Pope Francis encouraged families to take up their calling “with renewed conviction” and urged them to make sure the love they share is “always open, directed outward, capable of ‘touching’ the weak and wounded, the frail in body and the frail in spirit, and all whom you meet along the way.”
Look to the future, not to the past, pope tells families
Retrouvaille weekends scheduled for couples experiencing troubled marriages
Retrouvaille is a Christian peer ministry that teaches communication skills and offers a support community to couples experiencing pain and disappointment in their marriage.
‘Called to Joy of Love’ is theme of National Marriage Week USA Feb. 7-14
The observance is “an opportunity to focus on building a culture of life and love that begins with supporting and promoting marriage and the family,” said a Feb. 3 news release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
First Honoring Marriage Day for Latino couples slated for Jan. 29
“A blessing [such as Honoring Marriage Day] is a pastoral work and an expression of a faith community’s joys and hopes. That is important in any culture,” said Mayuli Bales, diocesan director of multicultural ministries.
European court rejects appeal of same-sex cake case
After losing in the U.K. Supreme Court, Gareth Lee, a gay-rights activist, appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
Even the Holy Family felt stress, pope tells families
The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on families, but with extra patience and faith, bonds can grow stronger, Pope Francis wrote in a letter released on the feast of the Holy Family.
Author: Ministry to married couples must radically change to save marriage
“The Catholic Church keeps looking at the falling away of youth as the problem that needs to be solved, but the only way to solve that problem is to strengthen marriage,” says J.P. De Gance. “The collapse of faith among youth is the smoke, but the fire is the collapse of marriage itself.”
Photos: Honoring Marriage Day celebrated in Melrose
Couples celebrating milestone anniversaries of 5, 25, 40, 50, 60 and 60-plus years in 2021 gathered at St. Mary Church in Melrose Oct. 2.