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JANUARY
The Family: The Domestic Church
“Because the family that prays together stays together, we want
to learn to pray as a family. By our prayers we show a desire
to live with our loving God.”
SCRIPTURE Psalm 84; 1-2, 4
“How lovely is your dwelling place O Lord of hosts! Our souls
long for your courts, sing for joy to the living God! Happy are
those who live in your house, ever singing your praise in prayer!”
MEDITATION
There is something very powerful about praying together as a family.
Jesus reminded us that where two or three are gathered together in
his Name, there he is in the midst of them. (Mt. 18;20) We are reminded
by Christ that we all possess guardian angels who bring our prayers
before the Father. Prayer together gives the entire family a time to thank
and praise God, asking for intentions even being the context for family
members to ask and offer forgiveness. It is a time to strengthen those
present, to unite with those who have died and those who have yet to
be born and grow in the world.
CHURCH WISDOM
“With Mary, the Mother of God as our model, families can learn how to
pray with boldness in our asking, persevere in our supplications, and draw
upon the gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to minister to one another.
Family members grow to understand and appreciate how God happens
in the lives of each other when they share faith in communal prayer.
Just as talking and listening to each other helps deepen our relationships,
Different kinds of prayer together show us different ways to grow closer
to God. Parents and children, I challenge you to discover the kinds of your
prayer together that make you more aware of God’s nearness and give
you the strength to act in God’s goodness for others.”
John Paul II General Audience Sept. 10, 1997
QUESTION
How is our family touched and shaped by the personal prayers of each member? How
Do these concerns prompt the family members to offer support?
FAMILY PROJECT
While there are many ways to pray as a family, consider reading and discussing some
Favorite Bible Stories for each family member. Discuss some passages that relate directly
to your family situation and seek together the wisdom of God’s living Word. Using
some form of art activity that expresses one line of Bible wisdom that came from your
sharing and display it on your refrigerator for the month.
FEBRUARY
The Family: The Domestic Church
“Because love is filled with hope when it is communicated, our family
wants to promote the life-giving spirit of our families to others.”
SCRIPTURE Psalm 139; 13, 18
“You formed my inmost being: you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!
How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!
Were I to count them they would outnumber the sands, and still you are with me.”
MEDITATION
Parents see the fruit of their lives in their children, who become signs of their love
to each other and their family and friends. As the children grow they can learn to be living witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ through the example of their parents’ lives. Family love and appreciation helps both adults and children experience the love of God and encourages them to share God’s love as witnesses and helpers for a hurting world in need of healing.
CHURCH WISDOM
“Whoever is moved by love begins to perceive what the purpose of life really is. Jesus said that he had come for this purpose: ‘that we might have life and have it in its fullness’ and in abundance! He explained to us what life means: ‘this life is eternal life (Father), that they know you, the only true God and (me), Jesus Christ whom you have sent.( Jn.17;3) Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship of love with him who is the source of life. If we are in relationship with Christ who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we live as family and can communicate this life-giving spirit to all we meet.” Pope Benedict XVI Spe Salvi
QUESTION
What would our family look like if we did not love at all?
What are some ways love within my family has shown me how to love?
FAMILY PROJECT
To celebrate the life-giving spirit of love in your family, gather photos of momentous occasions and put them in a scrapbook or on a flash drive and share the stories with the children of these moments of life and love, weddings, birthdays, baptisms, graduations, projects, vacations, commitments, celebrations, any event you did together that helped to build and strengthen family bonds. Share your scrapbook or flash drive with friends and relatives. Have a favorite meal or snack and share the simple ways of loving in your family for which you are most grateful.
MARCH
The Family: The Domestic Church
“Because the joy of parents is to teach their children the art of living,
we want to be the primary educators of our children and all in our care.”
SCRIPTURE Psalm 78; 6-7
“God…established a law in Israel; he commanded that our ancestors
were to teach their children the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord and his strength,
that the next generation might come to know and would teach his commands to those
children yet to be born, that they might set their hope in God and forget not his works.”
MEDITATION
Parents, in educating a child in the art of true humanity means they must go beyond meeting
youngsters’ basic needs of food, clothing and shelter, and providing basic academic skills. They
are expected to help each child grow in “wisdom, age and favor before God and man.”(Lk 2; 52) Teaching children to act in goodness and Godliness with their siblings, friends, relatives, fellow students is a lifetime task for parents, step-parents and guardians. Those who accept the responsibility in society to teach the young must recognize, appreciate and respect the primary task of parents to raise their children in wholeness and holiness, and faithfully support them as they go about forming the next generation in knowledge and grace.
CHURCH WISDOM
“All members of the family, each according to his or her owns gifts, have the grace and the responsibility of building, day by day, a communion of persons, making the family, ‘a school of deeper humanity and the domestic church.’ By means of love, respect and obedience toward their parents, children specifically contribute to building the Christian family. They will be aided when parents care for the well-being of their children and help them acquire truly responsible freedom to love and serve those in need.” Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio
QUESTION
What are some similarities between how we serve in the family and how we serve at Church?
What are some “graces and responsibilities” we each have to help make our family more human and more Christian?
FAMILY PROJECT
Decide as a family what you will do to benefit the homeless. Invite fellow Parishioners to join you in visiting a shelter, bringing foods, helping prepare meals, eat with those who come to the shelter; collect practical portable items for personal hygiene; purchase jackets, socks, gloves or shoes from your Parish for the shelter . Volunteer to help tutor those learning to speak English, by starting an ESL program in your Christian community.
APRIL
The Family: The Domestic Church
“Because our children may be called to become spouses and parents, we want to help
them understand the type of love that is necessary in marriage and family life.”
SCRIPTURE Wisdom 7; 7, 9, 11,14
“Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called on God, and the Spirit of Wisdom came to me…. I did not liken her to any priceless gem, because all gold is sand in her sight and all silver is but clay before her. All good things came to me by her, and in her hands uncounted wealth. And I did not know she was their mother. I learned without guile and I impart without grudging. I do not hide her wealth for it is an unfailing treasure for all; those who learn Wisdom obtain friendship with God.”
MEDITATION
All of us are called to the wisdom of self-giving love. This kind of loving is challenging for many, who measure the worth of their relationships only by the feelings or emotions they experience.
A youthful romantic love portrays the first stages of attraction which are important for the developing of friendship love. And first stages of attraction based on feelings alone are at times self-centered, fleeting, fickle and painful. But this stage of relationship can lead to each person to develop clarity of what they value in a relationship. As love matures, it is seen as each person wanting the best for the other; in this stage there is mutual recognition that together their ways of loving together will bless the world more powerfully than if they choose to love as individuals. To love another at this stage is much more than emotions; it includes an integral step towards commitment to and surrender of self. This stage of trust enables a couple to consider seriously and joyfully the possibility of marriage and the start of a family. Parents play a primary role in guiding their children, teaching them the wisdom of self-giving love.
CHURCH WISDOM
“God calls each of us to be holy, to live his life, and he has a particular path for each one of us. Some of us are called to holiness through family life in the Sacrament of marriage. And marriage is much more than the wedding. Marriage is meant to lead the spouses to holiness and is meant to last. Today there are those who say that marriage is out of fashion. In a culture of relativism many preach the importance of ‘enjoying’ the moment. They say it is not worth making a life-long commitment, deciding ‘forever’ because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. I ask you, instead, be revolutionaries… rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary, that believes you are incapable of responsibility, that believes you are incapable of true love. Say ‘No’ to that lie! Be in love, stay faithful in love as you can, and God will support your growth together in holiness!” Pope Francis’ Address, July 28, 2013
QUESTION
How does our family accept its mission of holiness: to guard love, reveal love, and teach love to one another, especially the children?
FAMILY PROJECT
Parents, consider telling your children who you were before you were “Mom and Dad”. Take the family to where you and your spouse had a first date or show them where you first met. Together (or Dads with Sons and Moms with Daughters explain how your initial attractions grew into a deeper friendship and then into authentic love. Share some of the transitions joys and sorrows that occurred in your marriage and what you have learned from them. Invite some of your closest friends to join you and the children for a ‘typical’ get-together (movie, deli, arcade, sports, gaming locations) you had when you were youngsters and answer as many questions as the children have.MAY
The Family: The Domestic Church
“Because in the beginning of creation God gave the commandment to balance work
And rest, we want to harmonize work and rest within family life.”
SCRIPTURE Psalm 90; 1-2, 14, 16-17
“ Lord, you have been our refuge through all generations. Before the mountains
were born, the earth and the world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you
are God. Fill us at daybreak with your mercy, that all our days we may sing for joy.
Show your deeds to your servants, your glory to their children. May the favor of the
Lord our God be ours. Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!”
MEDITATION
Through work, parents help fulfill their roles as guardians by providing for their families financially. With rest and presence prayer and celebration parents provide what is needed for the family’s physical, social, emotional, psychological and spiritual strength as well. Work obligations and family “Sabbath experiences” all contribute to experiences of commitment, faithfulness to responsibilities, collaboration, affirmation and relaxation, all of which contribute to a balance holistic and spiritual lifestyle for family members.
CHURCH WISDOM
Work and rest were a daily expression of love in the lives of the family of Nazareth.
The simple word “carpenter” sums up much, but not all of Joseph’s life. He found time to relax and share with Jesus and Mary, he showed Jesus by example what manhood is meant to be; Joseph also taught him what it meant to be God’s Son, attentive to the Scriptures, believing in God’s providential care, responsive and loving the Father’s will, values that Jesus would carry into his public ministry. Joseph taught Jesus all the values of integrity, dedication, generosity, compassion of a skilled carpenter during Christ’s childhood. He demonstrated the holiness in human work and holiness in Sabbath rest. Jesus, in his public ministry, demonstrated these same values as he taught and healed, prayed and rested with his family, friends disciples and
as he gave his life in love for the salvation of us all. Pope John Paul II Redemptoris Custos
QUESTION
How is our work and our rest, whether inside or outside the home a “daily expression of love” in our family?
As I reflect on Jesus working with Joseph, how can I help family members with their tasks, and with their need to balance their responsibilities with rest?
FAMILY PROJECT
Create a garden together and place a special statue of Mary or a saint in or nearby. Prepare a picnic and travel to a park or nearby lakeside to enjoy an afternoon of relaxation and fun together. Be certain everyone who can is involved with preparations and the clean-up.
JUNE
The Family: The Domestic Church
“Because families play an important role in the new evangelization, we want
to share our faith and lives with other families.”
SCRIPTURE Psalm 148; 1-5, 11-13 “A Song of praise to the Lord”
Let us praise the Lord for the heavens, praise him in the heights! Give praise all you hosts of heaven; sun and moon, shining stars, all waters above and below the heavens; for he commanded and they were created; give glory to God’s name! Rulers of the earth, and all peoples, young men and women, old and young alike; let them give praise to the Lord, for his name is exalted, his glory is beyond heaven and earth!
MEDITATION
Everyone—no matter their role, occupation or vocation in life, is called to wholeness and
holiness. The saints throughout history, have shown well, the balance needed to maintain
both wholeness and holiness in their lives for the long run, in order to be credible and reliable witnesses of God in the world. This witness, of living lives like Christ, relating like him in our family and beyond, is the primary way to evangelize in our time to a world that often seems reluctant to recognize the presence and activity of God in and about us.
CHURCH WISDOM
Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to the Pontifical Council for the Family, said, “ The new
Evangelization depends largely on the domestic church…The family is indeed the way of the Church because it is the ‘human space’ of our encounter with Christ. ..The reception and transmission of divine love in marriage is evident in the mutual commitment of love between the spouses, in their generous and responsible procreation, in their care and education of their children in wholeness and holiness, by their dedication to work and social relationships, by showing great attention to the needs of the poor, and participation in church activities and commitment to justice and peace in civil society. The Christian family, to the extent it succeeds in living love as communion and service reciprocally …reflects the splendor of Christ in the world and the beauty of the divine Trinity.”
QUESTION
What form of evangelization does our family show when we join a campaign to restock the food and clothing in the homeless shelters storage places in the Summer time when both food and clothing are at a minimum?
FAMILY PROJECT
Plan a “Cookout and Tutoring and Game Day” for the neighborhood. Let the service rendered by your family members be expressions of family love to communicate Christ’s presence in your lives. Start with a pancake breakfast, a Nature tutoring project in the morning, cook out for lunch, games for the youth and children, afternoon “swimming” instructions and a Movie in the evening with “Healthy snacks”, S’mores and discussion with the gathered families.