 Several months ago, Pope Francis released the much awaited

post-synodal apostolic exhortation on Love in the Family-

Amoris Laetitia.
 How many of you wants to start a family?
 Good, good, we need that..people who will be committed to
building and starting families.
 In spite of the many challenges and even threat to family life,
we continue to affirm the beauty of the family.
 No problem, no challenge, no threat could diminish the beauty
of the family.
 The family is still Good News..
 And we Christians, Catholics should be the first to proclaim
that the family is truly Good News.
 This is part of the Word of God, this is part of the teachings of
the Church, this is part of the testimony of the many valiant
men and women who lived through families.
 We have saints among mothers and fathers, we even have
couples who have been beatified, canonized and their children
have also been declared saints.
 And it is Good News that some non-Christians share with us
the belief, that the family is important and that the family is a
gift of God to society.
 Coinciding with the Jubilee Year of Mercy, our church in the
Philippines also celebrates the Year of the Eucharist and the
Family.

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 This is in preparation for the 500 anniversary of the arrival of
Christianity in our land in 2021.
 We envision every Filipino Catholic Family to be
missionary disciples of the Eucharist (CBCP). States the
CBCP Pastoral Exhortation.
 The members of a Christian family are encouraged to live out
its identity as missionary disciples of love.
 Why? Because the family is the church in the home called
domestic church.
 So, it has the same mandate from the Lord, “Go and proclaim
the Gospel.”
 But in order to carry out this mission, the family must start
from within, from the home itself.
 The family must be renewed by loving and serving each
member as Jesus loved and served his disciples.
 Pope St. John Paul II wrote in Familiaris Consortio, “The
family has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate
love, and this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in
God’s love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for
the Church.”
 Thus the mission of the family is not limited to the home but
extends to the wider church, the community. (Love,
understanding in the family must extend to our students and
to one another here..) (kung walang love ss pamilya, kung
puro hatred, punishment..pag nagkamali..punishment agad sa
bata at sa kapwa empleyado).

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 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in an address to the Pontifical
Council for the Family said, “When the family succeeds in
living love as communion and service as a reciprocal gift
open to all, it reflects the splendor of Christ in the world
and the beauty of the divine Trinity.”
 But what is this beauty? It is the communion of love of the
blessed Trinity that made creation possible and that enable
the sacrifice of Jesus to bring us salvation.
 If there is one sort of overarching theme that Pope Francis
present to us in this first chapter, I would suggest that it is the
FAMILY IS CALLED TO LIVE IN THE MODEL OF THE
TRINITY.
 seem in some sense, it’s a high falooting kind of proposal,
something that will require a lot of thought and reflection
maybe it’s left to theologians.
 What does it mean to talk about the family resembling the
Holy Trinity?
 In the most basic way, there’s a simple explanation, simple
sort of image that Pope Francis presents- that the parents and
the child and those in the family are called to be a communion
of persons in the image of the Trinity.
 That the love expressed between family members; in the love
that is shared between them reflects in some way although in
a very partial and finite way; a love that is shared within God’s
very being.
 The God that we read about in the New Testament who is love.

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 This is a love that’s reflected in parents who love one another;
children who are loved by their parents and love their parents
in return and when siblings get along in the love that they
share with one another.
 And we are called of course like the Trinity, as would St.
Bonaventure would put it, to allow that love not only form us
and to hold into unity and communion and help grow that
relationship..
 It’s not a self-centered or narcissistic love. It’s not insular or in
a seal but rather it’s a love that is meant to be shared.
 It is to encourage, to shape and inform the love that we show
one another including the stranger, those in the margin, those
who maybe don’t experience love, and in some ways those who
have been oppressed, forgotten, those whose voices have been
taken away.
 In all of these ways, it is this image of the Trinity that Pope
Francis calls us to emulate in our family life.
 Pope Francis reminds us “Families are the domestic church
where Jesus grows…in the love of spouses…in the lives of
children…that is why the enemy so often attacks the
family..to make sure that there is no love there.”
 So friends, your protect family and remember your calling.
 YOU ARE A CHURCH SENT TO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL.
 YOU ARE A REFLECTION OF THE LOVE OF THE TRINITY,
A LOVE THAT SERVES..

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 SOME POINTS (selected) IN AMORIS LAETITIA
 Let us now reflect on some of the points proposed by Ppoe
Francis in Amoris Laetitia, the Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation on Love in the Family.
 “The Joy of Love experienced by families is also the joy of
the Church” (AL).
 Writes the Pope as he opens his rather lengthy but insightful
exhortation.
 The document underlines the concern of the church for the
family.
 She is interested in the experiences of families, especially in
this age where they are confronted with many challenges.
 In the midst of ambiguous situations, the Pope invites every
Christian family to value the gifts of marriage and the family
and likewise persevere in love strengthened by the virtues of
generosity (time, play with kids, help them in their
assignment), commitment (family day, school activity-not only
yaya will attend; ok lang mag-absent sa work at makaltasan).
fidelity and patience (understanding one’s limitations, always
starting again);
 Pope Francis invites every individual to be a sign of mercy
and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or
lacks peace and joy.
 In the first chapter, the Pope uses the treasures of the Old and
New Testaments to show how the family and its concerns have
always been important for the church.

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 I invite you to read this chapter rich in citations from the Bible
with your own family.
 I believe it would enrich how you relate to one another.
 Pope Francis reminds us, “The couple that loves and begets
life is a true, living icon…capable of revealing God and
that begetting and raising children (marami po ngayon
ayaw mag-anak gusto lang mag-asawa, mayron din naman po
gusto lang anak, ayaw ng asawa)…mirrors God’s creative
work (we become God’s co-creator)..”
 This is why we said a while ago that the family is a reflection of
the love of God.
 The Pope encourages us also to take the Holy Family of
Nazareth as a model.
 We know from scriptures that the family of Jesus, Mary and
Joseph faced numerous trials.
 Their daily life had its shares of burdens and even nightmares
says the Pope.
 How can we forget the horror of having to leave their home to
keep the child Jesus safe from Herod’s wrath.
 And we can only agree with the Pope in saying that many
families have similar experiences.
 Let us pray for families around the world and our respective
families that they may always be loving to one another and
courageous in the face of challenges.
 Let us also pray that the Church and all of us, as we minister
not only to our pupils and students but also to their parents

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 as well, may listen attentively to the Word of God, and to the
concerns of families today.

III

 Let us move on to chapter 2 that deals with the experiences

and challenges of families today and chapter 3 on the vocation
of the family.
 “The welfare of the family is decisive for the future of the
world and that of the Church (AL).”
 Why? Because the family is the basic unit of society and the
family is the domestic church that helps compose the
universal church which according to the Pope is the family of
families.
 The family is such an important institution for society and the
church and the Holy Father tells us no one can think that the
weakening of the family as that natural society founded on
marriage will prove beneficial to society as a whole.
 The contrary is true it poses a threat to the mature growth
of individuals, the cultivation of community values and
the moral progress of cities and countries.
 So you see brothers and sisters, the family is more than a
group of people.
 It flourishes in the relationships among its members and
its relationships with the bigger families with which it is
connected namely society and the church.
 That is why its joy is also the joy of the church.

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 In its sufferings and problems, the church desires to provide
the family compassion and pastoral accompaniment.
 Now we cannot deny the fact, that to sustain a healthy family
life is not an easy matter.
 We see the challenges in society: poverty, migration, the
weakening of faith among the youth, the exclusion of the
sick and the elderly members, marital and domestic abuse
and violence among many others.
 There is no single solution to all this but we may consider
what the Pope says:
 “The strength of the family lies in its capacity to love and
to teach how to love (AL).”
 We teach our children to love, not to punish, not to hate, but
to help and to enlighten those who are in darkness, those who
are stubborn to carry out punishment.(we are not far from
from the Punisher..)
 Do we still love? Can we still love? Do we encourage each other
to continue loving?
 Often problems arise where there is lack of love?
 When all else fails brothers and sisters, return to love.
 Now, a while ago, we said that the family is called to proclaim
the Good News and to love as God loves- that is a love that
shares.
 The Pope reminds us once again in chapter 3, “in and
among families, the Gospel message should always
resound… and the experience of love in families is a

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 perennial source of strength for the life of the Church of
which it is a part(AL)”
 We may discern here that in living out its vocation, a family
must rely on the Gospel and on the love that members had for
one another.
 The love that contributes to the growth of the church.
 We pray for families, that the Holy Spirit come and kindle the
hearts of families to love and serve more and to be faithful to
its vocation. Do not give up on your family.

IV

 Let us now look what the Pope says about love in marriage on
chapter 4 and about love made fruitful in chapter 5.
 Pope Francis says that St. Paul’s hymn to love prepares us to
ponder on conjugal love.
 Meaning, “the love between husband and wife, a love
sanctified, enriched and illuminated by the grace of the
sacrament of marriage (AL).”
 He says that the Holy Spirit infuses this love in us that it may
become a reflection of the love of Christ for us as seen in his
self-sacrifice on the cross.
 Marriage, the Pope tells us, is the icon of God’s love for us
(AL).”
 Because God is communion, God makes the two spouses one
single existence.

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 But surely there will be bumps along the way and I can attest
to this in my own conversations with couples that come to me
for pastoral advice.
 Let me echo this beautiful reflection of the Pope and I hope
that couple among you would listen attentively:
 “we have to realize that all of us are a complex mixture
of light and shadows. The other person is much more
than the sum of the little things that annoy us. Love does
not have to be perfect for us to value it. The other person
loves me as best they can, with all their limits, but the
fact that love is imperfect does not mean that it is untrue
or unreal (AL)”.
 don’t be afraid of failure. There is no such a thing as a perfect
relationship. Crisis will come, expect that but it is not the
crisis.
 It is your intention to love in the crisis. How did God prepare
for the family of Jesus? We learn in the first chapter of St.
Matthew verses 1-17.
 You have the genealogy of Jesus, the ancestors of Jesus.
Kings, patriarchs, and also unknown. The ancestors of Jesus
were saints and sinners. A mixture and God can embrace
sinners.
 We should be able to embrace the imperfections that we find
in our own families.

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 That’s why Jesus was very close to sinners. He had in his
DNA, the DNA of great patriarchs and kings but also DNA’s of
prostitutes, liars, corrupt people.
 But he did not give up on them. Joseph..Joseph and Mary
were already engaged but a crisis came. Mary was found with
child by the Holy Spirit and apparently she did not tell Joseph.
 Joseph just learned about it and so Joseph wanted to separate
from Mary. But Joseph obeyed the angel, Mary obeyed the
angel..
 It is by obedience to God that the family of Jesus was
constituted. A family that started with trust in God’s gift even
when the gift looks absurd..even when the gift looks
weird..they accepted the gift.
 Then many treats to the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Herod wanting to kill the baby and they became a refugee in
Egypt, then the child Jesus went to Jerusalem with the
parents at the age of twelve and the child got lost-that was the
version of the WYD in Jerusalem and the chld Jesus got
lost..one crisis..
 You see brothers and sisters, and what could be the best way
to work things out when you feel that everything is falling
apart?
 Hiwalay? Annulment? Divide the house( papipiliin and bata
kung kanino sasama?)
 It is Dialogue and Humility.

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 You speak and listen to one another in order to understand
each other.
 Do you notice pag nag-aaway, nagsisigawan kahit
malapit..hindi magkarinigan? Hindi. kasi malayo na ang loob
sa isa’t-isa..
 Again as I said, “Do not give up on love.”
 Now in chapter 5, the Holy Father gives a reminder: “Love
always gives life (AL).”
 In this context, conjugal love is not only about the husband
and wife. It is also about their children, who are living
reflection of their love.
 May I ask you dear parents, “How are you and your children?”
 Do you still recognize in them the gift of God, the blessing
given to your marriage?
 Do you still recognize the gift, when matters get rough between
you and your children? (minsan, Ipapahiya na lang..aambaan
pa sa harap ng teacher..)
 The family, the Pope teaches, is the very place where each
member is welcomed as a gift of God.
 Now how about you dear children, are you concern for the
parents that took care of you when there health deteriorates,
when old age takes its toll on them? (naka-angil tayo pag
makulit, di natin iniintindi,,sige magsalita ka ng
magsalita..bahala ka jan..nagagalit tayo pag maraming
tinatanong).

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 “We do well to remember that each of us is a son or
daughter…and this always brings us back to the fact
that we did not give ourselves life but we received it, the
great gift of life is the first gift that we received.” And we
received it through our parents. (Sulat ng Ina sa Anak-video)
 Always remember that your love as husband and wife is a
reflection of the love and communion of the Holy Trinity.
 Your love gives life to others, your children. It is my prayer
that God may increase the love of your family.

IV

 Please find time to read Amoris Laetitia as it offers a wealth of

insights.
 In chapter 6 Pope Francis suggests that “different
communities devise more practical and effective
initiatives that respect both the Church’s teaching and
local problems and needs (AL).”
 Because as we know, experiences vary from one another and
one cannot simply prescribe a general solution even if we hold
common principles.
 We have to discern the nature of the challenges and the needs
of families in our communities that we may be of real help to
them.
 Nonetheless, the Holy Father thinks that Christian families are
the principal agents of the family apostolate through their joy-
filled witness as domestic churches.

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 Thus, pastoral care for families must be improved.
 there are some big, big concerns that we have to face, and
these concerns make some people abandon the idea of
marriage and family.
 Unfortunately some people still believe in family but they
postpone starting a family.
 They wait until they are 60 years old to start a family, or some,
just don’t put in responsible preparation for beginning a
family.
 During the Synod of Bishops there were some issues or
concerns that were raised:
 Why do some people abandon the idea of family, why don’t
they want to start a family or why are they postponing family
life.
 One big concern is financial. They say, I am not economically,
financially stable yet. I cannot even sustain my own life. I am
not ready to start a family.
 Some people postpone weddings, their marriage, because of
the cost of a wedding. They have to spend much for their
wedding attire, their gowns, and their suits.
 They have to save money for the banquet, the dinner, the
reception. They have to save money for the video, for the
photographs.
 And they say,”Oh, if I don’t have enough money for that, then
what type of wedding will happen?”
 And now, they want weddings and tourism to come together..

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 So, I am from the Philippines, I will get married in the
Carribean. Destination wedding..but you need to save money
for that.
 And so while saving money, I postpone, I postpone, I postpone
my wedding.
 Others have to face emotional, psychological concerns…the
level of maturity…the level of maturity that we need for a
commitment to marriage and to family life.
 I don’t know what’s happening in the different parts of the
world, but there was a psychologist from the Philippines who
said that “nowadays, a regular Filipino gets out or graduates
adolescence at the age of 35.
 Ha? So, at the age of 34, a regular Filipino still thinks and acts
like a teenager…just like me..immature…
 When I shared this to an Italian Bishop he said, “well, you are
lucky, here in Italy, they become adults at the age of 41.wow!!
 So we are extending and extending adolescence…
 So when will we make a commitment? Emotionally,
psychologically and relationally mature to start a
commitment?
 For us, maybe we need to address the need for a deeper
Biblical, Scriptural and faith-formation regarding the beauty of
marriage and family, because even among Catholics, marriage
is becoming a social and cultural event and less of a faith-
sacramental event.

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 And finally, we also realize that there are some ideologies,
thought-patterns that do not always agree with the teachings
of the Church regarding marriage.
 So these are some of the concerns that surfaced during the
Synod of Bishops and affirmed by Pope Francis.
 In addition, Pope Francis suggests that re-intensify the
preparation of couples for marriage.
 We must help them understand the dignity and beauty of
marriage also the Pope reminds, the couples not to be
bothered how grand, festive the celebration may be.
 “What is important is the love you share, strengthened
and sanctified by grace (AL).”
 It is important also for the Church to accompany these
couples in their married and family life especially in the first
years of marriage (the importance of ninangs and ninongs also-
accompany them..wag sulusulan,,o mang gatong).
 The Pope also raises his concern for the education of children
in chapter 7.
 The Holy Father says: “Parents need to consider what they
want their children to be exposed to..and only if we
devote time to our children, speaking of important (not on
trivial)things with simplicity and concern, and finding
healthy ways for them to spend their time, will we be
able to shield them from harm (AL).”
 So dear parents, do we know what things our children are
fond of?

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 What do they read? Or watch? or listen to? Do you know who
their friends are and the people they communicate with?
 I hope you show interest in the things that interest your
children and let them know whether these are good for them
or not (some parents bigay hilig sa anak).
 It’s always a matter of dialogue and concern..
 In chapter 8, the pope rallies the church to “Accompany with
attention and care the weakest of her children, who show
signs of a wounded and troubled love, by restoring in
them hope and confidence (AL).”
 Our task is to heal and never to condemn or throw stones at
the wounded persons.(tulungan po nating ibangon ang mga
nadapa at sugatan).
 This is so apt in the celebration of the Jubilee of Mercy and
why not?
 Our Lord Himself did not come only for the righteous but for
the wounded too, that he might bring healing.
 Finally, in chapter 9, Pope Francis reminds us: “Marital
Spirituality is a spirituality of the bond in which the
divine love dwells (AL).”
 Our dear couples, do others recognize in you, the communion
and love of the Trinity Let us work on it.
 Another thing, He says” “all family life is a shepherding in
mercy (AL).”

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  How do we feed one another? Do we search for the lost (black)
sheep of the family?or do we shoo them away from us? How do
I protect the weak sheep of the family?

BECOME THE FACE OF MERCY

There is only one tribute that I pray others will say of us when we die. I
hope when we leave this world and face the judgment seat of God, other
people will only describe us in these words “Mabait siya!”

PRAYER IS A GIFT OF MERCY

Mabait siya, malapit sa Diyos! Our first duty of mercy is prayer.

 The prayer of a shepherd for his sheep is always music to the ears
of God.
 Prayer is an act of love. Every prayer whether of praise or contrition
or petition is always a plea for mercy.
 Prayer is our anchor. Prayer is our cornerstone.
 Let us make this Year of Mercy a year of renewed appreciation for
the psalms and prayers of the breviary.
 Our first duty is to be alone with God. Do not allow your day to pass
without prayer. Begin the day with it. End the night with it. Your life
will be changed believe me.
 My secret for my inner peace during stormy days is the daily Mass.
 We cannot be closer to God than in every Mass that we celebrate.

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  That is the most intimate encounter with God that can ever happen
more intimate than a husband to his wife.
 We have the privilege to stay in that intimacy. What a grace!

Cherish every Eucharist. Relish every word at Mass.

 Let the bread and wine speak to you, change you and make you
like what we offer.
 Set your sight on the miracle that you make happen when you
pronounce His holy words at the Upper Room.

AVAILABILITY IS MERCY

Mabait siya madaling lapitan. Availability is an act of mercy. Mercy has

no protocol.

 Mercy should have no business hours. Mercy does not even wait.
Mercy runs forth eagerly to welcome with an embrace of forgiveness
the returning prodigal son.

Sometimes teachers, due to the load of administrative tasks, we can

unknowingly reduce our teaching profession to a swivel chair ministry
with pre-arranged appointments.

We can become distant and detached. We lose touch and we just become
self-entitled functionaries not shepherds. Our original fire becomes
dying embers.

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  What can we do to recover that fire?
 We cannot just wait in the security of our desks. We need to go out.
 Mercy cannot wait. Mercy must be peddled without a price.
 Let us bring ourselves to the youth and the children, to the poor
and the hurting, to the confused and to the alienated.
 Malapit si teacher. How can we make the sheep believe that God is
near if we the shepherds are hard to reach?

SIMPLICITY IS MERCY

Mabait siya madaling kausap. Simplicity is an act of mercy.

 Sincerity in speech is a gift of mercy.

 The loss of simplicity in speech has a costly price of Catholics
seeking spiritual nourishment from other sects and religions.
 Pope Francis said “At times we lose people because they don’t
understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the
language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our
people.
 Without the grammar of simplicity, the Church loses the very
conditions which make it possible to fish for God in the deep
waters of His mystery.”
 Simplicity of language is a gift of mercy.
 Sincerity in words is a demand of mercy. When we appear too timid
to speak for fear of being bashed on social media;

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  When we talk without thought, when we gossip without relent,
when we promise without any commitment, we become hirelings of
misery rather than men and women of mercy.

SILENCE IS MERCY

Mabait siya tahimik lang siya.

 There is a silence of indifference. There is silence of antipathy.

 There is a silence to escape and hide.
 There is also the silence of mercy, a silence of reverence, a silence of
awe, a silence before a mystery to deep to contain in words.
 The things of God are revealed in silence, in hiddenness, in
simplicity, in poverty, in prayer.
 The crisis of the Church is really a crisis of noise, from our
unease with silence. The Church will be renewed by men and
women who are simple and hidden, silent and simple.
 Christ after His glorious crucifixion always acted in great
silence and great hiddenness. Silence is an act of mercy.
 If tears must accompany our silence let the tears flow.
 Let silent tears from our eyes flow for the neglected and the
scorned so that we can better understand the crosses of our age.
 When our lives become too comfortable and we lose the gift of
tears, we lose the gift of mercy too.

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 Pope Francis said “If you don’t learn how to weep, you are not a
good Christian. Do not be afraid to cry!
 If a good Christian must be able to cry, how can we be shepherds
who mock those who cry? How can we stay stoic teachers unfeeling
and uncaring?

 So there you go my brothers and sisters, these are some

points from Amoris Laetitia.
 There are more worthwhile topics than we were able to cover
in this recollection.
 Our recollection is meant to encourage you to read aNd study
Amoris Laetitia.

 PRAYER

Lord of mercy, you have shown us the face of the Father, the
Father of mercies and all consolations. May we become merciful
like the Father! May our fidelity to prayer be our gift of mercy! May
our persistent availability help to spread the fragrance of mercy!
May our talk be simple and our promises be sincere, offerings of
mercy! May our silence coming from love be a gift of silent tears for
those who are scorned! We beg you to give us the grace to be
merciful like the Father. Amen.

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