Amoris Laetitia: On Love in the Family

by Pope Francis

Overview

“All of us are called to keep striving towards something greater than ourselves and our families, and every family must feel this constant impulse. Let us make this journey as families, let us keep walking together.” Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia

In his groundbreaking work on modern family life, Amoris Laetitia: On Love in the Family, Pope Francis continues to guide and lead the Church, calling us to be a sign of mercy and encouragement for families of all shapes and sizes.

The Our Sunday Visitor edition includes exclusive reflection and discussion questions, to help Catholics grow in our understanding of this call, and act upon it.

In Amoris Laetitia: On Love in the Family the Holy Father expands on the topics and considerations of the two Synods on the family, and adds his own considerations to help us provide pastoral guidance to support and strengthen today's families.

On Love in the Family guides us through:

• Scripture — what we can learn from Biblical families and relationships with God and each other
• Reality — the experiences and challenges we face in today's world
• Tradition — essential aspects of Church teaching on marriage and families
• Love — what it means for all our relationships
• Ministry — Pope Francis offers pastoral perspectives for helping build strong families
• Spirituality — the expression of the Gospel message in our relationships

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681920023
Publisher:	Our Sunday Visitor, Publishing Division
Publication date:	05/20/2016
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

The Joy of Love 9

Chapter 1 In The Light of the Word 13

You and Your Wife 14

Your Children are as the Shoots of an Olive Tree 17

A Path of Suffering and Blood 20

The Work of Your Hands 22

The Tenderness of an Embrace 23

Chapter 2 The Experiences and Challenges of Families 27

The Current Reality of the Family 27

Some Challenges 40

Chapter 3 Looking to Jesus: The Vocation of the Family 47

Jesus Restores and Fulfills God's Plan 48

The Family in the Documents of the Church 51

The Sacrament of Matrimony 53

Seeds of the Word and Imperfect Situations 57

The Transmission of Life and the Rearing of Children 60

The Family and the Church 63

Chapter 4 Love in Marriage 65

Our Daily Love 65

Growing In Conjugal Love 81

Passionate Love 93

The Transformation of Love 105

Chapter 5 Love Made Fruitful 107

Welcoming a New Life 107

An Expanding Fruitfulness 115

Life in the Wider Family 120

Chapter 6 Some Pastoral Perspectives 127

Proclaiming the Gospel of the Family Today 127

Preparing Engaged Couples for Marriage 131

Accompanying the First Years of Married Life 138

Casting Light on Crises, Worries and Difficulties 147

When Death Makes Us Feel Its Sting 160

Chapter 7 Towards A Better Education of Children 165

Where are Our Children? 165

The Ethical Formation of Children 167

The Value of Correction as an Incentive 170

Patient Realism 171

Family Life as an Educational Setting 173

The Need for Sex Education 177

Passing on the Faith 181

Chapter 8 Accompanying, Discerning and Integrating Weakness 185

Gradualness in Pastoral Care 186

The Discernment of "Irregular" Situations 188

Mitigating Factors in Pastoral Discernment 193

Rules and Discernment 196

The Logic of Pastoral Mercy 198

Chapter 9 The Spirituality of Marriage and the Family 203

A Spirituality of Supernatural Communion 203

Gathered in Prayer in the Light of Easter 205

A Spirituality of Exclusive and Free Love 206

A Spirituality of Care, Consolation and Incentive 208

Discussion Questions 213

Endnotes 227