Dear Families and Friends of Lumen Christi Parish,

At the Angelus Address in St Peter’s Square in Rome, on 14 March 2021, Pope Francis announced that on “Friday, 19 March, Solemnity of Saint Joseph, the Amoris Laetitia Year of the Family will open”. Pope Francis explained that it would be “a special year to grow in family love.” He then called “for a renewed and creative pastoral drive to place the family at the centre of the attention of the Church and of society.” It was his prayer “that every family may feel in its own home the living presence of the Holy Family of Nazareth, that it may fill our small domestic communities with sincere and generous love, a source of joy even in trials and difficulties.” Every family needs to be aware of this living presence of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in their home as a way of remembering their vocation to live for God and for each other in mutual love and service.

In response to this invitation to reflect on the vocation and mission of Christian families, this Sunday (1 May 2022) we will be praying as a parish for all our families. To give a tangible expression to this prayer, an icon of the Holy Family will be placed before the sanctuary in St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Wollongong, and be blessed by Bishop Brian during the 10:30am Sunday Mass. One of our families will then light a candle before the icon to remind us that Christ, the Risen Lord, is the centre and support of the Christian home. This icon will be fixed to one of the walls of the Cathedral as a devotional focus to contemplate the virtues of family life and to find consolation in times of darkness and sorrow.

To foster our reflection on married and family life, Pope Francis has recommended a renewed study of his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love). This Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, published in 2016, reflects on nine key ideas:

1. Family life in the light of God’s Word
2. The current experiences and challenges of families
3. Jesus’ teaching on marital love and marriage as a Sacrament
4. The growth of a married couple’s love through the various stages of life
5. The welcoming of new life into a marriage and care for children
6. Formation for couples before marriage and during their married life
7. Developing ways to better educate children
8. Pastoral mercy and discernment for people in morally difficult situations
9. The spirituality of marriage and family life as love, care, and consolation

As Lumen Christi parish we want to place our families at the centre of our attention. No matter where your family is situated or what struggles presently challenge you, you are loved by God. It may be the case that life in your family has been difficult and painful, or that there has been a breakdown in marital or family relationships. Whatever the circumstances, whoever is possibly at fault, God is with you, helping you to see the way forward according to the truth, mercy, and peace of Christ.

This week I will be commencing a nine-week series of reflections on Amoris Laetitia.

The first meeting is on Wednesday 27 April 2022, 7pm at St Francis Xavier Cathedral in the Monsignor Rigney Meeting Room. To follow the talk, please purchase a copy of Amoris Laetitia from the parish office. Copies can also be purchased before the meeting starts.You are most welcome to attend.

Thank you to all our families for your beautiful witness of faith, prayer, and commitment. You remind us of an essential aspect of our Catholic religion, that God is Love and faithfully cares for us both in good times and when the storms of life are against us.

May God bless you and your children with hope and joy.

Fr Bernard Gordon

26 April 2022