2009 FAMILY LIFE CALENDAR REFLECTIONS

THEME: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY GROWING TOGETHER

JANUARY THEME: GROWING ROOTS

Introduction.
It has often been said, “No man is an island.”  Equally true is the fact that no person can live an unconnected life, with no roots or ties.  Building a family from the very earliest days involves putting down roots, even though not necessarily living in one place.  This very seldom happens these days as people move from country to town, from house to house and from one country to another. However at the same time when a couple marries they make a commitment to one another, when a child is born it belongs within its family. Roots are relationship ties intertwined with life experiences that make us belong to a particular group.  Families do break up, members leave or die, but the essential need to belong is a human need.  A family is the best place for building well-functioning human beings, who have a sense of worth and essential life skills.
Reflect and share on the sense of rootedness and belonging experienced in the family.

MARFAM’S Advent and Christmas booklet “The Healing Power of Love” contains reflections for New Years’s Day and the feast of the Epiphany as these are still part of the Christmas season.  Some parts of these are reproduced here.

1st New Year’s Day, Mary Mother of God. Also World Day of Peace.  
Mary, Mother of God, and our mother,
Mother of Sorrows, of those who heal and those who are in need of healing,
Mother of hope,
through you, through your “yes” the hope of the ages became a reality and the Son of God became man.  
You fed and nurtured him as a mother
with the small hopes of every day
and stood by to see him become a sign of contradiction.
You experienced as your own the pain he had to bear,
yet you experienced the consolation of hope, the great hope of faith and of love,
the hope that saw and sees still today
the reality of the coming Kingdom that has no end.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, our Mother,
teach us to believe, to hope, to love with you.
Show us the way to his Kingdom!
Star of the Sea, shine upon us and guide us on our way!
                   Thoughts from Spe Salvi, 49-50 Pope Benedict’s encyclical on hope.

4th Epiphany. Jesus the light to the Nations.
Still on the theme of reconciliation we consider that Jesus did not come just to bring salvation to his chosen people through reconciliation with God but he came as a light to all nations. We need to be very conscious of this in our day and age and act accordingly if we are to be true followers of Jesus.   
 “For the healing of the nations, Lord we pray with one accord,
for a just and equal sharing of the things that earth affords
to a life of love in action help us rise and pledge our word.” ( hymn)
For deeper reflections on this theme see the booklet “The Healing Power of Love.”

11th Baptism of the Lord.  The Gospel tells us that when Jesus was baptized by John the Spirit descended upon him.  Every person who receives the sacrament of Baptism receives the Holy Spirit and with that the mission of evangelisation, of being priest, prophet and king.  We consider Baptism to be the Sacrament of Initiation, putting down roots in the Christian family but babies have already put down their roots very firmly in their our own human family as well.

18th 2nd Sunday of the Year B. Answering God’s Call.  God calls each of us personally by name and he calls us into his service.  The responsorial psalm echoes the words of Samuel, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.” Some people’s call to service means moving away from their family, but for most people the call to service is to live good, wholesome lives putting down strong roots in order to bear fruit that will last.  

25th Conversion of St Paul (3rd Sunday of the Year B)
This feast is celebrated as a particularly important one during this Year of Paul.  Paul’s conversion was the beginning of the missionary life of this one of the greatest missionaries of all. A conversion experience is a growth experience and a great gift from God where each one is called to a particular mission. We are all called to be missionaries in the world through the way we live in our families and beyond. 

31st St John Bosco devoted his life to the needs of youth, especially the education of the poor and under- privileged. He founded the Salesian congregation, of priests, brothers and sisters to continue his work. Youth work should not be for the present only but is also establishing a strong root system to look forward to a future marriage.