THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY MAY 2026. THEME: PARENTS FORM FAMILIES.

Download the full month’s Thoughts for distribution from https://marfam.org.za/thoughts-for-the-day-may-2026/

Overview. Parents form Families.  Whether it is a study of biology, human physiology or spirituality, the gift of co-creation with God, in nature, should be recognized as one of God’s greatest gifts.  It is the male and female in nature, in human families a man and woman, ideally through a loving committed relationship, who continue God’s creation as well as its sustenance and nurturance.  Parents, human and animal, have the task of forming and educating their offspring and preparing them for adulthood. The ideal of the love of their father and mother for each other too is an important gift to children.  Effective human parenting is amongst the most complex relationships today, with an awareness of the good and harmful seen so clearly in family relationships.  Laudato Si week and Christian Unity week (from Ascension Thursday to Pentecost) commemorated this month can incorporate the theme too. The Year of St Francis can be brought into the month and particularly during Laudato Si week in different ways.

Pope Francis: The gift of a new child entrusted by the Lord to a father and a mother, begins with acceptance, continues with lifelong protection and has as its final goal the joy of eternal life.  God allows parents to choose the name by which he himself will call their child for all eternity. AL166. Only if we devote time to our children, speaking of important things with simplicity and concern and finding healthy ways for them to spend their time will we be able to shield them from harm.  Parents have to help prepare their children and adolescents to confront the risks of aggression, abuse or drug addiction. AL 260.  In assessing the environmental impact of any project few careful studies are made of its impact on biodiversity.  Little attention is paid to studying the reproductive patterns of species to prevent their depletion and imbalance of the ecosystem.  LS 35. 

Setting the scene.  As usual, the reflections are set in the format of family groups.  During Mary’s month of May all families are encouraged to include a special devotion to Our Lady. Some families, individually or as a family, pray the Rosary, or a decade each day or even a Hail Mary or a simple prayer to Our Lady can be prayed daily.    

HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF GOD , BE OUR MOTHER TOO.  PRAY WITH US AND FOR US IN ALL THAT WE DO.

May 1.  Workers Day. The Joseph the Worker.  SEE. Workers’ Day has for the last century been a struggle for the rights of workers, a battle between employers and employees mainly about wages. Deacon Masibi had been a shop steward in his day and with other union members was pleased that the Church also made its contribution to workers’ rights.  He told the members of the parenting group that 1st May was adopted by the communists as May Day – Workers’ Day, to commemorate the struggle for worker’s rights.  In 1955 by making it a commemoration of St Joseph the Worker, Pope Pius XII added the Catholic Christian dimension as well. Catholic Social Teaching includes the topic of work, as the situation has changed over time. “But this is not just for us adults as workers alone, but also for us as parents to share with our children as they recognise the value of work and learn from doing their chores.  Another thing to consider in this Year of St Francis is that “becoming eco-friendly families” can include the home and the work environment.”   

JUDGE. Reflect, share, Scripture.  “Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward as you are serving the Lord Christ.   Col 3:24. Pope Francis: Labour makes possible the development of society and provides for the sustenance, stability and fruitfulness of one’s family. We can appreciate the suffering created by unemployment.  AL 24-25. We were created with a vocation to work.  Work is a necessity, part of the meaning of life on this earth, a path to growth, human development and personal fulfilment. LS128.   Pope Leo: The Church’s social doctrine analysis of Christian revelation in the context of modern social, labor, economic and cultural issues would not have been possible without the contribution of the laity, men and women alike, who grappled with the great issues of their time.  DT

ACT AND PRAY. Read up some of the Church’s teaching on work.  Pray: Mary, loving wife of Joseph, together you worked to build your family, pray for us.