September 21 BECOMING (From BECOMING ECO-FRIENDLY FAMILIES)  MARFAM’s history of over 30 years is closely connected to my (Toni’s) personal a journey in faith and of becoming more and more family-centred. Originally in 1979, after a life-changing Marriage Enounter experience and gaining new insights into marriage, we, Chris and I, grew through our work in marriage ministry. Later we did become more broadly family-centred.  Since his untimely death and my becoming a widow another dimension was added. More recently, again, I became more environmentally conscious, combining family and ecology on my own spiritual journey and incorporating these aspects in MARFAM resources.

Growing and becoming are life tasks at every stage of life from infancy to old age, through marriage, widowhood, divorce, parenting and grandparenting. Becoming Fully Human and Fully Alive is a psycho-spiritual view of growth and development that everyone undergoes in their own way as an individual as well as in their relationships. I am a woman, not in isolation but in the context of my family relationships first of all.  After that my friends and colleagues, in school, work and other activities, help me on my way to becoming the person I am destined to be according to God’s plan. Yet at the same time one’s own personal journey of becoming is both private but an opportunity to share, especially with our loved ones

Reflect, share, act. Scripture:      Jesus said “no one after lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is hidden that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light.  Luke 8:16-17. Pope Francis.  Ecology involves protecting the cultural treasures of humanity in the broadest sense. It is more than what we have inherited from the past; it is also and above all a living, dynamic and participatory present reality which cannot be excluded as we rethink the relationship between human beings and the environment.  LS 132. In the family we receive an integral education which enables us to grow harmoniously in personal maturity.  The human person grows more, matures more and is sanctified more to the extent that he or she enters into relationships, going out from themselves to live in communion with God, with others and with all creatures, as everything is interconnected. LS 240.

Eco-tip:  Reflect on and discuss the value of privacy or openness in communication for the common good.

DAILY FAMILY PRAYER from Season of Creation 2026.  May God our Father, who brought water from a rock, sustain us in the desert. May Christ our Lord, who is Living Water, refresh us for the work of restoration.  May the Holy Spirit carry us on currents of grace until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amen. St Francis guide and inspire us on our way.