Posted May 28, 2015

See the daily excerpt from the preparatory catechesis for the 2015 World Meeting of Families, “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.”

188. The Church is an institution, but she is always more than an institution. She is a mother, a bride, a body, a family, and a covenant. All the baptized are her sons and daughters, giving Christians our most fundamental and authentic identity. Just as our own sinfulness never erases our creation in God’s image and our membership in God’s family, when Catholics sin, that does not erase the Church’s holiness. The Church’s essence depends on Jesus, a foundation which holds us accountable, but which is also deeper and more secure than any human achievement or failure. Despite her many failures, the Church cannot shirk the responsibility to preach the Gospel, and so we carry forward her mission of love.

***

In its introduction, the document says its aim is to present “Catholic teaching in a way that is fresh, insightful, and accessible to contemporary Catholics and all people of good will.” The catechesis “offers a narrative beginning with our creation, soberly noting our fall and the challenges we face, but emphasizing God’s plan for our salvation. Love is our mission, and it is by loving God and one another that we will be fully alive.”

Each day in CatholicPhilly.com’s World Meeting of Families section you can reflect on the official Catholic teaching on the family presented in the catechesis, pray a special prayer together as a family or individually, and stay on top of breaking news about the events coming Sept. 22-27, 2015.

Order the catechesis for your home via Our Sunday Visitor, and visit WorldMeeting2015.org for more information on the events.

Sign up for our newsletter so you won’t miss any development about the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.