Posted May 26, 2015

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

186. Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI both had occasion to quote a passage from Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” Pope Francis is calling Christian spouses to be the kind of teachers that contemporary people listen to, teachers who teach by their witness, and thereby uphold the truth and display its persuasiveness in their openness to new life, in the warmth of their mutual love and in the readiness of their hospitality, as oases of love and mercy in a culture so often marked by cynicism, hardheartedness, and discouragement.

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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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