MARFAM’S WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER 7 OCTOBER 2026

What does the word “mission” mean to you? Let’s start with some questions:  Is mission a family task? Is family life a mission,  is mission by, for or to and even with families?  In many ways the answer to each and all the questions is, yes.  The concept of mission is about “action that matters,” not in general only, but personally or as a family or community.  MARFAM’s mission statement from 1995 quoted below includes deepening awareness of the domestic church, spirituality, the sacredness of the ordinary and prayer. Although much has changed within families over these 30 years, our overall mission is still relevant and applies on a daily basis. Anyone interested? You’re welcome to join MARFAM in its mission.

Another more focused way of looking at mission is discipleship, following Jesus, his way, and living the Gospel.  That is the way chosen by St Francis, as we have commemorated during the last month of the Season of Creation.  

However, October, as Mission month in the Church, has historically had a rather different focus, being mainly concerned with support for those men and women who left home and travelled to other places and foreign countries, to spread the Gospel far and wide.  Missionary activity in that sense happened from 16-17th century, connected with the many facets of the Age of Discovery across the world. There was a strong missionary revival in the 19th century in all forms of Christianity and this was the time when it came to SA.   The Catholic church was quite late among the various Christian churches who worked in South Africa among various immigrant and indigenous people.  At present there is a certain back-lash against the colonial approach, the imposition of western beliefs and practices and rejection of indigenous cultures. Today however Christianity thrives, many break-away groups have sprung up and there are 1000s of so-called Christian churches or communities in our country.  We speak of the mainline churches, e.g. Anglican, Catholic, Dutch Reformed (Calvinist) Lutheran. Methodist  and more, but there are even more recent Pentecostal and African Independent churches that have a wide range of interpretations and practices although claiming to be Bible based.  More than 80% of South African profess a form of Christianity. Catholics are one of the largest, with approximately 7% of population but it is not necessarily the richest of all the churches. Overseas mission societies have supported the churches over the years but no longer do so to the same extent.   Financing the whole mission today in the Catholic church has become a major concern as many of our members are amongst the poorest of the poor. This form of missionary church is still very clerical in its structure which has left us laity and families with an important role but a subsidiary, supportive rather than an active one.   This type of situation has been studied deeply, mainly since Vatican II, and is being addressed in our day through synodality, i.e. jouneying together.

Today our mission as Church applies to all members, clerical and lay on different levels.  Pope Francis called on us to be missionary disciples, “called and sent.”   In our families mission sometimes applies in a more focused way, around real-life issues that affect us. also from a spiritual perspective . One very serious current issue in Gauteng has been the ten or more cases of femicide and  gender-based violence, which cannot be  called domestic violence, which is often also a reality.  GBV tends to be treated as separate issues, a women’s issue or a men’s issue,  but my perspective is to consider it ideally as a family issue, because victims and the perpetrators are all members of families and families are impacted in all cases.  The most recent statement from SACBC on the current spate of murders expresses outrage and calls for decisive action.  At a similar time, only months ago Bishop Mbuyisa called for a family-centred approach to dealing with the matter.  Can we as families see that as part of our mission to develop means to safeguard our own social structures?

Mission month however, is not specifically about issues, but about our general attitude towards living out our calling as disciples, as followers of Jesus.   Who was his first and greatest follower?  Surely his mother Mary is being recognized at this time too.  Pope Leo in Magnifica Humanitas  writes, “MH 244. The Blessed Virgin Mary not only teaches us to recognize God’s invisible work, but also directs our gaze to “the points at which humanity is broken and the world becomes distorted: the contrast between the humble and the powerful, the poor and the rich, the satiated and the hungry,” teaching us “to look at the world from a lower position: through the eyes of those who suffer rather than the mighty; to view history through the eyes of the little ones, rather than through the perspective of the powerful; to interpret the events of history from the viewpoint of the widow, the orphan, the stranger, the wounded child, the exile and the fugitive.” 

October is dedicated to the rosary and today, 7 October, is the feast of the Holy Rosary.   Pope Leo has recognized the rosary as a spiritual tool in praying for peace, an issue he raises constantly. At the beginning of the month he prayed the rosary with children in the Vatican gardens, encouraging millions of children across the world to pray.  South Africa Needs our Lady is a movement that encourages praying the rosary for peace in public on 10th October and parishes and other groups are doing so in many places. 1000 Hail Mary’s is another rosary campaign.  Whether we stand in public, kneel in private, lie in bed as sick or elderly, go on pilgrimages or prayer walks, sit around as families with children praying just a decade, we can all invite Our Lady to intercede for peace in the world.   The whole world as a Family of Families needs peace, all of creation, as we experienced during the Season of Creation, needs “the tranquility of order” which is one of the most meaningful definitions of peace. That is what we are all yearning for, and what should be the hallmark of family unity and harmony. Toni Rowland 7 OCTOBER 2026

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY. 7 OCTOBER.

October 7. SEE.  Our Lady of the Rosary.  “Do those people selling rosaries on street corners really know what it is?” Ann asked her mom. “Do you?” was mom’s reply. “Yes well…… “ “Some families do pray the rosary at home, some in church and many pray as individuals.  ‘The family that prays together stays together’ was the slogan of the Rosary campaign of the 1950s.  We still need to pray and stay, but also to play together, as Marfam likes to say, don’t you think?  The Rosary is not only a repetitive recitation of prayers, but a reflection on events in the life of Jesus and Mary, dedicated to God and at Mary’s request offered for peace in the world. Pope Leo is really promoting this in a big way right now.  Why not teach that to the street sellers and, of course let’s pray it at home too?  We all need to work for peace.”

JUDGE. Reflect, share, Scripture. “Lord teach us to pray.” “Our Father..”. From Luke 11: 1-4 .  The most diverse messages and the most unpredictable experiences rapidly make their way into the lives of children and adolescents, and parents can become quite anxious about the dangers their children face. Parents suffer acute disappointment at the failure of their children to resist the seductions of the drug culture, the lure of an unbridled hedonism, the temptation to violence, and the manifold expressions of meaninglessness and despair.  To pray the Rosary for children, and with children, training them from their earliest years to experience this daily “pause for prayer” with the family, is not the solution to every problem, but it is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated. John Paul II MARIAE 2002.   Pope Leo:   MH 244. The Blessed Virgin Mary not only teaches us to recognize God’s invisible work, but also directs our gaze to “the points at which humanity is broken and the world becomes distorted: the contrast between the humble and the powerful, the poor and the rich, the satiated and the hungry,” teaching us “to look at the world from a lower position: through the eyes of those who suffer rather than the mighty; to view history through the eyes of the little ones, rather than through the perspective of the powerful; to interpret the events of history from the viewpoint of the widow, the orphan, the stranger, the wounded child, the exile and the fugitive.” 

Daily Prayer for Mission Month October, Year of St Francis and upcoming Local Elections in SA.  Heavenly Father, during this Mission month, we praise and thank you for the gift of your love and the riches of your creation. As missionary disciples we answer your call to walk in the way of peace.  We lift up to you all leaders of nations. Grant them an open heart and a listening ear to hear the cries of the poor and the needy. Bless all missionaries, protect them from harm, strengthen their hearts in times of trial, and fill them with the joy of your Spirit. As we prepare for the elections and a renewal of society for the common good we acknowledge our shortcomings and faults. We hear the needs that call for help to build a united country under God, as a family of all the families of creation.  Mary, Mother of the Church and of the Rosary pray for us. St Francis, our model and patron saint of all of creation pray for us. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen