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        | Text from Jubilee Justice Plenary Address on Catholic Social Teaching   Catholic Social Teaching Call to Family, Community, and Participation The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society--in economics and politics, in law and policy--directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. The family is the central social institution that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well- being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. (Excerpt from "Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions" by the U.S. Catholic Bishops) The following is the text from the presentation by Andrew and Terri Lyke at the Saturday Morning plenary session: The U.S. Bishops in their pastoral letter, Follow the Way of Love, tell us that focusing on family relationships is focusing on ". . . our first community and the most basic way in which the Lord gathers us, forms us and acts in the world." The bishops further say "What you do in your family to create a community of love, to help each other to grow and to serve those in need is critical not only for your own sanctification, but for the strength of society and our church. It is a participation in the work of the Lord, a sharing in the mission of the church. It is holy." We take these words to heart. Since 1994 we have been privileged to keep a journal in the form of a biweekly newspaper column, Family Reflections, which shares our own reflections on how this happens in our lives. We'd like to share two entries with you this morning.  Family Reflections By Andrew & Terri Lyke Why does your family go to church? September 29, 1994 We were asked recently a simple question: "Why does your family go to church?" The question generated a nostalgic pondering and a lengthy response. If asked the same question as a child, many of our generation (forty-ish) would say, "It's a sin not to go to church on Sundays." A simple and solid answer. Though we no longer go to church under duress, today the simplest answer is, "It's who we are and what we do. We're ‘church people!'"But it's more intricate than that. Going to church for us is an extension of the faith and culture expressed in our home. There is a connection between our dinner table at home, around which we have family prayer, discussions and meals, and the altar around which we gather for Eucharist. Our experience of "church" at home compels us to share it with others, especially on Sundays. Our ecclesiola (little church) overflows into our congregational church community. We are nourished at home by our mere presence. Being with one another in prayer, service, play, or conversation, we are living signs of God's presence. We, too, are nourished at church by the mere presence of other families. Every person at mass, from the priest on the altar to the little baby crying in the pew, is a sign of God's presence. Our family is fed by our participation in that Presence. For sure, there are folks we encounter at church who break for the parking lot right after the Recession. Thank God there are other families like us who come for fellowship. We're the kind of folks who linger and talk and have to be whisked out of church before the next mass starts. We and other families gather as a community and form a mission to share our collective "Good News." Just as our experience of ecclesiola overflows into the parish, our collective experience of church overflows back into our family and the community in which we live, play and work. Our ecclesiola is a contributor to the unique character of our worshiping community. It's a wonderful design that we see ourselves a part of. There is a sense of belonging we have with our larger church. With that sense of belonging comes another sense of responsibility to be present, to participate and to share our gifts of time, talent and treasure. No, we don't feel we have to go to church for fear of eternal damnation. However, we do feel a compulsion to participate in the unique Presence of God that only exists through our being at Church on Sunday mornings. This is a long-winded answer to a simple question. To sum it up into a simple answer to the question, "Why does our family go to church?" It's who we are and what we do. We're church people! A simple and solid answer. The Best Easter and Lent Ever! April 10, 1999 Driving home Easter evening, our thirteen-year-old son Marty announces "This was the best Easter and Lent ever!" Sixteen-year-old Andréa quickly concurs. After a brief discernment over the events of the previous few weeks, we both nodded in agreement. Certainly this had been a very unusual Easter for us. And the prayerfulness of the Lenten season had been extraordinary. Something about entering into a new phase of our family — adolescence
— had deepened our experiences around the Paschal Mystery. What lead us to this unusual Easter were several events and experiences. Marty's Confirmation and his emerging maturity over the past several months, our participation as a family in the "Disciples in Mission" program sponsored by our parish, and the parish Seder meal contributed to a more prayerful journey for us as a family during Lent. Individually, Andrew gave a reflection addressing the question "Who is Jesus to me?" at a parish mission in Chicago. The kids both participated in our parish's teen retreat, and an enactment of "The Passion" for Palm Sunday. We each chose something to do or not do during Lent, and we all stuck with it. These kinds of prayerful experiences are not unusual for us adults. However, what distinguishes this Lent from others was the full participation of our children. They didn't do the things they did simply because that's what we do during Lent. They prayerfully engaged themselves in Lenten activities and events voluntarily. And that's what made it extraordinary and powerful. Easter Sunday we spent the morning and afternoon preparing and serving food at a soup kitchen in one of the more blighted areas of Chicago. Our usual Easter rituals of egg hunts, candy and new clothes on parade were forgone for service to the poor. The symbolism of the washing of feet at our Good Friday liturgy was made real in our service to the poor. What better way to celebrate the Resurrection than to encounter Christ in their faces? This is something we couldn't have done when the kids were younger. Adolescence has been a gift to our family because our kids now give witness to their faith in ways that are significant in their lives. The table has turned somewhat and we are now being lead in some ways by them. As adults, it is our privilege (and relief) to walk behind them in their faith journey. There are things we missed along the way that we now experience. When they said that "This was the best Easter and Lent ever!" We responded by saying to them, "Thanks for making it that way." |
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