For more details about the September theme and THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY go to www.marfam.org.za/family_matters

September 1. Day of Prayer for Care of Creation.  Extracts from Pope Francis Message for September 1 the Day of Prayer for Creation.

6. To hope and act with creation, then, means above all to join forces and to walk together with all men and women of good will. In this way, we can help to rethink, “among other things, the question of human power, its meaning and its limits. Our power has frenetically increased in a few decades. We have made impressive and awesome technological advances, yet we have not realized that at the same time we have turned into highly dangerous beings, capable of threatening the lives of many beings and our own survival” (Laudate Deum, 28). Unchecked power creates monsters and then turns against us. Today, then, there is an urgent need to set ethical limits on the development of artificial intelligence, since its capacity for calculation and simulation could be used for domination over humanity and nature, instead of being harnessed for the service of peace and integral development (cf. Message for the World Day of Peace 2024).

7.Indeed, if the grace of God is Jesus, who died and rose again, then the words of Benedict XVI certainly ring true: “It is not science that redeems man: man is redeemed by love” (Spe Salvi, 26), the love of God in Christ, from which nothing and no one can ever separate us (cf. Rom 8:38-39). Creation, then, is not static or closed in on itself, but is continuously drawn towards its future. Today, thanks to the discoveries of contemporary physics, the link between matter and spirit presents itself in an ever more intriguing way to our understanding.

9. “to hope and act with creation means to live an incarnational faith that can enter into the suffering and hope-filled “flesh” of others, sharing in the expectation of the bodily resurrection believers are predestined to in Christ the Lord.  Our lives can become a song of love for God, for humanity and for creation and find their fullness in holiness.

1 September. 22nd Sunday B  Marriage reflections week 2. A Call to Action to Build Strong Marriages.  James 1:17-27   Mark 7:1-23.  

Fr Peter reflected on marriage once again in his homily. ”By looking at people how do you know they are married?  Is it something in their behavior or because they wear a ring? Couples could ask, ‘Does the fact that I am a married person have an effect on the way I live my daily life?  Do I just pay lip-service to being married or do I really value the relationship and am I constantly aware of my rights, responsibilities and privileges?  Do we as community recognise the rights, responsibilities and privileges of couples or do we treat people only as individuals?   James, the writer, appears to have been a very practical man and his letter is full of sound advice. The readings both from James and the gospel point out that paying lip-service only, listening to the word without acting on it is insufficient for salvation.  Not paying lip-service only is equally important in our couple task to Care for Creation.   There are many practical acts we should perform to show our commitment, in particular to the value of life.    

Questions for couples, individuals or groups:  How specifically can I put the call to action into practice for the sake of (my) marriage this week?    What  help do I need to achieve this?

Pope Francis. Human beings too are creatures of this world, enjoying a right to life and happiness, and endowed with unique dignity. So we cannot fail to consider the effects on people’s lives of environmental deterioration, current models of development and the throwaway culture. LS 43.  Eco-tip and prayer: Do some study and planwhat special prayers and actions will be taken up, ideally together as a family, during these 5 weeks.  Pray: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning and now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.