Holy Family Of Nazareth

The Holy Family (Madonna Benson), Giorgione, 1500

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

in you we contemplate

the splendor of true love,

to you we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

grant that our families too

may be places of communion and prayer,

authentic schools of the Gospel

and small domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

may families never again

experience violence, rejection and division:

may all who have been hurt or scandalized

find ready comfort and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth,

may the Synod of Bishops

make us once more mindful

of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,

and its beauty in God's plan.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

graciously hear our prayer.

-Pope Francis

Papal Intentions For October

As the month of October begins and things settle down after Pope Francis’s visit to the U.S., let us remember the Holy Father’s intentions in our prayers.

His universal intention is that “human trafficking, the modern form of slavery, may be eradicated.”

Pope Francis also asks us to pray that, “with a missionary spirit the Christian communities of Asia may announce the Gospel to those who are still awaiting it.”

So let us join Pope Francis this month, in praying for an end to human trafficking and the mission in Asia. Let us also pray for him and all involved in this year’s Synod on the Family, which began yesterday.

Saint John Paul II, Pope of the Family, Pray for Us!  

Blessed Paul VI, Pray For Us!

Pope Paul VI, predecessor to Saint John Paul II, was beatified in Saint Peter’s Square yesterday. The beatification took place at the close of the Synod on the Family, which is fitting. Blessed Paul VI's teachings are pivitol for families in the modern world.

In his historic encyclical, Humanae Vitae, Paul VI described God’s loving design for marriage. He wrote:

Marriage…is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives.

Saint John Paul II, the “pope of the family,” honored Blessed Paul VI by taking his name, and he did much to make Paul VI’s teachings known and understood. 

Let us honor Blessed Paul VI ourselves, by asking him to pray for married couples to remain strong in their unions and open to new life.

The Church’s Mission For The Family

At a moment of history in which the family is the object of numerous forces that seek to destroy it or in some way to deform it, and aware that the well-being of society and her 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, and thus contributing to the renewal of society and of the People of God.

-Saint John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio

Continue to join us in praying for the Synod on the Family, which concludes this Sunday. May the Holy Spirit be present there, and may the Church be courageous and merciful in proclaiming the Gospel of the family.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Blessed Married Couples Watch Over Synod

Saint John Paul II isn't the only one the Church is calling upon for prayers during the Synod on the Family. 

The relics of Blesseds Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and Blesseds Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi, beatified by St. John Paul II in 2001, were venerated by Pope Francis during the opening Mass on Sunday, and they are to be on display throughout the duration of the Synod. 

May these and all married couples in heaven look down upon on us with favor, interceding for the Synod and for all families making their way on this earthly pilgrimage. 

Family, The Way Of The Church

The Synod on the Family is finally here! Bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful joined Pope Francis for the opening Mass yesterday. They will be meeting for the next two weeks in order to discuss the synod theme: “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization.”

According to the preparatory document for the synod, those gathered will discuss the “Gospel of the Family,” challenges to this Gospel in the modern world, and openness to life and raising children.

In his homily for the Synod’s opening Mass, Pope Francis said:

Synod Assemblies are not meant to discuss beautiful and clever ideas, or to see who is more intelligent… They are meant to better nurture and tend the Lord’s vineyard, to help realize his dream, his loving plan for his people. In this case the Lord is asking us to care for the family, which has been from the beginning an integral part of his loving plan for humanity.

Let us pray for the Bishops gathered, that they may care for families and show them how to be the “way of the Church.” Let us also ask St. John Paul II, the "pope of the family," to guide and sustain this Synod with his prayers from heaven.