“Families are not a problem; they are first and foremost an opportunity” – Pope Francis
The first of the 3-part series of seminars on The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia) will begin this coming Saturday, July 28, 2018 from 9 AM until 12 Noon at Kristo Rai Parish Social Hall.
This will be an opportunity for all of us in the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa to look at and read this important document of Pope Francis on the family. In his apostolic exhortation The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetetia), Pope Francis expresses his hope that families and those involved in supporting families will study his document carefully and patiently. This document was the fruit of the Synod of Bishops on the Family on October of 2014 and 2015. The document was published on April 2016. The Holy Father said that: “It is my hope that, in reading this text, all will feel called to love and cherish family life, for families are not a problem; they are first and foremost an opportunity” (AL, 7)
In this first session, we shall deal with the reality of family life in the world today. We shall also look at what the Christian vision of a family is and we shall explore how Pope Francis recognizes the widespread desire for permanence in love and his challenge to us as Church to communicate more effectively the Good News of the Gospel of the Family, which is supportive of that desire. It looks at the challenges posed by consumer culture to stability in family life, and the foundational role of God’s love in our teaching on the permanence of married love and its openness to new life.
This series of seminars will continue in the month of August (Aug. 11th and 25th) and will culminate with a Mass for the Family on September 8, 2018 at Mt. Carmel Cathedral. Married couples who attended the seminars will have the opportunity if they wish to renew their marriage vows in the presence of Bishop Ryan Jimenez. This “Family Day” is our own way of celebrating The World Meeting of Families which will be held in Dublin, Ireland next month.
Registration and attendance on this seminars are free of charge and EVERYONE is invited especially the married couples. This Apostolic Letter is addressed to every person because each one of us – regardless whether we are married or not, whether with our family or alone – we all have our own unique experience of family. What is novel in this papal document is the fact that Pope Francis used the basic experiences of every families and individuals around the world as his starting point of reflection.
For those who are interested, please register by informing your parish priests or call the Diocesan Commission on Marriage and Family Life at 234-300 Ext. 136. For more information you can also call Fr. Jason A. Granado at 989-3054.
