Reunion of Our families with Our Lord.

The season of lent gives me a pause to everything I do with all the gifts given by Lord, made my heart and mind to move on and reflect on three traditional Pillars of Lent – Prayers, Fasting and Almsgiving. How can we renew our self and our world around us with these three pillars? Question which came in my heart? As I continue to ponder upon it, leads to a simple answer our world is beautiful with the eyes of hope and love. The hope and love is better taught inside family first then from the outside world. Again it turns up to Family and its significant role to play to renew our self and our world. We are looking forward deep in today’s families, one major event we need the most is “Reunion of families and Values”.

“Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: effort at reconciliation with one's neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one's neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity "which covers a multitude of sins.” (Ref: CCC 1434).

Further while reading about St.Therese. A short life span of 24 years St. Therese got all the learning’s from parents to grow up in faith. Holy father Pope Benedict XVI on the Beatification of Louis and Marie Zelie Guerin Martin, parents of St. Therese; said to pray for the family “Which (family) has a fundamental role in educating children in a universal spirit, open and responsible towards the world and its problems, and in the formation of vocations to the missionary life.” (Ref: www.catholicculture.org).

Let us take time to draw a complete family tree of our families (Relatives) at least for five generations or more, reach out to them through all means of communication any were in the world, plan a week or at least a day to come together Only for one event “Reunion of families and Values”. Before we do reconciliation with neighbors lets do reconciliation with our own family and relatives.

Example: when we started working on our family tree, both side of branch were the biggest dad and mom side, family members spread all over different part of India and around world. It has its own difficulty to bring everyone together, still am hoping for at least 25 family members from each side of my parents. Around 50 close family members are expected to travel for the first “Reunion of families and Values” focus will be purely building stronger relationship between families. If it’s a marriage get together we have more then 400+ relatives, am sure with prayers for reunion also we will have such numbers. We are planning to conduct under the guidance of Divine Retreat Center, Kerala, India and in their campus. Every alternate year we are going to host this event. Am sure each time more family member will be able to make it.

So dear friends in Christ, let the three traditional pillars for this lent enlighten our Reunion of families and values according to the will of our lord:

Prayers: Let’s pray every day to bring all our families together, take away all the differences and barriers. Some part of the world practicing our faith is difficult let families grow stronger in faith. In prayers remember all our family members who left us with the hope of rising again (Rest in Peace). Pray for the youth of our families and young ones let they make this world a better place to live. Pray for all the elders in our families let they lead with examples of lord teachings.

Fasting: Let our fasting for a greater cause, for bringing the families together. For healing of all the broken families, broken relationships, misunderstanding, anger, hatred, jealous, abortion in families, mismatch in expectation. Let our lord show mercy on each family and unit us.

Alms giving: “So if you are about to offer your gifts to God at the alter and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the alter, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God” Matthew 5:23-24. “Reunion of family and Values” is the Opportunity to tie our relationship stronger with all or families.

"For if we continue to love one another and to join in praising the Most Holy Trinity - all of us who are sons of God and form one family in Christ - we will be faithful to the deepest vocation of the Church." (Ref: CCC 959).

God Bless.
Jitto David,
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