Fall Marriage Supplement
Apostolate helps married couples grow in faith, develop supportive community
Anu and Thomson Varghese pray a family prayer with their children as part of a CatholicHOM experience on July 19 during the National Eucharist Congress in Indianapolis. The Vargheses live in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)
By Natalie Hoefer
The word “domestic” issues a calm vibe, one of tameness and order.
Sometimes, family life can seem far from that ideal with its busy schedules, sibling tiffs and moments of chaos.
Yet the Second Vatican Council’s “Lumen Gentium” (“Light of the Nations”) refers to the family as the “domestic Church” (#11).
The term has nothing to do with being perfect or ideal. Rather, the phrase acknowledges the truth that the family is where we first learn who God is, how he loves us, how to love and serve him and how to seek his will.
That might sound like a tall order. But an experience available at the National Eucharistic Congress in July provided ideas and actions to help families fulfill their mission as the domestic Church.
It was offered by an online ministry called CatholicHOM (“HOM” is pronounced “home” and stands for Households on Mission), founded by Lisa and Greg Popcak. Its mission is “helping Catholic families encounter Christ more meaningfully at home and draw closer to each other” by living out what it calls the “Liturgy of the Domestic Church Life.”
That liturgy—or way of worshipping God—can be broken down into three actions.
The first involves family members showing Christ’s love to each other every day—even when doing so might be difficult.
Next is developing family “rituals” in four areas: working, playing, talking and praying. The key here is that these practices be shared together as a family to cultivate bonds and instill values.
Finally, families are called to share Christ’s love through service to each other and to those outside of the family.
Parents and children had the chance to practice these concepts at the congress’ CatholicHOM experience.
At one station, families moved forward together through five stops. At each stop, one person shared something another family member did that made them feel loved.
Anu Varghese of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas, smiled when asked what was shared in her family at this station.
“I asked my little girl when she feels loved the most, and she said she feels loved when I hug her,” Anu said.
Next, families played a game creating a puzzle with four pieces, listing on each piece one way their family works, plays, talks or prays together.
One mom prompted her young son regarding the “work” piece: “What do you help me do in the kitchen?” His look of concentration changed to one of revelation as he said, “Load the dishwasher!” They also noted praying a family rosary, sitting on his bed and talking before he’s tucked in for the night, and taking garden vegetables to their neighbors.
A sign at a third station noted that “we reign with Christ when we serve with Christ.” Family members each made a paper sash with their name and words or pictures describing ways they help or serve each other and those outside the home.
The final station invited participants to take a few quiet moments to pray a prepared family commitment prayer together.
Standing next to her husband and their four children, Jacinta Eickholt of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, said she appreciated CatholicHOM’s “explanations of the faith and basics of the faith, especially about the domestic Church and how we can live our faith at home.
“It was a good reminder of the things that we do every day and can do every day, and actually verbalizing them. I think that’s helpful and makes [living the faith as a family] more real.”
(CatholicHOM offers material through a digital app. For more information, go to catholichom.com. For a list of suggestions on how to build your family into a domestic Church, go to cutt.ly/USCCBDomesticChurch.) †
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