Pope Francis invaluable message to the Families

 1. "I like St. Joseph very much. He is a strong man of silence. On my desk, I have a statue of St. Joseph sleeping. While sleeping, he looks after the Church. When I have a problem or a difficulty, I write on a piece of paper and I put it under his statue so he can dream about it. This means please pray to St. Joseph for this problem." ( Discover the powerful devotion to St. Joseph which is unknown to many )

 2. "You must make time each day for prayer. You may say to me: Holy Father, I want to pray, but there is so much work to do! This may be true, but if we do not pray, we will not know the most important thing of all. God’s will for us. Without prayer we will accomplish very little."    ( The Sacred Icon is a special grace given to those that are committed in their prayer life )

 3. "It is in the family that we first learn how to pray. And don’t forget when the family prays together, it remains together. That is why it is so important to pray as a family! That is why families are so important in God’s plan for the Church."

4. "It is important to dream in the family. When you lose this capacity to dream you lose the capacity to love, the capacity to love is lost. Do we dream of our husband or wife?... When we dream about the good qualities they have… Don’t ever lose the illusion of when you were boyfriend and girlfriend."

5. "Our world needs good and strong families to overcome threats! The Philippines needs holy and loving families to protect the beauty and truth of the family in God’s plan and to be a support and example for other families."
( This is the reason why the Holy Family is prescribed by all the Popes in history as the best model and remedy, for a family to remain faithful to God’s plan )

 6. "Every threat to the family is a threat to society itself. The future of humanity, as Saint John Paul II often said, passes through the family (cf Familiaries Consortio 85) So protect your families! See in them your country’s greatest treasure and nourish them always by prayer and the grace of sacraments."

7. "Be sanctuaries of respect for life. Proclaiming the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death. What a gift this would be to society, if every Christian family lived fully its noble vocation!"

8. "Joseph listened to the angel of the Lord and responded to God’s call to care for Jesus and Mary. In this way he played his part in God’s plan, and became a blessing not only for the Holy Family, but a blessing for all humanity. With Mary, Joseph served as a model for the boy Jesus as he grew in wisdom, age and grace. (cf Luke 2:52).
   
9. When families bring children into the world, train them in faith and sound values, and teach them to contribute to society, they become a blessing in our world."


( Begin with a daily prayer to the Holy Family as they will form us in the spiritual and Christian life as we learn to meditate before the presence of their Sacred Icon. If you do not have one then please get one, that you may understand how to receive this gift of contemplation. ) 9. "Do not hide your faith. Do not hide Jesus, but carry Him into the world and offer the witness of your family life!"

10. "Beware of the new ideological colonization that tries to destroy the family. It is not born of the dream that we have from God and prayer -- it comes from outside and that’s why I call it a colonization. As families we have to be very wise and strong to any attempted ideological colonization that could destroy the family. And ask the intercession of St. Joseph to know when to say “YES: and when to say “NO”."


( The multi-media and the internet are often misused as a form of recreation that leads to addiction instead of a tool for communication )


 Pope Francis central message at the Luneta


“But through sin, man has disfigured that natural beauty; through sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption.”
“The Bible tells us that the great threat to God’s plan for us is, and always has been, the lie. The devil is the father of lies. Often he hides his snares behind the appearance of sophistication, the allure of being “modern”, “like everyone else.” He distracts us with the promise of ephemeral pleasures, superficial pastimes.  And we forgot to remain focused on the things that really matter. We forgot to remain, at heart, children of God.”  In such a context, after listening to Pope Francis himself, and as followers of Christ, we cannot remain idle!

Now is the Time for Action

We must be convinced that what is needed is the powerful message of salvation from all these evils! This is the message that you and I and all men of good will are called to do  and this begins in every home.
Therefore, we should not cease to proclaim it throughout the world, as do many Christians who try to put the Gospel into practice. And the great message of salvation is Christ  Himself who began His mission in the Holy Family! As Saint Paul says in the scriptures, how can this message spread if there is no one to proclaim it? This is the Holy Family’s mission; this is also your mission! We want to be protagonists in the challenges that we face today. No doubt you already are engaged in this battle with your daily work and sacrifice. I will expound on these issues in the next succeeding write-ups. As of the moment, we need your active participation to help us carry out the mission of the Holy Family! We need to continue and reach out to more people now more than ever that they may receive enlightenment from so many confusions and distractions sent by the “evil One.” If you are convinced, then please let us know in how you can support us. Thanking you in advance for what you might be able to contribute! May you always be on fire for God, as we offer our prayers and good wishes to all of you in the care of the Holy Family of Nazareth.