Our lesson from the World Meeting of Families: defend families by accompanying them

Pope Francis wants a Church that, like the Good Samaritan, draws near to all families and helps families “take a step forward, however small.” 

“I want you to feel my closeness to you, wherever you are, and to your concrete life situation,” the Holy Father said during the Festival of Families, the first opening event of the tenth World Meeting of Families held in Rome in June with the theme “Family Love: a Vocation and a Path to Holiness.”

We were blessed with the opportunity to attend the World Meeting of Families as part of the delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. At the time of the invitation, we had just found out that we were expecting our second child and were not sure how this might impact our ability to travel and participate, but we took a leap of faith and accepted the invitation.

We felt the closeness of the Holy Father during the four-day conference, and the concern the Pope has for today’s family situation. The Vatican invited families from all over the world in a variety of situations to share their unique experiences.

We were challenged to embrace our pastoral role in our parishes to foster an environment of accompaniment for families and the importance of building up our “Domestic Church.” We heard the success stories of families leading their parishes to accompany engaged couples, families in crisis, and broken families in need of healing. We also heard pleas from couples who want mentors.

“In praising the beauty of the family, we also feel compelled, today more than ever, to defend the family,” the Pope explained during his homily at the concluding Mass of the World Meeting of Families held in St. Peter’s Square. “Let us not allow the family to be poisoned by the toxins of selfishness, individualism, today’s culture of indifference and culture of waste, and as a result lose its very DNA, which is the spirit of acceptance and service.”

When we were an engaged couple, we felt called to serve other couples preparing for marriage, and as we grew into our roles as husband and wife, and eventually parents, we felt that call even more strongly to support family life in the context of our faith. It was affirming to see the universal Church come together in celebration of family life but also being in community with many others with such a strong desire to minister to families in a particular way. 

And getting to experience that all in Rome, the heart of our Church, felt so surreal. The richness of the history of our faith was never lost on us as we entered St. Peter’s Square every day on the way to the Paul VI Hall for our conferences and especially going to Mass (twice!) at St. Peter’s Basilica.

As we come back to Vancouver and settle back in to the routine of our “normal” family life, we take to heart Pope Francis’ challenge to families in his homily at the concluding Mass: “I encourage you to take up with renewed conviction the journey of family love, sharing with all the members of your families the joy of this calling … For love, including family love, is purified and strengthened whenever it is shared with others.”