Thoughts on the Catholic teaching about the family

I read the document with great interest and my first reaction was: "I feel bad that the values that are supposed to be present in my family life are missing". These values are:

1. Rest, enthusiasm, tranquility, restoration, tenderness, responsibility.

2. The couple should construct a good, pleasant and secure atmosphere before the children are born.

3. Work should not make the home barren.

4. There should be times of trust, freedom and cooperation at home.

5. Within the family there should be acceptance, wonder, commitment, easing, unity and thanksgiving.

6. We should know how to preserve our tenderness and desire over time within the family.

7. The family should find its vocation in its life and identity through each member caring for the other.

8. That as a family we should be giving one another hope and trust in moments of crisis and difficulty.

In contrast to these positive elements that are all too lacking, I did find certain negative elements within my family:

1. The couple should avoid the danger of silence, distance and misunderstanding.

2. Work should not dominate our time and concern to take care of the home and the mutual relationship.

3. The child should not learn negative values from us – that life is lived in prolonged fights, shouting, swearing, insults, lack of consideration, ignoring one another, distance and silence.

Reading the document was indeed enlightening and gives a direction in which to work and invest within my own family.

To view the site for the international meeting here

To read the preparatory document here