Meet Families
“The Joy of Love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church,” Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia.
Families are at the heart of the Church
The Christian life is a journey of love experienced through meaningful relationships, beginning in the family. The Catholic Church has always valued the family as the fundamental building block of society. For this reason, local church communities are always finding new ways to accompany families – in all their wonderfully varied shapes, sizes, and expressions. Families are central to our communities – parents, grandparents, babies, children, and youth are celebrated! If you are a new or growing family, we invite you to connect with our parishes, schools, and communities.
The invitation to be a part of the Christian community is an invitation to belong. Belonging draws our hearts to such ideas as coming home, friendship, connection, and active participation. Many parishes and their schools are investing in ways to build community and create spaces where people, especially families, belong. There are opportunities to join a parent group, family group, parish network, children’s playgroup or liturgy of the word. In some parishes there are youth leaders who facilitate a youth group for upper primary school and/or early teenagers. Reach out to your local Parish to see what’s on offer.
Hear from our communities!
“I have been able to find calm and grow in faith and friendship with other parents of children. Finding community, sharing of experiences with parents and praying together. The friendships developed are beautiful,” Mother attending Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at Beresfield.
“It’s a great bonus to be able to share with a group of men what’s been happening in my life, and what’s been happening in their lives, and how that impacts us,” Attendee at Men’s Breakfast, Toronto.
“It was a really good opportunity to talk and experience growth and see what other people’s perspectives on certain matters were and connect with other young people about the faith. It was good to step out and meet new people and grow in that community and bond with others,” Attendee at Alpha program at University of Newcastle.