Marriage and Family Week in Maloney Parish

Daily Masses and other normal activities at the Parish of the Incarnation, were personalised to reflect the vision of the Archdiocesan Family Life Commission (AFLC) during Marriage and Family Week (July 19–26). The parish comprises the communities of Maloney Gardens, D’Abadie and Mausica.

Our Parish Priest Fr Jason Boatswain facilitated one family at each Mass where the attending family led the “Prayer for the Consecration of the Family” and participated in the executing of the Word and song.

On the first evening, 19 married couples met via Zoom for a ‘Chill, Sip and Chat’. This open forum provided a platform for both the younger and “veterans” (as some of us were referred to) to bond and openly share on our own marital journeys.

On Wednesday and Friday afternoon at the Holy Hour, families prayed the Divine Mercy Rosary and dedicated the intentions shared by the AFLC for the week. There was also a family bonding outreach, facilitated by the eucharistic ministers who virtually reached out to almost every family within the Parish, while the Grief Committee contacted the families who have lost loved ones over the past six months. At the daily Mass on July 23, in keeping with ‘Healing the Family and Grief’, the Mass intentions were focused on those families and the deceased.

To culminate the hectic week, on July 26, the entrance song ‘We are a family’, filled the air of the church signifying the Feast Day of St Joachim and St Anne. Then after the homily, Fr Jason renewed the vows of two couples (husband and wife), who boldly said “I do” to each other.

The Mass concluded with a slideshow presenting photos sent by families of the parish with the musical rendition of ‘We are a family’ in the background.

—Victor and Marlene Bernard, Family Life Unit