Snippets from World Meeting of Families Conference Speakers

The speakers I was privileged to hear at the World Meeting of Families were excellent. They gave me lots to think and pray about for a long time to come. Here are some of my favorite quotes/insights:

 

Bishop Robert Barron

"Living as the Image of God: Created for Joy and Love"

“Tell me who (or what) you worship and that will tell me all I need to know about you. Imago Dei goes wrong when we worship something other than God, make up our own rules, and privatize our religion.”

“We need to teach our culture how to worship right! “

“We are not interested in spiritual mediocrity! We want to be saints. Yes, the demand is extravagant, but so is His mercy.”

"If it doesn’t happen in the family, it won’t happen in society."

 

Cardinal Robert Sarah

“Light of the Family in a Dark World”

“ The most important Good News of Christ is mercy. The joy of the Gospel is the joy of mercy.”

 

Greg and Lisa Popcak

 “See How They Love One Another: The Family and the Faith”

“The family is meant to be an icon of the Trinity. Is your family a spiritual window in to heaven for others? For you?”

“Family, like the Trinity, is meant to be: intimate, a communion of persons, engaged in self-donative love, incarnational.”

“We must be intentional about forming family. We need rituals of connection, regular experiences of working, playing, talking, and praying together. “ At least 10 minutes of each per day and more once a week.

When you are struggling, angry, losing your temper, stop and ask the children to pray for you. Ask them to pray for you to be peaceful and hold it together. This gives them power, unites us, changes us.

 Dr. Daniel Mark

"Home Improvement: Forgiveness and Family Life"

Marriage is a Gospel re-enactment. You get the marriage you want through the cross. We can’t have a healthy and holy family life if everyone is standing on their rights and focusing on justice. It’s about self-surrender.

We must forgive our loved ones whether or not they deserve it.

 Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle 

'"The Family: A Home for the Wounded Heart"

Jesus heals by being wounded. He knows our wounds and transforms them into triumph. It is the wounded one that saves. The wounds do not disappear. Our wounds make us avenues of compassion, solidarity, understanding, and love.

The Church is the home for the wounded heart. We are to proclaim the Reign of God through healing. There is solidarity in our wounds.

We must be capable of self-sacrificing love.

 

Dr. Kyle Beiter, Cardinal Eijk, Dr. Gianna Emmanuela Molla

“Out of the Depths I Cry to You: Heartbreak of Infertility”

God never stops surprising us.

This talk was given on the 60^th Wedding Anniversary  of Saint Gianna and her husband. Her daughter witnessed that the Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary were always an integral part of their lives.

 

Rick Warren and Cardinal O’Malley

"The Joy of the Gospel Life"

Rick Warren began this talk with a list of ways the family is being threatened today:           

“In today’s society, materialism is idolized, immorality is glamorized, truth is minimized, sin is normalized, divorce is rationalized, and abortion is legalized. In TV and movies, crime is legitimized, drug use is minimized, comedy is vulgarized, and sex is trivialized. In movies, the Bible is fictionalized, churches are satirized, God is marginalized, and Christians are demonized. The elderly are dehumanized, the sick are euthanized, the poor are victimized, the mentally ill are ostracized, immigrants are stigmatized, and children are tranquilized. In families around the world, our manners are uncivilized, speech is vulgarized, faith is secularized, and everything is commercialized."

“Unfortunately, Christians, you and I, are often disorganized and demoralized, our faith is compartmentalized, and our witness is compromised. So what do we need? We need to revitalize our worship, minimize our differences, mobilize our members, and evangelize the lost, and we need to re-energize our families."

 Other quotes from Rick Warren: 

 "We can’t just be opponents of what’s wrong… we need to be proponents of what’s right."

"The Lord takes delight in His people. Do you take delight in your people?"

"Your first job as a parent is to let God love you. Then love him back. Then love your family."

"We are made by God and for God. It’s not about you. You can’t determine your own purpose because you didn’t create yourself."

"God is more interested in your character than your comfort. Jesus was made perfect through suffering. How do you think you’re going to be made perfect?"

"The way God produces fruit in your life is by putting you in exact opposite situation"
(He teaches you joy by giving you the experience of grief.... teaches love by allowing  you to experience hatred.... teaches peace through chaos.... teaches patience by sending us to the DMV!

Insights from Cardinal O'Malley:

"Beauty and joy are the most powerful evangelization tools. We need to make family life attractive."

"In God’s plan the family is the school of love. Marriage is the sanctuary of life and families are communities of love."

Evangelization begins in our families…. How we forgive, share, nurture, pray, worship.

 Lacy Rabideau
"Living Liturgical Year in the Home"

Power of nostalgia. Having traditions goes deep into children’s identity. They won’t be able to “quit being Catholic” if it’s so wrapped in their memories, traditions, and daily life.

What does religion look/feel like to our children? Stuff I have to do or stuff I get to do?


--- I really hope the talks will be published and/or widely available online. I would highly recommend checking them out and I plan to listen to many of the talks I wasn't able to attend. There is much food for thought and prayer here.