calls us to be a friend and companion to another, and example and encouragement.
It is by our faith and love, our joy in being loved and forgiven by God, that we too become a channel of his love and mercy to those around us. The home is a wonderful place for all to be welcomed into the life and love of Jesus Christ.