Almost a two years ago to the day, Pope Francis released his long anticipated communication to our Catholic Church called AMORIS LAETITIA, or The Joy of Love. This document contains his thoughts and leadership focused on how to develop, nurture, and express love in the family. His definition of family goes well beyond just the perfect mother, father, and 2 ½ kids. It includes the entirety of the community as “family”:
The main contribution to the pastoral care of families is offered by the parish, which is the family of families – Pope Francis AMORIS LAETITIA 202
The Joy of Love has crystallized our Mission as a Parish Family so effectively, especially our focus on accompaniment of every single person made perfectly in the image and likeness of God. The Catholic Church is not for the perfect, the holy, the judges. It is for the hurt, the sick, the distracted, and the anonymous. It is for all of us, because we are all imperfect in our faith and life journeys.
I thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect, live in love, fulfill their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way. The Synod’s reflections show us that there is no stereo-type of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems. The situations that concern us are challenges. We should not be trapped into wasting our energy in doleful laments, but rather seek new forms of missionary creativity. – Pope Francis AMORIS LAETITIA 57
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington DC has developed a Pastoral Plan to implement AMORIS LAETITIA which he has called “Sharing in the Joy of Love in Marriage and Family”, which clearly voices what we are supposed to be doing to take the Pope’s message to our community:
In Amoris Laetitia, the Church is asked to proclaim the saving love of Jesus with joy. It invites us to be particularly aware of those who live at the peripheries and who may have lost hope wondering whether God could love them or if they can find a place of welcome within the Church. e Pope asks us to be a Church that walks with individuals and families whose marriages or family life may not reflect the fullness of God’s vision and to assure them of their place in the family of God and share the Good News that in Jesus all things will be made new (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Does this openness to others, as together we try to make our way to the Lord, sound like the Gospel testimony to the saving ministry of Jesus? We need to be less prepared to point out the failures and shortcomings of others and more ready, as our Holy Father says, “to help each person find his or her proper way of participating” (AL, 297). This is a first step in what must be a living part of the Christian community’s welcome, embrace and challenge. The Church, in her vast pastoral experience, recognizes the limits that are a part of the lived experience of each believer. – Cardinal Wuerl Page 16
We will discuss our Parish Family’s plan to implement the Joy of Love, including discussion groups and particular ministry engagement, especially the renewed Hospitality Ministry, in the coming weeks, but one thing we can do in particular during Palm Sunday and Easter is to give our friends and loved ones that only attend Mass during special occasions a break. Yes, I have jokingly called them CAPE (Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, and Easter) Catholics, but this year, when someone you have not seen before may be sitting in your normal pew, or if the parking and traffic situation in the lots seems out of control, please smile and welcome them to their church. There is no need for “the look” or the “where are all these people every Sunday?” We are all in this together to create a warm and loving Parish Family that welcomes all to our dinner table and journey together towards heaven.