Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Amoris Laetitia - Par. 227



227.  We pastors have to encourage families to grow in faith.  This means encouraging frequent confession, spiritual direction and occasional retreats.  It also means encouraging family prayer during the week, since "the family that prays together stays together".  When visiting our people's homes, we should gather all the members of the family and briefly pray for one another, placing the family in the Lord's hands.  It is also helpful to encourage each of the spouses to find time for prayer alone with God, since each has his or her secret crosses to bear.  Why shouldn't we tell God our troubles and ask him to grant us the healing and help we need to remain faithful?  The Synod Fathers noted that "the word of God is the source of life and spirituality for the for the family.  All pastoral work on behalf of the family must allow people to be interiorly fashioned and formed as members of the domestic church through the Church's prayerful reading of sacred Scripture.  The word of God is not only good news in a person's private life but also a criterion of judgement and a light in discerning the various challenges that married couples and families encounter".252

252 Ibid., 34.

© LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA.