Uphold the

Integrity of the
Human Family
Part 1: Bright Spots and Shadows
for Today's Family
• Positive aspects:
-Lively awareness of personal freedom
-Promoting the dignity of women
-Responsibility of procreation
-Education of the children
• Negative aspects:
-mistaken concepts of spousal independence, the
relationship between parents and children,
family values, divorce, abortion,
Part 2: The Plan of God for
Marriage and the Family
o Marriage
- total self-giving of man and woman to each other
- basis of the family life, the couple’s greatest gift being
their life giving cooperation with God.
When marriage is not esteemed:
o Virginity - state of being chaste; abstaining from sexual
intercourse.
o Celibacy - state of not having a spouse: single life.
Part 3: Role of the Christian Family
1)Forming a community of persons -
role of every family member
- “clear recognition of their family role.”
-children contribute in a special way
toward the sanctification of parents
-elderly bridge generation gaps
2)Serving Life
o Fecundity - fruit and sign of conjugal love from
which family life derives its whole meaning
- love “must be fully human, exclusively, and open
to new life.”
o Contraception - “intrinsically immoral”
*Sex education is a basic right and duty of parents,
must always be carried out under their attentive
guidance at home and educational centers.
3) Participating in the Development of Society
o by devoting itself to social service,
o by political intervention on behalf of the family
and sound - laws, the state cannot take away
from families the functions they can just as well
perform on their own or in free associations.
*The family should show special concern for the
poor.
4) Sharing the Life and Mission of the Church
o Family- “a Church in miniature” participating in
the prophetic, priestly, and kingly mission of
Jesus Christ.
• First, as a believing and evangelizing community
(Prophetical role)
-Announcing the Word of God, deepening faith,
celebrating married love, engaging in catechesis,
performing missionary services.
• Secondly, by dialoguing with God (Priestly role)
-The home is a sanctuary and marriage is an act of
worship and the source of the members'
sanctification.
-Family prayer is so important, especially on the
occasion of significant family events that parents
should by word as by example teach their
children the prayers of the Church, including the
public prayers and the rosary.
• Thirdly, by service to their fellow man
(Kingly role)
-To discover the image of God in each
brother and sister, extending love
especially to the weak with a sense of
justice.
Part 4: Pastoral care of the family

Stages of pastoral care of the family

• Stage 1 PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE
- A seminar is given by religious people to the
couple to know the couple’s intention on getting
married and to develop a negotiating style before
marriage that will help them avoid most of the
common pitfalls after marriage.
• Stage 2 DURING MARRIAGE
-The role of a priest is to walk in the middle of the
isle and to bless the couples to be husband and
wife. 
-The roles of the couples are that they are the
ministers of the ceremony. It is not allowed for
the bride and the groom to take on each other’s
roles within the ceremony.
• Stage 3 AFTER MARRIAGE
-The priest has strong support for
marriage and the family by
identifying "strengthening marriage
and family life" as one of their
priorities. They provide spiritual care
for the family after marriage.
Structures of family pastoral care
• Priests and religious people should be
trained for this task
• Family must be involved to social
works
• Family association to spreading
values and building people’s morale
and provide justice to the world
Agents of the pastoral care of the family
• Bishops and priests
-Extends help in moral, liturgical, personal, and
social matters.
*Explaining Church’s magisterium.
• Men and women (religious people)
-Serves families, teaching them correctly on
prayers and etc.
• Addressing the formation of the youth of this
generation.
– Parents
– Mass media
 Pastoral Care of the Family in Difficult
Cases
• Church supports the families who are
migrant workers
• Mixed Marriages. Marriage with two
different religions.
– Where in there is a chance of clash on
religious teachings.
• Irregular situations
– Civil marriages needs special pastoral
interventions
– Remarried divorced persons due to injustice
need special care
– Pastors may not perform ceremonies “of any
kind” for invalidity remarried divorces.
– Church should become the family of those
people who does not have a family of their
own, especially those in poverty.
That in all things,
God may be
glorified!