Apostleship of Prayer

We continue our prayer for Christian families by reflecting once again on the Holy Father’s speech during the Vigil of the Fifth World Meeting of Families in 2006.

Christ has shown us what is always be the supreme source of our life and thus of the lives of families: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one had greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13). The love of God himself has been poured out upon us in Baptism. Consequently, families are called to experience this same kind of love, for the Lord makes it possible for us, through our human love, to be sensitive, loving and merciful like Christ. Together with passing on the faith and the love of God, one of the greatest responsibilities of families is that of training free and responsible persons. For this reason the parents need gradually to give their children greater freedom, while remaining for some time the guardians of that freedom. If children see that their parents – and, more generally, all the adults around them – live life with joy and enthusiasm, despite all difficulties, they will themselves develop that profound “joy of life” which can help them to overcome wisely the inevitable obstacles and problems which are part of life. Furthermore, when families are not closed in on themselves, children come to learn that every person is worthy of love, and that there is a basic, universal brotherhood which embraces every human being.

This Fifth World Meeting invites us to reflect on a theme of particular importance, one fraught with great responsibility: the transmission of faith in the family. This theme is nicely expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “As a mother who teacher her children to speak and so to understand and communicate, the Church our Mother teaches us the language of faith in order to introduce us to the understanding and the life of faith” (# 171). This is symbolically in the liturgy of Baptism: with the handing over of the lighted candle, the parents are made part of the mystery of new life as children of God given to their sons and daughters in the waters of baptism.

Today’s Readings: Proverbs 30:5-9;  Psalm 119:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163;  Luke 9:1-6

In our General Intention we are praying with Pope Benedict that Christians may use literature, art, and mass media to create a culture which defends and promotes the values of the human person. Our prayer is not only for those who create art and media but also for all of us who use them. We pray that our use of these things may not support a culture of death but a culture of life. Let us reflect today on part of Pope Benedict’s 2007 Message for World Communications Day—“Children and the Media: A Challenge for Education.”

Educating children to be discriminating in their use of the media is a responsibility of parents, Church, and school. The role of parents is of primary importance. They have a right and duty to ensure the prudent use of the media by training the conscience of their children to express sound and objective judgments which will then guide them in choosing or rejecting programs available. In doing so, parents should have the encouragement and assistance of schools and parishes in ensuring that this difficult, though satisfying, aspect of parenting is supported by the wider community.