You may have heard how “the family that prays together stays together.” But have you heard that playing together and supporting each other are also effective ways of keeping the family together?
These are the three suggestions put forward by a panel of family experts on the latest Rome Reports Premium conversation dedicated to strengthening the family.
TIMOTHY O'DONNELL
President of Christendom College
“Given the pressures that we're facing today, families can't really make it unless there's a real opening to grace, and that type of grace comes primarily through prayer, and I think that's a great way to help strengthen families and keep them together.”
CATHY O'DONNELL
Educator and Mother
'You see that closeness when you see these families that are out doing physical [activities], you know, this game of basketball together, or even playing music together.”
Of course no family can thrive without a strong support system.
HELEN ALVARÉ
Professor of Law, George Mason University
“You're supposed to be able to think about your parents, your siblings: 'Oh, this is a glimpse of what God's love looks like.' So Jesus is not a 2,000-year-old memory... 'I see something extraordinary here. Maybe I see it in a friend. Maybe I don't, but I definitely see it in my family, that comes to surround me when something has gone horribly wrong.'”
Bringing a young person's perspective on how to strengthen the family was one of the O'Donnell's nine children.
KIERAN O'DONNELL
Husband and Father
“You're going to be in a crucible with each other. You're going to see the best parts and your worst parts so up close and personal that, just in recognizing that you're not called to succeed. You're called to try.”
It's precisely because he wants us to try that the pope has called for a year dedicated to the family.
POPE FRANCIS
December 28, 2020
“It will be an opportunity to focus more closely on the contents of the document.
As of now, I invite everyone to take part in the initiatives that will be promoted during the year, and that will be coordinated by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.”
The year will begin on March 19 and will conclude on June 26, 2022, with the 10th World Meeting of Families.
CT/SPL
