 Family Life

MORE CONTENT FROM WMOF:

 English: www.romefamily2022.com/en/  Español: romefamily2022.com/es/

 “The Church was born of a family, the Holy Family of Nazareth, and is made up mostly of families.”

Look to the future, not to the past,

BY JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES 

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY • Christian families are called to embark on a journey of love and service that will lead them to joy and hope for the future, Pope Francis said.

In marriage and family life, those who follow Jesus’ call will see that “he always precedes us in love and service. And those who follow him will not be disappointed,” the Pope said June 25 in his homily at Mass with thousands of pilgrims participating in the World Meeting of Families.

“Dear families, you, too, have been asked not to have other priorities, not to ‘look back,’ to miss your former life, your former freedom, with its deceptive illusions. Life becomes ‘fossilized’ when it is not open to the newness of God’s call and pines for the past,” he said.

The Pope participated in the outdoor Mass in St. Peter’s Square but was unable to preside over the liturgy due to problems with his knee. Instead, U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, presided.

Before concluding the Mass, Cardinal Farrell announced that a “Jubilee of Families” will be celebrated in Rome during the Holy Year 2025. The cardinal said the next World Meeting of Families will take place in 2028.

“From this moment on, let us pray that these will be great events of grace that touch the hearts of thousands of families,” Cardinal Farrell said.

With temperatures soaring in Rome throughout the week, the Vatican had moved the Mass to a time later in the evening to “accommodate the participation of the faithful.”

Pope Francis arrived in St. Peter’s Square and, with several children aboard his Popemobile, drove around to greet the families and pilgrims. He also stopped several times along the way to kiss babies that were brought to him.

In his homily, the Pope reflected on the day’s second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, in which the apostle urged Christians not to use their freedom “as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love.”

While freedom remains “one of the most cherished ideals and goals of the people of our time,” the Pope said, many “lack the greatest freedom of all, which is interior freedom. All of us are born with many forms of interior and exterior conditioning, and especially with a tendency to selfishness, to making ourselves the center of everything,” he said.

Within the context of the family, he said, Christians are not called to be “’planets’ or ‘satellites,’ each traveling in its own orbit” but instead are called to be

 Pope Francis kisses a baby before attending Mass in St. Peter’s Square during the World Meeting of Families at the Vatican

June 25, 2022. CNS photo/Vatican Media

 Danny and Leila Abdallah pose for a photo with 3-month-old Selina at the Domus Australia in Rome June 24, 2022. The Abdallahs were scheduled to speak June 25 at the World Meeting of Families at the Vatican about the tragic deaths of three of their children in 2020 and how they forgave the drunk driver who

killed them. CNS photo/Robert Duncan

Look to the future, not to the past, Pope tells families

a “place of encounter, of sharing, of going forth from ourselves.”

“The family is the first place where we learn to love,” the Pope said. “Let us not allow the family to be poisoned by the toxins of selfishness, individualism, today’s culture of indifference and waste, and as a result lose its very DNA, which is the spirit of acceptance and service.”

Recalling the day’s first reading from the First Book of Kings, in which the prophet Elijah anoints his successor, Elisha, Pope Francis said the relationship between the prophets was a “relationship between generations” that mirrors “the ‘passing on of witness’ from parents to children.” Elijah, he explained, found himself in “a moment of crisis and fear for the future,” much like many parents who “fear that children will not be able to find their way amid the complexity and confusion of our societies.”

Nevertheless, in that moment, “God makes Elijah realize that the world does not end with him and commands him to pass on his mission to another,” he said.

“If you help your children to discover and to accept their vocation, you will see that they, too, will be ‘gripped’ by this mission; and they will find the strength they need to confront and overcome the difficulties of life,” the Pope said.

The day’s Gospel reading from St. Luke, in which Jesus was rejected by the people of Samaria on his journey toward his death in Jerusalem, the Pope said, is a powerful lesson for families, especially married couples who are called to experience “marriage and family life as a mission.”

“What Jesus encountered in Samaria takes place in every Christian vocation, including that of the family,” the Pope said. “There are moments when we have to take upon ourselves the resistance, opposition, rejection and misunderstanding born of human hearts and, with the grace of Christ, transform these into acceptance of others and gratuitous love.”

Pope Francis encouraged families to take up their calling “with renewed conviction” and urged them to make sure the love they share is “always open, directed outward, capable of ‘touching’ the weak and wounded, the frail in body and the frail in spirit, and all whom you meet along the way.”

He urged the families to remember their importance for society and for the Church, because “the Church was born of a family, the Holy Family of Nazareth, and is made up mostly of families.

“May the Lord help you each day to persevere in unity, peace and joy, and to show to everyone you meet that God is love and communion of life,” he said.

LOCAL WMOF PRESENTER

Dr. Christopher Bellitto, history professor at Kean University, Union, and member of St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, was a presenter at the World Meeting of Families in June; his book “Ageless Wisdom: Lifetime Lessons from the Bible” is available at paulistpress.com. Dr. Bellitto’s guidance on communication and connection with elderly family members will be part of the In Focus section of the August edition of The Monitor Magazine.

TMM: How did your invitation to speak at the WMOF come about?

CB: About a year ago, when Pope Francis announced an annual day for grandparents and the elderly, I sent to the Dicastery on the Family news of my book and some articles I’d done on recent papal comments on the elderly ... then, out of the blue this past March, came the invitation to speak at the WMOF.

TMM: What was it like to be there?

CB: It was a very cheerful, upbeat experience – lots of families, music, smiles. I think part of it was post-COVID joy. The focus was on pastoral ministry, not politics, which was refreshing. It’s always good for anyone in one country to meet people from many others to remember “the world doesn’t revolve around me.”

TMM: What else would you like people to know about the WMOF?

CB: All of the talks are available in text and video on the WMOF website. Pope Francis wanted a decentralized event in line with his way of proceeding: good ideas come from the peripheries, gather at the center, and then go out again to other peripheries.

MORE ON TRENTONMONITOR.COM > FAITH & CULTURE > FAMILY LIFE:

 Pope asks families to take a small step toward greater holiness  Meeting looks at how families protect life, pray, connect generations  Families and forgiveness: Australian family shares their tragic story

Grandparents and the elderly

are blessings, cause for celebration

BY JENNIFER ELSENSOHN  Special Contributor

What is better than the love of a grandparent? Very few things in this world.

The Bible teaches that that those who are blessed with a long life, including grandparents, are “living signs of the goodness of God who bestows life in abundance,” shared Pope Francis in his message for the second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, to be celebrated July 24.

The words of the psalmist, “In old age they will still bear fruit” (92:15) serves as the theme, and an encouragement to the elderly to look to the future with expectation. The day is held each year on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne (July 26), the Blessed Mother’s parents and Jesus’ grandparents. Many parishes will observe the day with FAITH AT special blessings of grandparents, and at my parish, a donut social and fun family activities HOME will additionally follow some Masses. Making Faith Come

Our seniors are such a gift to us, as they are Alive for Your Family the holders of our family histories, world history, lived wisdom, unconditional love for their FE grandchildren, passers on of faith and often a calm that comes from having seen things work out even when they seemed terEN CArible. They pray for us, guide us, and more and more these days, help with daily family life while parents are working. SA

Haciendo que la fe Drawing from Scripture, Pope Francis, encourages the se mantenga viva en tu familiafaithful to celebrate the day together “with those … whom the Lord ‘has filled with days.’ … I ask you to make this day known in your parishes and communities; to seek out those elderly persons who feel most alone, at home or in residences where they live. Let us make sure that no one feels alone on this day. Expecting a visit can transform those days when we think we have nothing to look forward to; from an initial encounter, a new friendship can emerge. Visiting the elderly who live alone is a work of mercy in our time!”

So, how can we celebrate this day? Here are a few ideas:  Spend time with the grandparents or seniors in your life. Have a special meal with them. Ask them to tell you the stories that are most meaningful to them: What was it like growing up for you? Can you tell me a story from when you were my age? How did Grandma and Grandpa meet? What was it like Faith at Home is a monthly column coordinated by the Diocese of Trenton’s Departments of Catechesis, Evangelization and Family Life, and Youth and Young Adult Ministry. For additional Faith at Home resources, visit dioceseoftrenton.org/faith-at-home.

Children sharing books and hearing stories from grandparents allows elderly to pass on their insight. Freepik image raising kids? What is the funniest story you have? What was the most significant world event that you observed? What has your faith meant to you over the years?  Write a thank you note to your grandparents and tell them what you appreciate about them.  If you don’t have grandparents in your life (and even if you do) talk to a senior at Mass. If you see a senior who is always alone, invite them to breakfast.  Write cheerful cards or prayer cards and send them to a local senior facility. If it’s feasible, volunteer at a facility – they are always looking for people to help the residents play games, do sing-alongs, lead prayers, etc.  Offer to do some yard work for a senior in your neighborhood.  Donate items that seniors need to your local food bank – many of the clients are seniors living in compromised situations.  Become a minister of Holy Communion to the homebound and bring your kids (assuming the individual welcomes children).

Our seniors are truly a treasure for our families and churches, but, often, much of what they do for us is taken for granted. Take some time to get to know them and let them know that you appreciate them.

Jennifer Elsensohn is the pastoral associate in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold.

USCCB image

NFP AWARENESS WEEK SET FOR JULY 24-30, EMPHASIZING ROLE OF MEN

BY EMMALEE ITALIA  Contributing Editor

National Family Planning Awareness Week, a national educational campaign sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, will take place July 24-30, marked in the Diocese of Trenton this year by a special emphasis on the role of husbands and fathers.

The week coincides with several noteworthy dates, including the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25), which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood. The dates also mark the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Mother. Pope Francis has designated that feast as World Grandparents Day, a fitting commemoration during National NFP Awareness Week.

Sponsored by the Department of Evangelization and Family Life, diocesan NFP Awareness Week efforts will shed light on the unique role of men in cooperating with God’s divine plan for forming a family, while continuing to emphasize the mother-daughter connection and the special role of mothers as teachers, advisors, listeners, comforters and helpers for their daughters as they pass from childhood to womanhood and possibly to parenthood.

“Our efforts will promote the notion that husbands and wives together are ‘called to give life - [they are] cooperators with the love of God the creator [Catechism of the Catholic Church #2367],’” said Peg Hensler, associate director of Marriage Ministries and NFP. “Just as all girls need a mom or mother figure to guide them through the stages of development into womanhood, all boys need a dad or father figure to teach them what it means to become a man.”

To accompany the full set of resources for parishes to celebrate NFP Awareness Week, and the USCCB’s educational materials on responsible parenthood and fertility-based awareness methods of family planning, the Diocese is launching a new resource page specifically for men – www.dioceseoftrenton.org/nfp-info-for-men.

REGISTRATION OPENS JULY 1 FOR BISHOP’S ANNIVERSARY BLESSING MASSES

Marking once again the milestone anniversaries of married couples of the Diocese of Trenton, registration for the annual Bishop’s Anniversary Blessing Masses will open July 1.

Registration and resources for anniversary couples will be available at https://dioceseoftrenton.org/bishops-anniversary-blessing. The website also offers highlights from last year’s Masses, as well as interviews with anniversary couples sharing their experiences and advice for a long and happy marriage.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will be principal celebrant and homilist for two October Masses to honor the first, 25th and 50th anniversaries of couples around the Diocese, and to impart his episcopal blessing. The event is sponsored by the Department of Evangelization and Family Life, assisted by the Office of Worship.

The Oct. 2 Mass for couples in Burlington and Mercer Counties will take place in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, 149 N. Warren St., Trenton; the Oct. 9 Mass for couples in Monmouth and Ocean Counties will take place in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, 61 Georgia Rd., Freehold.

Mass times will be at 3 p.m. on both dates, during which couples will have an opportunity to renew their vows. A reception for the couples, their families and community will follow after each Mass.

A couple holds hands while renewing vows in the 2021 Bishop’s Anniversary Blessing Mass in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Hal Brown photo

burlingtoncountytimes.com WINNER