God’s plan for marriage and family – Feb 21 |
Written by Vernon Khelawan |
The major theme of our Church this year is Catholic Family: Become What You Are.
Because of our cultural diversity in Trinidad and Tobago and by extension the Caribbean, this theme is of special significance for the local and regional Church. For many the Catholic ideal of the family includes father and mother, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives living together as one family. This concept of family resides in the age-old tradition that it takes a village to raise a child. Simply put, this model is built on the wisdom of a village raising a child, which allows for wider and deeper participation in the parenting process, since it takes a man to be father; a woman to be a mother, a married couple to build a family; families to create a village and a village to raise a child. In our society today however, this model has lost its resonance. Single parents dominate the village (more so single mothers) and it has become a community of strangers, literally stripping the village of the cohesion, friendships and deep relationships, necessary for success. However, at this particular time in history in which the family is the object of numerous forces that seek to destroy it or in some way deform it, and aware that the well-being of society and its own good are intimately tied to the good of the family, the Church perceives in a more urgent and compelling way her mission of proclaiming to all people the plan of God for marriage and the family, ensuring their full vitality and human and Christian development, thus contributing to the renewal of society and of the People of God (Familiaris Consortio 6). Further, the present situation has made it difficult to relate to Familiaris Consortio 17 which states, “The family finds in the plan of God the Creator and Redeemer, not only its identity, what it is, but also its mission, what it can and should do. The role that God calls the family to perform in history derives from what the family is; its role represents the dynamic and existential development of what it is. “Each family finds within itself a summons that cannot be ignored and that specifies both its dignity and its responsibility: Family become what you are.” It is incumbent therefore, on all Catholic families to make every effort to resuscitate true family life in every village, every parish eventually bringing to life “Catholic Family: Become what you are”. |
Last Updated on Friday, 26 February 2010 23:44 |