The prayer, composed for the 10th World Meeting of Families, comes from a deep gratitude to the Heavenly Father for the great gift of the family, a special place of relationships of love and prayer, as also shown by the experience of the pandemic. The text draws inspiration from the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the meeting: “Family Love: a Vocation and a Path to Holiness”. The prayer has been created as a pastoral tool: it can be recited from now on in parishes, in communities or at home to prepare for next year’s international event.
“It is from the love experienced in family life that the vocation of every child is born; it is love savoured within the domestic walls that traces the first steps on the path to holiness”, added Cardinal Farrell. “The experience of prayer introduces us to the deep, liberating meaning of relationships in daily life. The combination of family and vocation together with family and holiness show us how family relationships are of fundamental importance in creating love. In an age of trials and tribulations, where families live and face challenges and difficulties, it might seem out-of-touch or inappropriate to talk about family holiness. Hence the importance of prayer in living the sacrament of marriage to the full. Indeed, the relationship with God enables Christian couples to rekindle every day the Grace they have received, and this sustains them in their daily struggles and difficulties. Our life can always be a path to personal, family and couple holiness, a way to grow in love for others. All members of the family, including children, young people, parents, and grandparents, are called to discover in themselves a call to holiness. In this sense, family life can become an expression of the “most attractive face of the Church” (GE 9). This shows us how useful it is to cross-reference Amoris Laetitia and Gaudete et Exsultate, as Pope Francis suggests in the theme of the meeting, in order to fully understand the vocation of the family”.
