Family

I just had a wonderful gift of delivering an information session with no voice.  My strep throat/sinus infection is no longer contagious thanks to antibiotics, but my voice couldn’t handle the strain that the music teacher/mother-of-4 lifestyle have put on it.  It is on strike.

And so, I had to stay quiet.  Not so easy for me.  I whispered a few stories and explanations as we discussed our Making Music Praying Twice parish program with music ministers and religious education directors.  Mostly, though, I listened.  I had to listen more than I spoke and this was a wonderful thing.

I was able to hear of some great new ministries in the Church and it is wonderful and inspiring to see such ambition in our parish ministers and growth in our parishes.  In today’s meeting, I’m hearing a repeating theme.  It is a message heard loud and clear from the Family Life Initiative in the UK.  It is a message that we continually deliver when we talk to parishes about effective ministry for young families.

The message is:  FAMILY.

Create ministry, education, parish life that addresses the whole family and keeps family together!  Drop off programs aren’t as effective or desirable and here’s why:

1.  Families don’t have enough time together anymore.  Work schedules, dual –income households, extra-curricular activities, and longer school days are taking away family time.  We should not contribute to this.

2.  Children need parents and strong parent models in order to grow properly in their faith.  I usually like to point to the early life of St. Terese of Liseaux and her sisters when discussing this point. 

3.  God wants us to live, love and grow in families.  That’s how He made us.  Before the fall, He made man and woman and said, “Be fruitful and multiply.”  He reveals himself to us as a family.  This must be nurtured and supported.

So to those of you out there doing great ministry for FAMILIES.  Ministry that includes the whole family, keeps them together and helps them grow in love and faith together.  Thank you!

I truly believe the family is under great attack now in our culture, because it is a beautiful and powerful force for good and a true threat to spread of evil.  Long live the family.  Amen.

God bless you and your family,

Kate