Posted April 21, 2015

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

161. The “gradualness of the law,” on the other hand, is the misleading idea that “different degrees or forms of precept in God’s law [exist] for different individuals and situations.” For example, some wrongly argue that married couples who find Catholic teaching on responsible parenthood to be burdensome should be urged to follow their own consciences in choosing contraception. This is a false form of gradualism. It actually masks a kind of paternalism, denying the capacity of some members of the Church to respond to the fullness of God’s love, and aiming to “lower the bar” of Christian moral teaching for them.

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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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