TRÁI TIM MẸ:  NƠI CON NƯƠNG NÁU - ĐƯỜNG ĐẾN VỚI CHÚA

"Chúa Giêsu muốn dùng con để làm cho Mẹ được nhận biết và yêu mến"

January 18, 2009 - 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time     LITURGICAL/THEME MEDITATION: "Behold the Lamb of God!" UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENT(S): Pope to Church in Iran: Build Relations With State; Families Praying for Families SAINT OF THE DAY St. Charles of Sezze  GENERAL MARIOLOGY Marian Devotion, the Rosary, and the Scapular Gospel Origin and Divine Institution DIVINE MERCY On Mercy The Immensity of Your Mercy  TEACHING/TESTIMONY/CONVICTION: «The family, teacher in human and Christian values»

DAILY LITURGICAL MEDITATION

"Behold the Lamb of God!" Scripture: John 1:35-42 35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"  37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"  39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.  40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  41 He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ).  42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter). Meditation: Who is Jesus for you? John calls Jesus the Lamb of God and thus signifies Jesus' mission as the One who redeems us from our sins. The blood of the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12) delivered the Israelites in Egypt from death. The blood of Jesus, the true Passover Lamb who offered his life up for us on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 Cor. 5:7), delivers us from everlasting death and destruction. It is significant that John was the son of a priest, Zachariah, who participated in the daily sacrifice of a lamb in the temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29). In Jesus he saw the true and only sacrifice which can deliver us from sin. How did John know the true identity of Jesus, as the Messiah? The Holy Spirit revealed to John Jesus' true nature, such that John bore witness that this is the Son of God. How can we be certain that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of the God? The Holy Spirit makes Christ known to us through the gift of faith. God gives us freely of his Spirit that we may comprehend the great mystery and plan of God to unite all things in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:10). John in his characteristic humility was eager to point beyond himself to the Christ – the anointed one sent from God to redeem his people. He did not hesitate to direct his disciples to the Lord Jesus. When two of John’s disciples began to seek Jesus out, Jesus took the initiative to invite them into his company. He did not wait for them to get his attention. Instead he met them halfway. He asked them one of the most fundamental questions of life: “What are you looking for?” What were they looking for in Jesus and what were they aiming to get out of life? Jesus asks each of us the same question: “What’s the goal of your life?  What  are you aiming for and trying to get out of life?” Jesus invites each of us to "come and see" for ourselves that his word is true and everlasting. "Come and see" is God's invitation for fellowship and communion with the One who made us in love for love. Augustine of Hippo tells us something very important about God and how he relates to us: “If you hadn’t been called by God, what could you have done to turn back?  Didn’t the very One who called you when you were opposed to Him make it possible for you to turn back?”  It is God who initiates and who draws us to himself.  Without his grace, mercy, and help we could not find him. When we discover something very important and valuable it's natural to want to share it with those closest to us. Andrew immediately went to his brother Simon and told him the good news of his discovery of Jesus. And it didn't take much to get Simon to "come and see" who this Jesus was. Jesus reached out to Simon in the same way he did to Andrew earlier. He not only addressed Simon by his personal name, but he gave him a new name which signified the call God had for him.  "Cephas" or "Peter" literally means "rock". To call someone a "rock" was one of the greatest compliments. The ancient rabbis had a saying that when God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: "I have discovered a rock to found the world upon". Through Abraham God established a nation for himself. Through faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was – the Anointed One (Messiah and Christ) and the only begotten Son of God. The New Testament describes the church as a spiritual house or temple with each member joined together as living stones (see 1 Peter 2:5). Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks or spiritual stones. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of faith to know Jesus personally, power to live the gospel faithfully, and courage to witness to others the joy and truth of the gospel. The Lord Jesus is ever ready to draw us near to himself.  Do you seek to grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ? "Lord Jesus Christ, fill me with the power of your Holy Spirit and let me grow in the knowledge of your love and truth. Let your Spirit be aflame in my heart that I may know and love you more fervently and strive to do your will in all things." Psalm 98:1,7-9 1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!  His right hand and his holy arm  have gotten him victory. 7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! 8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together 9 before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.   RETURN TO TOP

UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS

Pope to Church in Iran: Build Relations With State Urges Bishops to Perseverance and Patience   VATICAN CITY, JAN. 16, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Build relationships with the state authorities so as to enable Christians to better fulfill their mission, Benedict XVI urged Iranian Church leaders. The Pope said this today to the members of the episcopal conference of Iran, in Rome for their five-yearly visit. He recognized "the richness of unity in the diversity that exists" in the Church in Iran, which includes three communities: Armenian, Chaldean and Latin. The Holy Father affirmed that "the Catholic Church never ceases to give encouragement to those concerned for the common good and peace among nations. For its part neither will Iran, a bridge between the Middle East and sub-continental Asia, cease to fulfill this vocation." He recognized the work of the Catholic Church within Iran: priests and religious caring for the spiritual needs of the people, Christians helping the elderly and the needy, collaboration in the work to rebuild the earthquake-stricken region of Bam, and the faithful whose presence is as "yeast in the dough." The Pontiff encouraged the faithful to "continue steadfast in the faith of their fathers and to remain rooted in their land, so as to collaborate in the development of the nation." He spoke of the need to develop harmonious relationships with the public institutions of Iran, which "with the grace of God, will certainly become more profound and enable the [Christian] communities better to carry out their ecclesial mission, while upholding mutual respect for the good of all." Benedict XVI added: "I invite you to promote all initiatives that may favor better reciprocal knowledge. "Two avenues can be explored: cultural dialogue, which is the centuries-old richness of Iran, and charity. The latter will illuminate the former and will be its motor. "In order to bring about this objective, and above all for the spiritual progress of the faithful, it is necessary to send workers that sow and harvest: priests and religious." Vocations He recognized the need to encourage vocations, and to support the work of priests and religious by the "creation of a bilateral commission with the state authorities" that will allow the development of "relations and mutual understanding between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Catholic Church." The Pope addressed the migration issue, and urged the prelates to "give particular help to the faithful who live in Iran, inviting them to remain in contact with relatives who have chosen a different destiny, that they may maintain their identity and their ancestral faith." He continued: "The road before you is long and requires perseverance and patience. The example of God, patient and merciful with his people, will serve as a model and help you find the space necessary for dialogue. "Your Churches are heirs to a noble tradition and to a long Christian presence in Iran. "They have, each it its own way, contributed to the life and development of the nation, and they wish to continue their efforts in the service of Iran, while conserving their own identity and freely living their faith." Christians and other non-Muslim religions make up only about 2% of Iran's population of nearly 66 million. The nation has six dioceses or archdioceses.   Families Praying for Families International Event Offers Time for Sacraments   By Karna Swanson MEXICO CITY, JAN. 16, 2009 (Zenit.org).- When a Catholic family gets together, it's not unusual that they take some time out to pray. Even less when that family is the universal Catholic Church. Thousands of families have gathered this week in Mexico City to participate in the 6th World Meeting of Families, which will culminate Sunday with a closing Mass. More than 10,000 participants have been crowding the Expo Bancomer in the mountain capital to attend the pastoral-theological congress since Wednesday. Participants have been attending a full schedule of conferences, roundtable discussions and musical entertainment, as well as meeting and greeting the hundreds of priests, bishops and cardinals in attendance. But in the midst of all this activity, thousands of participants have come to the event to pray for their families, and to obtain the plenary indulgence Benedict XVI conceded to those who are participating both physically and spiritually in the meeting. Gloria Barroso, director for liturgy of the family encounter, explained to ZENIT that those participating in the event can attend one of the five Masses a day that are said in a conference room on the upper floor of the center. Many of the cardinals and bishops attending the conference have presided at one or more of the Masses. "Attendance at the Masses has been very good," she said. "We had confession all day. About 10-12 priests have been hearing confessions all day. Many people have gone to confession. It is for the benefit of all of those that are here." Also available is adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in a chapel, also located on the upper floor, and a Eucharistic hour was celebrated Thursday night. Legionary Father Joseph Fazio, originally of New York, is one of the many priests who has been hearing confessions during the congress. He told ZENIT that in the confessional he has seen the first fruits of the encounter: "A lot of people are waking up. I've seen a lot of people who are already actively trying to help their family. People are coming back to the faith. They want to fix their family relationships. "They are discovering that their family relationships are breaking apart, and this is because they haven't put God first. They stopped invoking him. They've stopped going to Mass. They stopped going to catechism or sending their children to catechism. And now that they see problems, they want to come back." Maria Ruz Hernández, 21, a student from Mexico City, was one of those who took advantage to receive the sacrament of confession at the encounter, which she said was very "complete." "They give very good advice," she added. When asked about the role of the family in her life she responded that it "is the most important thing in my life." "Well, first God," she added, "then my family."   RETURN TO TOP

DAILY LITURGICAL SAINT

January 18, 2009 St. Charles of Sezze (1613-1670)   Charles thought that God was calling him to be a missionary in India, but he never got there. God had something better for this 17th-century successor to Brother Juniper. Born in Sezze, southeast of Rome, Charles was inspired by the lives of Salvator Horta and Paschal Baylon to become a Franciscan; he did that in 1635. Charles tells us in his autobiography, "Our Lord put in my heart a determination to become a lay brother with a great desire to be poor and to beg alms for his love." Charles served as cook, porter, sacristan, gardener and beggar at various friaries in Italy. In some ways, he was "an accident waiting to happen." He once started a huge fire in the kitchen when the oil in which he was frying onions burst into flames. One story shows how thoroughly Charles adopted the spirit of St. Francis. The superior ordered Charles — then porter — to give food only to traveling friars who came to the door. Charles obeyed this direction; simultaneously the alms to the friars decreased. Charles convinced the superior the two facts were related. When the friars resumed giving goods to all who asked at the door, alms to the friars increased also. At the direction of his confessor Charles wrote his autobiography, The Grandeurs of the Mercies of God. He also wrote several other spiritual books. He made good use of his various spiritual directors throughout the years; they helped him discern which of Charles’ ideas or ambitions were from God. Charles himself was sought out for spiritual advice. The dying Pope Clement IX called Charles to his bedside for a blessing. Charles had a firm sense of God’s providence. Father Severino Gori has said, "By word and example he recalled in all the need of pursuing only that which is eternal" (Leonard Perotti, St. Charles of Sezze: An Autobiography, page 215). He died at San Francesco a Ripa in Rome and was buried there. Pope John XXIII canonized him in 1959. Comment: The drama in the lives of the saints is mostly interior. Charles’ life was spectacular only in his cooperation with God’s grace. He was captivated by God’s majesty and great mercy to all of us. Quote: Father Gori says that the autobiography of Charles "stands as a very strong refutation of the opinion, quite common among religious people, that saints are born saints, that they are privileged right from their first appearance on this earth. This is not so. Saints become saints in the usual way, due to the generous fidelity of their correspondence to divine grace. They had to fight just as we do, and more so, against their passions, the world and the devil" (St. Charles of Sezze: An Autobiography, page viii). RETURN TO TOP

GENERAL MARIOLOGY

Marian Devotion, the Rosary, and the Scapular   By Fr. Etienne Richer     The following article is an excerpt from a chapter in the recently published Marian anthology, Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, and Consecrated Persons, Seat of Wisdom Books, A Division of Queenship, 2008. Fifteen international Mariology experts contributed to the text. The book features a foreword by Archbishop Raymond L. Burke and has 17 chapters divided into four parts: 1. Mary in Scripture and the Early Church; 2. Marian Dogma; 3. Marian Doctrine; and 4. Marian Liturgy and Devotion. The book is now available from Queenship Publications. To obtain a copy, visit queenship.org. Visit books.google.com and search on "Mariology: A Guide" to view the book in its entirety, or simply click here. Asst. Ed. Gospel Origin and Divine Institution As Pope Paul VI recalled in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus (1974), in presenting in a wonderful manner the plan of God for the salvation of men, the Bible is entirely "replete with the mystery of the Savior, and from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, also contains clear references to her who was the Mother and associate of the Savior" (Paul VI, MC 30). From the third chapter of the book of Genesis, the Protoevangelium (Gen 3:15) announces the mystery of Mary and her role. The Jesuit Mariologist J.B. Terrien asks: Was Mary not offered to the admiration and homage of the universe when she was divinely announced as the perpetual enemy of the Devil and the Mother of him who would crush the head of the infernal serpent; as the Virgin who would conceive and give to the world Emmanuel; as the associate of the Savior and Redeemer? Assuredly, this was not yet the cultus of the New Testament in its marvelous development; but it was its germ and its beginning (3). "When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman" (Gal 4:4). It is this verse from the Letter to the Galatians which opens Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Redemptoris Mater (1987), as well as his catechesis of October 15, 1997, on the foundations of Marian devotion, to indicate clearly that this "is based on the wondrous divine decision, as the Apostle Paul recalls, to link forever the Son of God’s human identity with a woman, Mary of Nazareth" (4). An attentive reading of the angel’s salutation (Lk 1:28), which forms with the salutation of Elizabeth (Lk 1:42) the first part of the Hail Mary, shows that "Marian devotion before being practiced by men, was already practiced by heavenly spirits and by the greatest among them and on the order of God himself" (5), so that as Terrien underscores with reference to St. Thomas Aquinas’ Exposition on the Angelic Salutation: It was not fitting that an angel should pay respect to a man until one should be found in human nature who would surpass the angels … and such was the Blessed Virgin. Wherefore in order to show that she excelled him, the angel was pleased to show reverence to her by saying Hail. Accordingly the Blessed Virgin surpassed the angels in these three points … Preeminence of the fullness of grace: Hail, full of grace, he says … Preeminence in her familiarity with God: the Lord is with you, to such an extent with you that you will be his mother, and consequently queen and sovereign … Preeminence in purity: not only was the Virgin pure in herself, but she also obtains purity for others (6). In the Gospel account of the Visitation, the exclamation of Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit in receiving the visit of Mary, is the translation of a profound veneration in which, with John Paul II, "we can discern the initial expressions of and reasons for Marian devotion" (7): Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? … And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord (Lk 1:42-43, 45). As Brunero Gherardini points out here, this is not a simple matter of courtesy, but a "higher illumination on that which is humanly inconceivable and unintelligible, raises Elizabeth to the knowledge of the divine maternity of Mary and brings back on her lips the same words of the angel, an echo of those formerly pronounced by Uzziah to Judith (cf. Jud 13:18) … Mary emerges as the object of veneration for today, tomorrow and forever" (8). As to the Magnificat, it contains at once, according to Terrien, "the cause and the prophetic approbation of the homage which the human race should render to Mary" (9) until the end of time: "Traces of a veneration already widespread among the first Christian community are present in the Magnificat canticle: ‘All generations will call me blessed’ (Lk 1:48). By putting these words on Mary’s lips, Christians recognized her unique greatness, which would be proclaimed until the end of time" (10). On the occasion of the Marian Year of 1987, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger presented a remarkable commentary on this prophecy of Luke 1:28 before an audience of priests and pastoral workers gathered at the shrine of Loreto (Italy): "From this day forward, all generations will call me blessed." This word of the Mother of Jesus, transmitted to us by Luke (1:48), is at once a prophecy and a mandate to the Church of all times. Therefore this verse of the Magnificat, Mary’s Spirit-filled prayer in praise of the living God, is one of the essential foundations of Christian veneration of Mary. The Church has not of herself invented something new in beginning to extol Mary; nor has she plunged from the heights of worshipping the one God into glorifying a human being. She is doing what she must and what she was commanded to do from the beginning. … The evangelist certainly would not have transmitted this prophecy of Mary’s had it seemed to him either indifferent or obsolete. … Mary’s prophecy belonged to those elements which he ascertained "carefully" and considered important enough to pass on to others as part of the Gospel. A prerequisite for his decision was that the word had not remained without confirmation in reality. One recognizes in the first two chapters of Luke’s Gospel a range of tradition in which Mary’s memory was preserved, in which the Mother of the Lord was loved and revered. It takes for granted that the somewhat naïve cry of the unidentified woman, "happy the womb that bore you" (Lk 11:27), had not been silenced, but rather had been accorded a purer, more valid form through the Church’s deepening understanding of Jesus. Obviously, also, Elizabeth’s greeting, "of all women, you are the most blessed" (1:42), which Luke characterized as a word spoken in the Spirit (1:41), did not remain a once-for-all episode. The ongoing honor shown to Mary … is the foundation of the Lucan infancy narrative. The inclusion of the word in the gospel raises this Marian veneration from a mere fact to a commission for the Church at all places and in all times. The Church fails to carry out part of that which she has been commanded to do if she does not extol Mary. She deviates from the biblical word if praise of Mary is silenced in her. For then she would not be praising God in an adequate manner. … The verse from the Magnificat shows us that Mary is one of the persons who belongs in a very special way inside the Name of God, so much so that we will not give this Name the proper praise if we leave her out of it. We would then be forgetting something about him which may not be forgotten (11). Nunc et semper the Name of the Lord should be magnified because of Mary, and with her who ought to be proclaimed blessed because the "The Almighty has done great things for me" (Lk 1:49). In Lumen Gentium 66, the development of Marian devotion is interpreted by the Council as the realization of the prophecy of Luke 1:48: From the earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under the title of Mother of God, under whose protection the faithful take refuge together in prayer in all their perils and needs. Accordingly, following the Council of Ephesus, there was a remarkable growth in the cultus of the People of God towards Mary, in veneration and love, in invocation and imitation, according to her own prophetic words: "all generations shall call me blessed" (LG 66). When one goes back to the origins of Marian devotion, one meets the witness of the Magnificat, this word attributed to the Mother of Jesus which resounds as a prophecy and a duty of loving veneration. It is in opening the fourth gospel, however, that we arrive, in the company of the Servant of God John Paul II, at the primordial source of this devotion: "By noting Mary’s presence at the beginning and at the end of her Son’s public life, John’s Gospel suggests that the first Christians were keenly aware of Mary’s role in the work of redemption, in full loving dependence on Christ" (12). It is in the words of Christ on the Cross reported in the fourth gospel: "Woman, behold your son. … Behold, your Mother" (Jn 19:26-27), which he commented on very often, that Pope John Paul II discerned the Christological foundation of the devotion which the Church renders to the Virgin Mary. Among many other treasures of his Marian Magisterium of the venerated Pope, the catecheses of May 7 and October 15, 1997, are particularly significant: The Church’s devotion to the Virgin is not only the fruit of a spontaneous response to the exceptional value of her person and the importance of her role in the work of salvation, but is based on Christ’s will. The words, "Behold, your mother!" express Jesus’ intention to inspire in his disciples an attitude of love and trust in Mary, leading them to recognize her as their mother, the mother of every believer (13). On Calvary, with the words: "Behold, your son!" "Behold, your mother!" (Jn 19:26-27), Jesus gave Mary in advance to all who would receive the Good News of salvation, and was thus laying the foundation of their filial affection for her. Following John, the faithful would prolong Christ’s love for his Mother with their own devotion, by accepting her into their own lives (14). Thus not only does Marian devotion have a Gospel foundation, but it is of divine institution. The consequences of this affirmation are particularly well-presented by the Jesuit Jean Galot in a perspective very harmonious of the Marian Magisterium of John Paul II: Marian devotion had its first manifestation when, responding to the will of the Master, John took Mary into his home. It is important to underscore this initial will of Christ. Marian devotion does not simply have as its origin the desire of Christians to honor and pray to the Mother of the Savior. It is not the result of popular sentiment. … It is not even first of all the product of an admirable reflection on the virtues possessed by Mary, on the abundance of the divine favor granted to her, on the greatness of her maternity, on the role that she played in the work of salvation. It flows from a fundamental word of Jesus, a word pronounced once for all at the supreme moment of his sacrifice. One can understand from this that Marian devotion is a requirement of the divine plan. From the fact that Marian devotion was expressly willed by Jesus, one must immediately conclude that this devotion cannot be an obstacle to that which is due to the Savior himself; it cannot be in competition with the veneration which belongs to Christ. Even more, one must recognize that the devotion which has developed toward Mary is an integral part of our attachment to the Redeemer … the Church and Christians venerate Mary because Christ wills this by a will which embraces the entire future of the Christian community, and which remains ever present. It is Christ who has willed to be inseparable from his Mother. Further, it is important to observe that this devotion, according to the will of the Savior, aspires to honor Mary as the Mother of each of us. It does not consist only in seeing in Mary the model of virtues to imitate. … It has to do with recognizing in her a mother, who exercises a function of solicitude and plays an active role of mediation or of intercession in the development of the life of grace (15). The Gospel foundations of Marian devotion, in its triple dimension of veneration, invocation and imitation, being solidly established, it is now appropriate to examine with the help of the Magisterium and of theology the nature and the necessity of such devotion.  (to be continued)  RETURN TO TOP

DIVINE MERCY

Dairy from St. Faustina On Mercy Sunday, January 18 The Immensity of Your Mercy The knowledge of my own misery allows me, at the same time, to know the immensity of Your mercy. In my own interior life, I am looking with one eye at the abyss of my misery and baseness, and with the other, at the abyss of Your mercy, O God (Diary, 56). O my Jesus, despite the deep night that is all around me and the dark clouds which hide the horizon, I know that the sun never goes out. O Lord, though I cannot comprehend You and do not understand Your ways, I nonetheless trust in Your mercy (Diary, 73). RETURN TO TOP

CATHOLIC  TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE FAMILY PREPARATORY CATECHESIS FOR THE SIXTH WORLD ENCOUNTER OF FAMILIES (Mexico, D.F., 16-18 January 2009) «The family, teacher in human and Christian values»   INDEX Collaborators of the family: parish and school The family and the model of the family of Nazareth The family, recipient and agent of the new evangelization   Eighth Catechesis Collaborators of the family: parish and school Initial hymn Reciting the Lord’s Prayer Bible reading: Lk 6, 6-11 Reading of the Teachings of the Church 15. Christian education certainly seeks the maturity of the human, but it especially seeks that the baptized are increasingly aware of the gift received from faith; they learn to worship God the Father in spirit and in truth (Jn 4, 13), especially in the liturgical action; they are educated to live according to the “new man” in justice and holiness of truth (Ep 2, 22-23) and thus reach the perfect man at the age of the fulfillment of Christ (Ep 4, 13) and contribute to the growth of the Mystical Body; they become accustomed to bearing witness to the hope in them (1 Pe 3, 15) and efficiently contribute to the Christian configuration of the world (Gravissimum educationis, 2). 16. The parents, when giving life to their children, take on the very serious obligation to educate them and, in turn, they receive the right to be their first and most important educators. It is their duty to form a family environment driven by love and piety towards God and man, which fosters the integral education of their children. Consequently - as mentioned in the previous catechisms- the family is the first school of social virtues that all societies need, the space where the children learn from an early age to know and worship God and love their neighbor, a place where they have the first experience of human society and the Church, and the most efficient environment to introduce their children to civil society and the People of God. Thus the importance of the Christian family is really extraordinary for the life and the progress of the Church; to the extent that it is hard to replace it when it is lacking. 17. But the family cannot carry out its mission on its own, it needs the help of the State. It is the obligation of civil society, to guard the rights and obligations of the parents and the others involved in the education, to collaborate with them, when the effort of the parents and other societies is insufficient, to complete the task of education according to the principle of subsidiarity and attending to the desires of the parents and to create the proper schools and institutions, as needed by the common good. The State, therefore, rather than being antagonistic to or in conflict with the parents, should be their best ally and collaborator, providing everything and only what the parents cannot provide and doing it as directed by the parents. This loyal and efficient collaboration must also include the teachers in all the education centers, both private and public. The children will be the first to benefit from this collaboration, but society and the school will also benefit because these children will be better citizens tomorrow and many of them will make major contributions to the progress of the school. 18. The family also needs the parish. The parents, indeed, educate in the faith, above all, through the testimony of their Christian life, especially through the experience of the unconditional love with which they love their children and the profound love that they feel for each other; which is a living sign of the love of God the Father. Additionally, in accordance with their capacity, they are called to give religious instruction, usually this will be occasionally and not systematically, which they carry out by revealing the presence of the mystery of Christ the Savior in the world, in events of family life, in the feast days of the liturgical year, in the activities performed in the school, in the parish and in groups, etc. Nevertheless, they need the help of the parish because the life of faith matures in the children as they are consciously incorporated into the concrete life of the People of God, which especially happens in the parish. This is where first the child and the teenager, and then the adult, celebrate and take nourishment from the sacraments, participate in the Liturgy and join a dynamic community of charity and apostolate work. The parish must therefore always be at the service of the parents – and not the other way round – especially in the sacraments of Christian Initiation. 5. Family, school and parish are three realities that are integrated and blended by the education the children should receive. The greater the mutual collaboration and exchange, the more affectionate the relationship and the more efficient the education of the children will be. Reflection by the preacher Dialogue Commitments Community prayer Prayer for the family Final hymn Ninth Catechesis The family and the model of Nazareth Initial hymn Reciting the Lord’s Prayer Bible reading: Lk 2, 41-52 Reading of the Teachings of the Church 1. The news on the family of Nazareth in the Gospels are scant, but very illustrating. 2. It is a family built on the base of the marriage between Joseph and Mary. They were really married, as stated by Mathew and Luke; and they lived like this until Joseph’s death. Jesus really was Mary’s son. Joseph was not the biological father –he did not actually father the child- nor was he an adoptive or surrogate father, but the people of Nazareth regarded him as the father of Jesus because they were ignorant of the mystery of Incarnation, and also because Joseph was married to Mary. This is very important today because of the civil legislation and cultural environment that favor common-law and purely civil relationships, divorce, etc. The family of Nazareth is depicted today as an example of a couple formed by a man and a woman, permanently joined by love and with a public dimension. 3. The family of Nazareth lived just like any other family in the town. They led a simple, humble, poor, hard-working lifestyle, with love for the cultural and religious traditions of their country, they were deeply religious and distant from the centers of religious and civil power. A traveler visiting Nazareth who would be ignorant of the facts as we know them, would not find anything to set the holy family apart from the other families: nothing in their dwelling, clothing, food or in the presence of religious acts held in the synagogue, nothing made them different. God has wanted to show us that everyday life is the place where He waits for us to love him and carry out His project on us. The secret is to live “that” life with the same love and dedication as the Holy Family. 4. The Gospels do not clearly state Joseph's trade: blacksmith, carpenter, craftsman... However, the do clearly state that he worked with his hands, and this was his livelihood. Mary, like all married women, milled the flour and baked the daily bread, did the household chores and rendered small services for others. Nothing is said about Jesus, but it is assumed that he helped Mary and, later on, he helped Joseph in his manual work. The family of Nazareth lived what we now call the “gospel of work”, that is, work as a wonderful reality that gives participation in the creative work of God; work that supports the family and helps others, to be sanctified and to sanctify through it. This is also the perfect model for the modern family. Many still live like that, and others, despite the women working outside the home and the technology of domestic chores, are still basically unchanged. 5. The family of Nazareth was a deeply religious and practicing family. Like the rest of the pious families, they always prayed at every meal, went every week to hear the reading and explanation of the Old Testament in the synagogue, they went to Jerusalem to celebrate the pilgrimage feasts like Passover and Pentecost, and they prayed the famous “Behold Israel” three times a day. In the same manner, blessing the food and mealtimes, weekly participation in Sunday mass and the reading of the Holy Scriptures are still the bases for the Christian family to carry out its educational mission. 6. The family of Nazareth’s life was completely centered in God: God was everything for them. Before they were married, Joseph trusted God when, through an angel, he was told that Mary's pregnancy was the work of the Holy Spirit. Once married, Mary and Joseph had to hear from the child that had just found, after days of fretful searching, these words: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” (Lk 2,49). They did not understand it, but they accepted it and tried to find a meaning. Mary, however, did not lose her faith when she saw her son nailed to the cross like a criminal and beaten by the heads of the town. The Christian family, whose life is always a picture of lights and shadows, finds peace and joy when it knows it can see God there, even though it does not fully understand. Reflection by the preacher Dialogue Commitments Community prayer Prayer for the family Final hymn Tenth Catechesis The family, recipient and agent of the new evangelization Opening hymn Reciting the Lord’s Prayer Bible reading: Ac 18, 23-28 Reading of the Teachings of the Church 1. “Future evangelization largely depends on the domestic Church” (Speech by John Paul II in the III General Meeting of Latin American Bishops, 1979). Additionally, the family is the heart of the New Evangelization (Speech by John Paul II to African Bishops in charge of family ministry, 1992). The history of the church has confirmed this since its beginnings. A typical case is St. Augustine, converted by the grace of God with the abundant tears of his mother, St. Monica. The family carries out “its mission of preaching the gospel, mainly through the education of children” (EV 92). 2. The evangelizing mission of the family is rooted in the Baptism and it takes on a new form with the grace of the marriage sacraments. 3. The evangelizing task of the Christian family is especially necessary and urgent in places where anti-religious legislation even tries to prevent education in the faith, or where disbelief has grown or where secularism has gained ground to the point where it is practically impossible to lead a truly religious life. This scenario is found mainly in the communist and former communist bloc countries and in the so-called first world countries. The domestic church is the only place where children and youth can receive authentic catechism in the most fundamental truths. 4. The family has a specific way of evangelizing, which is not made out of great speeches or theoretical lessons, but through everyday love, simplicity, concretion and daily testimony. The most important values of the Gospel are thus transmitted. By using this method, the faith penetrates as if by osmosis, imperceptibly but in a very real way, which even makes the family the first and best seminar for priesthood vocations, consecrated life and celibacy in the midst of the world. 5. The services of the Christian parents on behalf of the Gospel are essentially an ecclesiastical service. That is, it is rooted and derived in the sole mission of the Church and is focused on the edification of the Body of Christ. Consequently, the family’s ministry and role of evangelization must be in communion and responsibly harmonize with the services of evangelization and catechism of the dioceses and the parish. 6. This ecclesiastical character means that the evangelizing mission of the Christian family must have missionary and catholic dimension, in full accordance with Christ’s universal mandate: “Go out to the world and preach the Gospel to all children” (Mk 16, 15). It is therefore even possible to find some parents who feel urged to carry the Gospel of Christ “to the ends of the earth”, as happened in the first Christian communities. In any case, a missionary activity must be carried out within the same family environment, proclaiming the Gospel to the non-believing or distant relatives or to families that do not live with the coherence of marriage. 7. The Christian family becomes a missionary community as it accepts the Gospel and it matures in faith. “Like the Church, the family must be a space where the Gospel is transmitted and where it radiates. Within a family that is aware of its mission, every member evangelizes and is evangelized. Parents not only communicate the Gospel to their children, but may, in turn, receive from them this profoundly lived Gospel…Such a family evangelizes other families and its surrounding environment” (EN 71). Reflection by the preacher Dialogue Commitments Community prayer Prayer for the family Final hymn * * * Sources: - Vatican II: Constitutions Lumen gentium and Gaudium et Spes; declaration Gravissimum educationis - Paul VI: Humanae vitae - John Paul II: Familiaris consortio; Gratissimam sane; Evangelium Vitae - Benedict XVI: Various discourses referring to the family - Catechism of the Catholic Church - Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church   RETURN TO TOP

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