Amoris Laetitia Family Year and Fifteenth Southern California Congress of Divine Mercy
At the end of December 2020, Pope Francis announced that on March 19, the Catholic Church would begin a special year dedicated to deepening the pastoral outreach to families, based on his 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
The Amoris Laetitia Family Year began on March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, because that is the day Pope Francis signed his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. The letter, which was on the theme of love in the family, was then released about three weeks later.
The year 2021 marks the fifth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia’s publication. Though it is being called a “year,” the Amoris Laetitia celebration will actually last around 15 months, ending on June 26, 2022, with the 10th edition of the World Meeting of Families, which will be held in Rome.
What is the year about?
Pope Francis has said “it will be a year of reflection on Amoris Laetitia and it will be an opportunity to focus more closely on the contents of the document. Many families need to be helped to discover in the sufferings of life the place of Christ’s presence and of his merciful love,” he said. “This Year, therefore, is an opportunity to reach out to families, to not make them feel alone in the face of difficulties, to walk with them, to listen to them and to undertake pastoral initiatives that help them to cultivate their daily love.”
Our Fifteenth Southern California Congress of Divine Mercy, October 23 – 24, 2021, at the Parish of Christ the King in Los Angeles is dedicated to The Year of the Family “Amoris Laetitia.” Family Saves the World.
Here are the main topics of our Congress
TEACHING OF SAINT JOHN PAUL II ABOUT MARRIAGE AND FAMILY. LEADING IDEAS OF THE APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION "FAMILIARIS CONSORTIO"
Marriage and family occupied a privileged place in the teaching of Saint John Paul II. He is undoubtedly the Pope who has spoken about them most extensively. His statements represent a real qualitative leap in the Church's teaching on marriage and the family. Saint John Paul II showed unequivocally the great importance of marriage and family both for the Church and for society as a whole. The family belongs to the heritage of mankind, it is the foundation of society and the hope of the world, it is the most effective tool for the humanization and personalization of society, because in its man learns to be truly human.
THE EXTRAORDINARY CONVERGENCE OF THE MAGISTERIUM OF SAINT JOHN PAUL II WITH THE MAGISTERIUM OF POPE FRANCIS FOR THE BENEFIT OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Pope Francis on October 8, 2013, announced the decision to convene the Synod on the family. The novelty was that the Synod took place in two stages: in 2014 as extraordinary synod and in 2015 as ordinary. On March 19, 2016, Pope Francis signed the post-synodal exhortation of Amoris Laetitia which was published on April 8th. In the exhortation we find 50 quotes from the teaching of Saint John Paul II on marriage and the family, especially in chapters IV and V of the exhortation, which speaks of the theology of the body of Saint John Paul II. The purpose of this lecture is to appeal to the catechesis and other texts of Saint John Paul II on conjugal love present in the exhortation, so as to place Amoris Laetitia in the broader context of the teaching of Saint John Paul II and study how the last document of love in the family is a creative continuation of the earlier Church teaching on the subject.
MADE FOR A GREAT LOVE IN LIGHT OF AMORIS LAETITIA
The present lecture presents the theme of the beauty of conjugal love on the basis of the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis Amoris Laetitia. We note that modern secularized world distorts the notion of love, leading to serious disruptions in the functioning of marriage and the family. Pope Francis strives above all to show the positive side of conjugal love. Spouses in everyday simple and ordinary gestures reveal the same love that Christ loves his Church with. Love is born from a look to the other person, which provokes admiration of precious value of another person. Love lets you see a loved one as a person. Joy of love renews and grows after a shared experience of suffering, effort and struggle. The common married way is to go through the various stages of the development of love that require “generous gift of self” (AL 220).
GRANDPARENTS AND THE ELDERLY: THEY LOVE, THEY TEACH FAITH,
THEY TEACH RESPONSABILITES
Pope Francis calls Grandparents and the Elderly "guardians and guarantors of faith who preserve the memory of the Church and pass it on to young generations." Both Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI also talked about it. In this context, they gave their grandparents specific tasks that were to be undertaken in the family, parish or immediate environment. Saint John Paul II said: “Get involved in the proclamation of the Gospel as catechists, liturgical animators, witnesses of the Christian life. Spend time and energy in prayer, reading God's Word, and meditating on it. In turn, Benedict XVI encouraged them to help young people discover the meaning of religious practices, celebrate Sunday or read the Word of God. The teaching of Popes Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis, showing the role and place of the elderly in the family, restores their respect. Popes want the elderly to be respected and cared for. Popes prove that the elderly are not only beneficiaries but also donors in the family. Seniors are a valuable support for younger generations, because they bring wisdom and life experience, family and nation history, and are also witnesses of faith. According to the above-mentioned popes, in the past, respect for the elderly was an expression of humanism. Undoubtedly, this should also be the case now. Because the attitude towards older people, treating them with due respect and dignity, testifies to the quality of our civilization.
SAINT JOSEPH DEFENDER OF THE DIGNITY AND VALUES OF THE FAMILY. HOLY FAMILY, MODEL AND HOPE OF EVERY FAMILY
St. Joseph shows everyone the Savior's Family and confirms that the family is a treasure. God wanted His Son to become man and grow up in a married family. God thus confirms the fundamental value of the family for every human being.
Please pray for the Congress and become a Witness of Divine Marcy.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george