The Valley Catholic
marriaGe & family life
MaRRIaGE MINUTE
October 7, 2014
5
Pope chooses ‘family’ as theme for
World Communications Day 2015
What Parents Teach Us
richard and theresa rieve
Worldwide Marriage Encounter
We don’t just marry the one we love, but their family
as well. One thing both of us appreciate about our parents
is that they valued their marriage and couple relationship.
They gave us an example of marriage as a commitment to be there for each
other, “to have each other’s back”, as the current phrasing would say, until
death parts us. In our words, “We’re in this for better or for worse, so we might
as well make it better”.
(Theresa) My parents didn’t go for a lot of hugs and kisses, but my four sisters
and I always felt secure; the love and respect our parents had for each other were
obvious in so many ways. Once my sisters and I were bugging our mom, asking
which of us she loved the best. She said, “Oh, but I love your father the best.”
(Richard): With my parents, everyone got lots of hugs. They loved romantic
gestures. For example, my mom loved flowers, so my dad would plant flowers
so he could cut bouquets for Mom. When there weren’t any, he’d bring flowers
home from the store. (Theresa) And when I was arranging our first apartment,
I put two easy chairs on either side of a small table—nice and balanced. My
mother-in-law said, “Don’t you want the chairs together? How will you be able
to hold hands when you watch TV?”
(Richard): Probably the biggest lesson my parents taught me is the value of
family. We were taught to take care of grandparents and to help other family
members whenever we could. Family didn’t always get along, but I learned
from Mom to be a peacemaker.
(Theresa): My dad had frequent asthma attacks, and we never knew if he’d
live through the next one. My parents never complained; they prayed and trusted
God. They also taught me that no one is ever too poor to share what they have.
They were generous with their time, abilities, and what little treasure they had.
We appreciate the example they were for us. We can honestly say, “We come
from a long line of love.”
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the family
gets special focus in two upcoming
synods and an international gathering
in Philadelphia next year, Pope Francis
is highlighting the beauty and value
of the family in his message for World
Communications Day.
“Communicating the family: a
privileged place of encounter with the
gift of love” will be the theme of the
church’s celebration of World Communications Day, which most dioceses will mark May 17, the Sunday before
Pentecost. The pope’s message for the day is expected to be released Jan. 24,
the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists.
The Pontifical Council for Social Communications, in a Sept. 29 announcement of the pope’s choice of the theme, said the news points out many of the
difficulties facing families today and “often times, cultural changes do not
help us appreciate how much the family is a good for society.”
The challenge facing the church and its work in communications is figuring
out how to share with the world, especially those who are hurting, the beauty
of love, life and marriage between a man and a woman.
“Today the church must learn again how to show that the family is a great
gift, something good and beautiful” and to show this gift of love “more vividly,” the council said. “It is an exciting task because it moves people to look
at the true reality of the human person, and it opens the doors to the future,
that is, to life,” it said.
Are you connected with the Diocese of San Jose?
For more tips on creating a joy-filled marriage, visit www.sanjosewwme.org.
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9/26/14
12:19 PM
3 Days of a Powerful YOUNG ADULT RETREAT
With Holy Trinity Community North America
Conducted by The Sisters of Daughters of Carmel - San Francisco
Rev. Vito Perrone (Contemplatives of St. Joseph)
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