2. S E S S I O N 26
A New Springtime of the Human Spirit
3. What an incredible year! I look back and cannot
believe what we have covered. More than
anything else, we have been guided by the
thought of Pope John Paul II.
4. The Beauty of the Spousal Union
• “Man becomes the image of God not so much in the
moment of solitude as in the moment of
communion” (Pope John Paul II, General Audience,
November 14, 1979).
• “One flesh! How can we not see the power of this
expression … What the spouses achieve is not only
a joining of bodies, but a true union of their persons.
A union which is so deep that it in some way makes
them a reflection of the ‘We’ of the three divine
Persons in history” (Pope John Paul II, October 15,
2000).
5. The Reality of an Epic Battle
• “The world is facing “the greatest historical
confrontation humanity has gone through … the
final confrontation between the Church and the anti-
Church, or the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel”
(Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, 1976.)
• “The family is placed at the heart of the great
struggle between good and evil, between life and
death, between love and all that is opposed to love”
(Pope John Paul II, Letter to Families, #23).
6. The Home as Ecclesia Domestica
• “The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation
and realization of ecclesial communion, and for this
reason it can and should be called a domestic church”
(Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, #21).
• “Spouses are therefore the permanent reminder to the
Church of what happened on the Cross; they are
witnesses to the salvation in which the sacrament
makes them sharers. Of this salvation event
marriage, like every sacrament, is a
memorial, actuation and prophecy” (Pope John Paul
II, Familiaris Consortio, #13.)
7. Hope for the Future
• “The future of the world and of the Church pass by way
of the family” (Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio,
#75).
• “Now is the time for hope … We must not be afraid of
the future. We must not be afraid of man … Each and
every human person has been created in the „image
and likeness‟ of the One who is the origin of all that is
… with the help of God‟s grace, we can build in the next
century and the next millennium a civilization worthy of
the human person … And in doing so, we shall see that
the tears of this century have prepared the ground for a
new springtime of the human spirit” (Pope John Paul II,
United Nations, October 5, 1995).
8. After such an incredible year, you have earned the
right to celebrate!!!
11. The critical question becomes, “where do we go
from here?” Not surprisingly, Pope John Paul II
shows us the way!
12. Builders of a Civilization of Love
“The aspiration that humanity nurtures, amid countless injustices and
sufferings, is the hope of a new civilization marked by freedom and peace.
But for such an undertaking, a new generation of builders is needed …
You are the men and women of tomorrow. The future is in your hearts and
in your hands. God is entrusting to you the task, at once difficult and
uplifting, of working with him in the building of the civilization of love.”
Pope John Paul II
Evening Vigil with Young People, #4
World Youth Day, Toronto, 2002
Downsview Park, Saturday 27, 200
13. Apostles to the Family
“It is especially necessary to recognize the unique place that … belongs to
the mission of married couples and Christian families, by virtue of the
grace received in the sacrament. This mission must be placed at the
service of the building up of the Church, the establishing of the Kingdom of
God in history. This is demanded as an act of docile obedience to Christ
the Lord. For it is He who, by virtue of the fact that marriage of baptized
persons has been raised to a sacrament, confers upon Christian married
couples a special mission as apostle, sending them as workers into His
vineyard, and, in a very special way, into this field of the family.”
Pope John Paul II
Familiaris Consortio, #71
14. To become an apostle of a new springtime is a
daunting task! Fortunately, Pope John Paul II has
showed us the way!
15. The End of Pope John Paul II’s Pilgrimage
“Kneeling here, before the grotto of Massabielle, I feel deeply that I have
reached the goal of my pilgrimage. This cave, where Mary appeared, is
the heart of Lourdes. It reminds us of the cave of Mount Horeb where
Elijah met the Lord, who spoke to him in „a still, small voice‟ (1 Kings
19:12) … When the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette in the grotto of
Massabielle, she began a dialogue between Heaven and earth … Mary
asked that people should come here in procession … for more than a
century the Christian people have faithfully responded to that maternal
summons … This year the Pope joins you in this act of devotion and love
for the Most Holy Virgin, the glorious woman of the Book of Revelation,
crowned with twelve stars (cf. Rev 12:1) … Dear brothers and sisters!
From this grotto of Massabielle the Blessed Virgin speaks to us too, the
Christians of the third millennium. Let us listen to her.”
Pope John Paul II
Pilgrimage to Lourdes, August 14-15, 2004
16. • Day 1: Fri – Leave Houston
• Day 2: Sat – Arrive Paris: Notre
Dame/Sainte Chapelle
• Day 3: Sun – Miraculous Medal/St.
Denis/Sacred Coeur/Jean Paul Sartre
(Paris)
• Day 4: Mon – Chartres Cathedral (Paris)
• Day 5: Tue – Mont Saint Michel
• Day 6: Wed – Normandy Beaches
• Day 7: Thu – Travel to Lourdes (or Lisieux)
• Day 8: Fri – Lourdes
• Day 9: Sat – Lourdes
• Day 10: Sun – Return to Houston
A Pilgrimage to Our Lady
17. • The opportunity to make a 12 day
“virtual pilgrimage” from home.
• Ideally suited for January 31 –
February 11 or November 27 –
December 8.
• Book and DVD provided as an aid.
• Goal: Consecrate yourself to Our Lady
as an apostle to the family for the new
springtime.
A Pilgrimage at Home
19. The Mission of Apostle
“„Go and make disciples of all the nations.‟ With these words, Jesus is
speaking to each one of us saying: „… now you must go, now you must
pass on this experience to others‟ … Jesus did not say: „Go, if you would
like to, if you have the time‟, but he said: “Go and make disciples of all
nations.‟ Sharing the experience of faith, bearing witness to the faith,
proclaiming the Gospel: this is a command that the Lord entrusts to the
whole Church, and that includes you … Some people might think: „I have
no particular preparation, how can I go and proclaim the Gospel?‟ … God
says the same thing to you as he said to Jeremiah: „Be not afraid … for I
am with you to deliver you‟ (Jeremiah 1:7-8).”
Pope Francis
World Youth Day, Rio de Janeiro
July 28, 2013
20. Four Professionally Produced Series
1 The Question of Marriage
2 The Spiritual Question of Man
3 The Image of God
4 Behold the Man
5 Woman and the Mystery of Love
6 Two in One Flesh
7 Return to Paradise
The Great Mystery of Marriage
1 A Light to the Nations
2 The Mystery of the Temple
3 Love until the End
4 The Mystical Body of Christ
5 The Mystery of the Home
6 A Woman Clothed with the Sun
7 Water Flowing from the Temple
A Light to the Nations
1 The End of Love
2 The Descent into Self
3 Pornography: Naked and Unashamed?
4 Can a Woman have Sex like a Man?
5 Modern Fig Leaves
6 A Culture of Death
7 The Promise of Springtime
The End of Love
1 Honor your Wedding Vows
2 Use Money for the Formation of Persons
3 Give God some of your Time
4 Set your Mind on the Things Above
5 Find God in Yourself
6 Find God in other People
7 Make it Easy to be Good …
The Choice Wine
21. • Make it available to your children and
grandchildren.
• Marriage preparation for couples.
• Youth (college and upper high school
students).
• Parishes.
A Gift to the Next Generation
22. As you set out on your journey. There is someone
you need to take with you – St. Joseph. Although
hidden, he has remained ever at our side.
23. Another Spring in Southern France
• June 7, 1660.
• GaspardRicard, aged 22, gets lost while
tending his sheep near Cotignac, France.
• Dying of thirst, he lays his head down on
a rock.
• “I am Joseph. Lift the rock and you will
drink.”
• Eight men would not be enough to move
the rock.
• St. Joseph repeats the message.
• The rock is easily moved and a spring of
water begins to flow.
24. St. Joseph, mystery hidden from the wise and learned, but
revealed to little ones.
Take me to Nazareth and train me in your ways.
Reveal to me the hidden face of Christ present in my children.
Unveil for me the love of the Holy Spirit present in my spouse.
Teach me to manifest for them the Father who is rich in mercy.
Help me to remove all evil from my home, so that within my
home we may find union with God and experience his love,
peace and joy.
Amen.
A Prayer to St. Joseph
25. Small Group Discussion
Next Year
The Revelation of the Father
Starter Questions
1. What specific steps are you going to take in your life
and in your home to become the foundation for a new
springtime for the Church and greater society?
2. How are you going to help spread the program to other
men and parishes?
