Introduction:
The family - the "domestic church" - is the place where individuals learn their obligations to society: to share, to accept responsibility and to practice justice. If children live in a home with open doors, in solidarity with the world, sensitive to what happens to others, when they grow up, they will be participative adults in solidarity with others and builders of a more just and peaceful world. On the other hand, if children see their parents close themselves off from others showing no interest in their troubles, when these children grow up, they will also be self-centered adults. If families live simply, interested in alleviating and solving the problems of the most disadvantaged, then in the future there will be many Christian adults who will practice love and justice as a way of life.
Invocation:
- O God, come to my aid.
- Lord, make haste to help me,
- Glory be to the Father...
- As it was in the beginning... Alleluia.
Hymn of your choice:
Prayer
Christ gives us freedom,
Christ gives us salvation,
Christ gives us hope,
Christ gives us love.
When I struggle for peace and truth, I shall find it;
when I bear the cross of others, I shall be saved.
Give me, O Lord, your word;
hear, O Lord, my prayer.
Reflection and Adoration
Psalm 127 adapted
This is a hymn of praise to the family which is faithful to the Lord and takes his will into account; a family that works and is content with simple and elementary goods; a family that is a community of people, of life and of love. It is a happy family because it symbolizes and is God's blessing.
Blessed are those who are faithful to the Lord, who follow his ways!
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, as children trust in their parents.
Blessed are those who love the Lord, as the only Absolute of their life.
They will eat the fruit of their labors: fruits seasoned by the Spirit, tasty fruits of love and joy.
They will feel that their life is not useless, that they can contribute something to the table of creation.
The father and the mother are the house, the harvest, the song, the serene silence, the loving presence of Christ.
The children together with the parents, around the table, the fruits of their love, their treasure, and their hope.
Altogether, the "domestic church," with doors open to the world, to bring messages of love to people together with the Mother Church.
This is the Lord's blessing for all who venerate and are faithful to him.
May God bless you all the days of your life, may he give you a long life, and may he grant you peace.
Silent Meditation
Reread the psalm, thinking about your family. Do you think it fosters an appropriate climate for love of God to develop?
Reading
"A Christian family cannot be understood as closed in on itself. It is necessary to keep the doors open to be oxygenated by the vital breath of the Spirit, who opens everything. Open doors mean, first of all, welcome and hospitality. Let everyone who enters be welcomed as a friend and brother/sister and, even more, as Christ himself. Open doors also mean going out to meet others, having concern for their problems, and working on behalf of others. We do not live for ourselves. Family unity is not at odds with Christian commitment; on the contrary, it should be a forger and promoter of a liberating change, starting from the Church and from all civil platforms" (Advent. Caritas 1991).
Silence for reflection
Is your family a family with an open door? Is it sensitive to the needs and problems of the world? Is it committed to the struggle for a more just world in solidarity with the poorest
Petitions
- That the Church may be the great family of the children of God....
- That our families may be more and more united in the name of the Lord...
- That our homes may always be open and ready to work for a more just world....
- For families who lack housing and the necessities for a dignified life....
- For broken families and for those who are in crisis. ...
Add your own intentions...
Our Father
Closing prayer
We thank you, Father, for our families, from whom we have received so much; and we pray that all Christian families may be true communities of life and love.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Translated and adapted from: Adoración Nocturna en el Hogar, Congregación de los Sagrados Corazones, Madrid, Spain