Becoming Procreato

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Becoming Procreators

“Our lives, everything we are and have, are due ultimately to

our birth, upbringing and support of our families. It is

from our families that we first learn respect for human life”.

(CFC, 998)

Commandment number 4

The Seedbed of LifeThe family – where we first learn and

imbibe the values and virtues to ourselves- Where we first learn about life, its value

and significance, sanctity and mystery- Has the primary responsibility to develop

Christian values and virtues in us as children and raise us with love and fear of God

- Special role of educating us the value of respect for life

Nature of the Family

A covenant relationship

A domestic church

A foundation for civil society

A covenant relationshipSimply means to bring the truth: there is more to the daily acts, talk, and events in family life than first meets the eye

It is the covenant of love because it creates and sustains the basic community we need to become and survive as a person

CFC, 1013

It is the love in, for and by our families that enables us to stay together more especially during crises

Through our families we experience God’s love and faithfulness to us

Domestic Church‘For the family not only where ‘new citizens of human society are born, (but) by the grace of the Holy Spirit received in Baptism, these are made children of God, thus perpetuating the People of God through the centuries. Thus, the family is, so to speak, the domestic Church’. (LG 11)

The Church in the homeThe basic unit of Christian lifeThe first school of discipleshipWhere we learn to love others, share what we have, care for the needy, understand human weaknesses and frailties, forgive those who wronged us, thank for the blessings we received and respect other’s life and dignity

It is primarily the duty of the parents to educate their children.“Education means training, that

is, instruction by word and example, by suggestion and direction, by encouragement

and repression, by reward and punishment”.

EducationA progressive and well-ordered development of man’ three-fold powers◦Physical◦Intellectual◦Moral

The proper formation of the whole man – body, mind and will

Foundation for Civil SocietyFirst and vital cell of societyThrough its service to life by birth and the education of its youth in social virtues, the family grounds and continually nourishes the existence and development of society itself

The smallest unit of societyThe family makes the society and the society reflects the family

‘Therefore, the restoration of human society as a whole constantly begins with the renewal of the family. Its protection, formation and furtherance must be the

foremost concern of the state and the Church’.

(GS, 2)

Social Role of the Family ProcreationEducationSocial service activities

◦especially in favor of the poor, or at any rate for the benefit of all people and situations that cannot be reached by the public authorities’ welfare organization (Familiaris Consortio, 44)

As Member of the Family

What are our obligations towards our parents?

To respect and love them

According to St. Thomas AquinasThe children’s obligation of love and reverence is based on the fact that the parents are, after God, the second source of life, growth and education

Honor your father and your mother.Stresses our duty to respect and honor our parents

Respect for parents is based on the fact that they share and cooperate with God’s creative power – the power that keeps us alive and in existence

Based on the role and responsibility they play for us as their children

Are we bound to obey our parents if we conscientiously know that what they want us to do is evil?

We should follow our parents given that their commands are good and just

But if their commands are not in accordance to the values taught by Christ, interpreted by the Church, we are not obliged to follow them

How can you show your gratitude to them?Study very wellUphold their reputationLove the members of your familyBe patient and understanding to them

Take care of your parents especially in their old age