THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY Building Our Homes for God His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

G O A L S To stress the importance of marriage and the need to build strong Christian families. To strengthen relationships between spouses. To have parents seriously assume their responsibility over their children. To heighten the importance of Christian families as missionaries. His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

INTRODUCTION His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission Marriage and family are counted among the most precious of human possessions. “The well-being of the individual person, and of both human and Christian society, is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life.” (Gaudium et Spes 47) His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

AS AN INSTITUTION CREATED BY GOD A. The Lord God said: ‘it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him. (Genesis 2: 18) B. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife and the two shall become as one.” (Matthew 19: 5) C. Thus they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, let no man separate what God has joined. (Matthew 19: 6) D. God blessed them saying: Be fertile and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it .” (Genesis 1: 28) His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

RELATION BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE A. The intimate partnership of married life and love has been established by the Creator and qualified by His laws and is rooted in the conjugal covenant of irrevocable personal consent. (Gaudium et Spes 48) B. They receive a share in the divine life and is directed and enriched by the redemptive power of Christ and the salvific action of the Church. (Gaudium et Spes 48) His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

RELATION BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE C. “The Church does not want a subjection of the wife to the husband’s dictates. Her teaching is that there must be a subordination in love.” (Christian Morals for the Laity) His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

RELATION BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE Firmly established in the Lord, the unity of marriage will radiate from the equal personal dignity of wife and husband, a dignity acknowledged by equal and total love.” (Gaudium et Spes 48) His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

The Role of a Christian Husband Governance of people as a whole. (Exodus 3:16/Hebrew 13:17) Head of the Family (Ephesian 5:22) Leadership in Worship (1 Timothy 2:8 / 2 Chronicles 5) Providing Protection (James 5:14/Acts 20:28-31) His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

Responsibilities of a Christian Husband The Christian husband needs to understand more the importance of family and his responsibility to make them what God intends it to be. Areas where the husband needs to actively lead the family: His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

The Role of a Christian Wife Wife as partner in a family. Dignity and responsibility is to be restored as a woman and wife. To be with the husband so that full unity is achieved. Equality and respect are concern today. His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY (As defined by Apostolicam Actuositatem) The apostolate of married persons and of families has a special importance for both the Church and civic society. Christian couples are for each other, for their children cooperators of grace and witnesses of their faith. Parents have the obligation to pass on the faith and to educate them in it. They are to accomplish this by word and example; they offer them wise guidance in the choice of vocation. To assert with vigor the right and duty of parents to give their children a Christian upbringing. To defend the dignity and legitimate autonomy of the family. His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY In the words of Pope Francis The family is important and it is necessary for the survival of humanity.  The family as the foundation of coexistence and a remedy against social fragmentation. The family as the privileged place for transmitting the faith. His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY UNDER ATTACK FROM SECULAR HUMANISM FROM ECONOMIC PRESSURES His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

STRENGTHENING THE FAMILY The free gift of a parent’s time is so important. Come to me, families, and I will give you rest, so that your joy may be complete. Do you pray together from time to time as a family? His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

STRENGTHENING THE FAMILY Plan and take the time to build a strong family with Christian values. Schedule your priorities to ensure that the family has time together. Schedule frequent family recreations, i.e. outings, movies, eating out, etc. Pray together. The family that prays together stays together. Participate in Church services and activities together as a family. As parents, assume your obligation as educators to teach your children Christian faith and morals. His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

Called to be Missionary Families The Family-in-Mission: Announcing the Good News of Jesus The family is to form itself into a community of love. The family is to serve life. The family-in-mission are to help renew society and the Church. His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

Called to be Missionary Families Christian families are missionary families in their everyday life, in their doing everyday things, as they bring to everything the salt and the leaven of faith!” The family is the salt of the earth and the light of the world, it is the leaven of society. (Pope Francis) His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

Called to be Missionary Families As the fundamental community in the Church, the family has to participate in the task of the renewing the Church itself. It is the family that must lead in realizing such a formidable vision of a renewed Church.  (The Christian Family: Good News for the Third Millennium) His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission

CHALLENGE If the family becomes a school of prayer and holiness, a community of faithful disciples, a nursery of integrity, justice and peace, and a sanctuary of love and life, there is no doubt that the family will create ripples of divine goodness in the neighborhood and in the wider society. It would effectively and credibly witness to the saving and transforming Good News of Jesus. (The Christian Family: A Good News to the Third Millenium) His Life is Our Life and His Mission is Our Mission