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

55. The text is beautiful. Having been created in the image of God, loving this way coheres with our true human nature. But loving this way is never easy. It demands humility and patience. As Pope Francis recently said, “Faith is no refuge for the fainthearted.” Marital love must be built on more than romance. Romance is wonderful — but alone, it can’t survive the cares and challenges that inevitably visit every married couple. To be what we are — to love as we were created to love — certain virtues are necessary. We must be alive to these virtues, and cultivate them, in order to fulfill our destiny.

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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.

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