Posted February 9, 2015

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

110. This vision suggests a need for everyone to examine how they contribute to the atmosphere and substance of parish life. If parents discourage children from the priesthood, vowed religious life, or other celibate vocations, then the entire community should examine its conscience. Authentic celibacy is always richly social, and if celibacy is seen as uniquely lonely or alienated, then something in the practice or structure of community life has gone awry. Celibates should take initiatives to serve and involve themselves, and families should take steps to be hospitable, to adopt “aunts” and “uncles,” and to be inclusive in building extended households or intentional communities.

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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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