CFC-SINGLES FOR CHRISTCOVENANT ORIENTATION WEEKEND

TALK 3: STRENGTHENING FAMILY LIFE

“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so

that youmay live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving

you.

Deuteronomy 5:16

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S VIEW OF THE FAMILY

To form a Community of Persons

• The family is a symbol of Trinitarian love:

• FREE • TOTAL • FAITHFUL • AND FRUITFUL

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S VIEW OF THE FAMILY

To form a Community of Persons• It is founded on and given life by love, consisting

of a husband and wife, of parents, of children, of relatives.

• the Church calls on the family to practice a great spirit of sacrifice.

• The roles of father and mother, husband and wife complement each other.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S VIEW OF THE FAMILY

To form a Community of Persons• We have our own special individual vocation

within our own family community of love and life.• The family is a domestic Church

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S VIEW OF THE FAMILY

To Serve LifeAs members of Singles for Christ we stand for:

• the dignity and sanctity of every human life, from conception to natural death.

• God’s design of our sexuality as male and female created in His image and likeness.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S VIEW OF THE FAMILY

To Serve LifeAs members of Singles for Christ we stand for:

• the sacredness of marriage and our participation in building the Christian family.

• our freedom to practice our family and life values based on our Catholic faith.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S VIEW OF THE FAMILY

To Serve LifeIn our families, we are responsible for each other, and so we must strive to assist our parents in educating our siblings and showing them by example how we live out such a lifestyle.

• We encourage our families to support programs that educate the public, especially the Catholic faithful on the moral responsiveness on the different aspects of pro-life and pro-family issues.

• We value our bodies as a temple of the Holy Spirit• We work to strengthen the bonds within the Christian

family, between husband and wife, between parents and children, among siblings – starting with our own family.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S VIEW OF THE FAMILY

To Participate in the Development of Society“The family is the ORIGINAL CELL OF SOCIAL LIFE. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society.”

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S VIEW OF THE FAMILY

Share in the Life and Mission of the Church• “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel

to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).• The best thing we can do to bring members

of our family closer to God is to pray• we can also be living witnesses of our own

faith by encouraging and supporting the family member along the path towards the acceptance of Jesus as our saviour.

WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO BE SINGLE IN OUR

FAMILIES?A time of generosity for the familyA time to bond with our brothers and sistersA time to enhance the family or being a familyA time to share what you’ve learned or are learningA time to share in adult decisions and let your voice be heard during family discussions

Conclusion John Paul II: “The future of humanity passes by way of

the family.” (FC) We will always end up with family: the family we come

from, and the family we will build in whichever vocation we choose to go into.

Being more aware of the role of families in today’s world, let us make the most of the time we have now while we are Single to prepare ourselves for when we build a family of our own

If you sow a Christian family, you reap a Christian community.

If you sow a Christian community, you reap a Christian city.

If you sow a Christian city, you reap a Christian nation. Let’s take it one step at a time