As you may recall, this past October, a special meeting called an extraordinary synod of bishops, was held in Rome. It was called by Pope Francis so that he could be advised by bishops from all over the world about how to strengthen the family at this time when it is under such stress and threat.
It is fair to say that the synod had some rocky moments. Press reports focused on a sort of halftime statement that summed up the meeting to that moment in a manner that many delegates objected to as not reflective of what had been discussed. For many, the work of those organizing the synod was not up to the needs of that gathering.
In the end, however, the final document reaffirmed (as it must) the Church’s adherence to the teaching of Christ in relation to marriage and the family. It was a beautiful proclamation of what the family is and what it is called to be in God’s plan and in the modern world.
As I recalled in the first column of this year, there will be another synod that will take place in October.
It was one of the regularly scheduled synods and Pope Francis intends that it will continue the discussion on the family.
In preparation for that coming meeting, a preliminary document, the Lineamenta, has now been issued. You can read it at the webpage of the Diocese of Rockford at http://www.rockforddiocese.org.
The first part of the document is a teaching summary. It is crucial to our understanding because it reminds us that we do not make up on our own or change at will what we believe about marriage and family.
Most especially, it is not this age or the misunderstandings of the moment, such as those about redefining the nature of marriage, that guide our faith. Rather, our faith received from Jesus and guided by the Holy Spirit through the ages is a gift to purify, to strengthen and, when necessary to transform the world.
That first section, then, is the theological basis for the responses to the questions found at the end of the document.
With regard to those questions, you can offer your comments to help with the response that I am asked to present for the diocese.
Those questions make up the second half of the Lineamenta. They deal with such important topics as the indissolubility of marriage, helping couples prepare for marriage, walking with couples early in their married life and the pastoral help to be given to those with troubled or broken marriages.
If you would like to offer your comments, rooted in our Catholic faith, the diocesan website gives you the instructions for how to make such a submission. I have also asked for comments from the Diocesan Pastoral Council and from our priests gathered in their deanery meetings.
Still, for the coming year, we cannot allow ourselves to see the Church’s response to the very real threats to marriage and family that surround us in an increasingly secular society as simply an occasion for a well-crafted statement. Because our human nature is rooted in communication, words and statements of teaching and policy are necessary.
But first and foremost, our response to strengthen the family starts with us. It begins with prayer. Prayer works, and it draws us closer to Christ, even in challenging moments. So pray for your own faith, especially as it relates to the family.
Then we must put our prayer into action.
Most especially we need to renew and purify our family lives. Do we go to Mass? As a family? Do we pray together?
Do we work at the sort of family support and time together that is reflective of those who see family and marriage as a calling from God and a shared challenge to help each other to get to heaven?
Do we live out our prayer by following the Church’s moral teaching, about fidelity, about openness to children and rejecting contraception and sterilization?
If we read the recent talks of the Holy Father, especially those given on his visit to the Philippines, these are issues that he raised on various occasions. We need to join with him and with the Church’s faith about how to be and to live family life.
We need to make 2015 to be a Year of the Family.