TOPIC: Remain In My Love: 3-year archdiocesan initiative for the renewal of marriage and family life - an Invitation from Fr. Zlock

To help address the challenges facing families these days, last year Archbishop Chaput announced Remain In My Love. This is a 3-year, archdiocesan-wide initiative for the renewal of marriage and family life in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. This year, three powerful sessions are being offered to parishes and their pastors. These sessions will reflect on the beauty of what Christ has revealed about marriage and family life.

I’m looking for two or three couples of St. Monica to pray and consider attending one of the sessions with me to:

• Hear the information,
• Evaluate its implication for St. Monica,
• Help me “kick start” any St. Monica programs recommended by the archdiocese

 

Background: Last year, Remain In My Love was initiated through a series of presentations to Archbishop Chaput, the Auxiliary Bishops and the staff of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center (I.e., archdiocesan “headquarters”). The intention of these gatherings was to help the people, who work for the archdiocese, rediscover their shared mission to support, heal, and strengthen married couples and families who have been entrusted to their care.

Drawing on the outcome of 2017, this year the archdiocese will focus on parishes, schools and institutions of the Archdiocese. Priests, pastors, and leaders of our Catholic schools and institutions are being invited to hear biblically-based instruction on Christian marriage and family life. They will be provided materials to study. They will be given tools to evaluate marriage and family life programs within their respective parishes, schools and institutions. Finally they will be offered guidance for building ongoing means to reinvigorate Christian marriage and the family.

Three sessions are being offered. The dates and locations are:

• Monday, April 9, 1:30-3:30 pm – St. Charles Seminary, Wynnewood
• Tuesday, May 1, 1:30-3:30 pm – SS Simon & Jude, West Chester
• Thursday, May 3, 1:30-3:30 pm – Nativity of Our Lord, Warminster

I recognize that the times offered do not lend themselves easily to working husbands and wives. Personally, I shall be attending the April 9 session. However, if another date works better for you - or if any individual husband or wife would like to attend, I would imagine that you could attend solo and we can circle back later to compare notes.

Please pray about this and I look forward to hearing from you.

God bless, Fr. Zlock

 

SESSION #1: MARRIAGE: CREATED BY GOD, FOR GOD

Keynote Presenter: Sarah Christmyer - National speaker and author, adjunct faculty member, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

Theological content: the sacramentality of marriage

• Marriage is an institution created by God from the beginning
• Marriage is founded upon the sexual complementarity of the spouses and the natural law
• Through the Incarnation, marriage is raised up to a sacrament of redemption
• The Sacrament of Marriage makes the spouses an image of the Trinity and visible sign of Christ’s espousal to the Church