October 11, 2014 - Saturday

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. (Romans 16:16 NABRE)


Posting this post a bit late today, I've been reading background material on this week's Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the topic: The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization. There has been broad news coverage of this first of two meetings, but the detailed information offered by the US bishops, while heavy reading, offers strong insight into the beautiful effort of our Church leadership on this topic.

Pope Francis entrusted the work of this meeting to the Holy Family and provided this prayer in his Angelus address on the Feast of the Holy Family (Dec. 29, 2013):

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendor of true love,
to you we turn with trust. 

Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again
experience violence, rejection and division:
may all who have been hurt or scandalized
find ready comfort and healing. 

Holy Family of Nazareth,
may the approaching Synod of Bishops
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God's plan. 

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
graciously hear our prayer.

Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council in 1962, a meeting of bishops which dramatically altered how we practice our faith.  On his deathbed he said: “It is not that the gospel has changed; it is that we have begun to understand it better. Those who have lived as long as I have…were enabled to compare different cultures and traditions, and know that the moment has come to discern the signs of the times, to seize the opportunity and to look far ahead.”


Today, I will remember how we are to treat one another as Christian believers, I will pray for discernment for our leaders, and I will seek to recognize that our times offer us the chance to better understand the gospel of Jesus.


Saint John XXIII, who was canonized just this year by Pope Francis, pray for us.