A busy day at the World Meeting of Families

Today was the first full day at the World Meeting of Families. As such, it was a bit tiring for myself and some of the pilgrims.  It included a Mass, keynote address and a breakout session in the morning followed by another keynote address and breakout session in the afternoon.

The day also highlighted the universal nature of the Church and the international nature of this event.  Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria was the principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass.

In broadly commenting on the day’s first reading from the Book of Ezra, Cardinal Onaiyekan  made a clear statement about a teaching of the Church related to marriage that has been much discussed since last year’s extraordinary meeting of the Synod of Bishops on the family and in the lead up to next month’s meeting of the synod, also on the family: “It is not possible to claim to repent of an irregular marriage, calling on God’s mercy, while, at the same time, remaining in a sinful union.”

The keynote address that followed the Mass was given by Cardinal Robert Sarah, a native of Guinea in western Africa who is prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The title of his address was “The Light of the Family in a Dark World.”

He put much of his remarks on the family in the broad context of the Church’s teaching about creation, the fall of Adam and Eve and the redemption won for us in Christ.  Cardinal Sarah also exhorted the families among his listeners to be active evangelizers in the world.

Some of his comments were somewhat pointed like Cardinal Onaiyekan’s had been.  Cardinal Sarah said that separating the Church’s magisterium from its pastoral practice is a “dangerous schizophrenic pathology.” Nonetheless, he also strongly noted that people in “self-serving unions” must find “regeneration” in the Church without fear of being pointed out.

After Cardinal Sarah’s keynote address, various archdiocesan pilgrims and I attended a breakout session given by Greg and Lisa Popcak. The married couple co-host a show on the Ave Maria Radio network on family life. And Greg Popcak is a counselor and author that focuses on family life and marriage.

They noted in their talk that the family is called to be an image of the Blessed Trinity by lives of marked by intimacy, communion among the family members, radical self-donating love and an incarnational love.

They also listed five characteristics of a Catholic family. They worship together, pray together, are called to intimacy, put family first and are a witness and sign of God’s love to others.

In the afternoon, Helen Alavare, a law professor at George Mason University and an expert on the intersection of religion and law, gave a keynote address titled “Creating the Future: The Fertility of Christian Love.”

She noted the importance of sacrificial love within the life of the family and how this must be made into a habit by all its members.  Alvare also gave a touching testimony on how she was converted “from the Gospel of me” to the “joy of loving other people,” including a disabled sister.

She also gave a strong critique of many trends in society today, saying that lower marriage and birth rates in nations around the world suggest that “people fear interdependency” and that public policies focus more on efficiency than on what is good for families. Alvare also noted that in a culture where sex is treated as “just another thing to do, the casualties are legion” and brings depression to women.

The afternoon ended for me by attending a breakout session given by four religious sisters on how to encourage vocations in the home. They encouraged parents not to fear their children’s vocations and to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary in light of vocations.

One sister, noting that since love is the “fundamental vocation of every human being,” families are to teach love to children and are to become the seedbed of vocations.

Another sister encouraged parents to be more conscious of the fact that they and their children are all children of God and that they need to care for their own souls daily in order to help form the souls and vocations of their children.

The final sister to give remarks gave some advice to parents on encouraging vocations in their children. They should love their own sacrament of matrimony and see how it is tied to their children’s vocations. To illustrate this, she told the story of St. Pius X when he was ordained a bishop and how his mother, after she kissed his episcopal ring, pointed to her wedding ring and said, ‘You couldn’t wear this ring if I didn’t wear mine.’

The sister also exhorted the parents among her listeners to respect the unique relationship between God and their children and that, by doing so, they would respect their children’s vocations and not try to force them into one or another.

At the end of the session, attendees got to view a new video about women religious produced by Grassroots Films for the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, an organization of the leadership of many women’s religious communities in America. It is titled “For Love Alone,” is 18 minutes long and very well produced.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. First thing, I’ll get my pass to the area where I will be standing with other archdiocesan pilgrims during Mass with the pope on Sunday. I’ll also attend various keynote addresses and breakout sessions.  I also hope to attend a big screen showing of the classic film on St. Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons, which is part of a film festival tied to the World Meeting of Families.