Family Enrichment Retreat: In the Spirit of 'The Joy of Loving' (Amoris Letitia)

Intermountain Catholic

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the Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis, Bishop of Salt Lake City

The Diocese of Salt Lake City Office of Family Life is sponsoring Ignite – A Family Retreat on Saturday, June 2 at St. Vincent de Paul Parish’s Benvegnu Center. This is a great occasion to bring the whole family into a prayerful and engaging setting to renew relationships, cultivate love for one another and strengthen family unity and spirituality.

Families these days need such special moments for themselves for a more focused interaction between members of the family and, together with other families, to find support for each other in facing the challenges of family life. This retreat provides a wholesome occasion to be able to relate, to talk to one another and to pay attention to one another in a prayerful yet fun atmosphere, thereby strengthening not only family bonds but also our spiritual relationship with God.

We are living in a very challenging time. The institution of marriage is constantly challenged and attacked on several fronts. Traditional, cultural and moral values are being influenced and eroded by the effects of materialism, individualism and other ideologies, sowing confusion and doubt on the relevance of marriage and family life. There is a need to help recapture the beauty, dignity and sanctity of marriage and family life, which is the basic unit of our society, and the domestic Church, where children first encounter, experience and learn of the presence of our loving God.

Pope Francis wrote an apostolic exhortation, “The Joy of Love” [Amoris Letitia], on the family after two synods in Rome to address these challenges. He mentioned that in God’s mysterious design, family is the first way in which God’s love is made real in our world and by which the Gospel of hope is proclaimed, especially during challenging and demanding situations. In this document, he referred to the opening sentence of “Joy and Hope” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Second Vatican Council), which states, “the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the (people) of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.” He highlights the importance of the joy of love experienced by families that also brings joy to the Church.

Pope Francis also reminds us that “no family drops down from heaven perfectly formed” [AL352]. In the midst of the many challenges, trials and difficulties that married people and family members confront, they need all the help they can get to reinforce their love and unity so that they never lose sight of their mission and goal, and never give up on it.

Marriage and family is a pathway to holiness. Family love is “a God enlightened space” [AL317] always to be revered and nurtured.

In view of this, Pope Francis calls for a pastoral approach of accompaniment and discernment, one that seeks 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.” [AL291]. He stated that love in the family is “a never-ending vocation” [325] of “shepherding in mercy [322] across the generations.”

Couples and families in today’s world need accompaniment of tenderness, comfort and consolation instead of judgement and condemnation.

We need to highlight and strengthen the special vocation of marriage in order to build a stronger, healthier and holier society. Let us pray and hope that this family retreat will provide spiritual support to our families in order to gain inspiration and enrichment in their love for God and love for one another. It is not too late to register. For information or to register, call Veola Burchett, director of the Office of Family Life, at 801-308-8642.