Posted June 10, 2015

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

197. Saint John Paul II exhorted, “Family, become what you are,” and his words have lost nothing of their vibrancy; their urgency has only intensified in the face of the many challenges that families experience today. John Paul’s insight was that the mission of the family flows from its identity in God’s plan. “And since in God’s plan it has been established as an ‘intimate community of life and love,’the family has the mission to become more and more what it is, that is to say, a community of life and love in an effort that will find fulfillment … in the kingdom of God.” In the words of John Paul II, the fundamental mission of the family therefore is “to guard, reveal, and communicate love,” a mission that is “a living reflection of and a real sharing in God’s love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church, his Bride.” When the family embraces its missionary identity, the family becomes what it was always meant to become.

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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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