Posted December 25, 2014

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

78. Practicing and teaching discernment as a family imply patience and prayer, a constant desire to purify motives, to confess and do penance, to be patient in the slow work of growing in virtue, to open one’s imagination to Scripture and the witness of the Church, and to understand one’s inner life. To learn discernment for ourselves and to pass it along to our children are tasks that imply humility, an openness to constructive criticism, and conversation about how God might be at work in our life. A vocational approach to life implies a willingness to be frank about our own desires, but, most of all, to offer our life to God, to be open to the adventures and new plans that might present themselves when we say “thy will, not mine.” Saint Thérèse of Lisieux prayed in this way as a child, saying: “My God, I choose all. I do not want to be a saint by halves. I am not afraid to suffer for you. I fear only one thing — that I should keep my own will. So take it, for I choose all that you will.”

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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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