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September 18.  HEALTHY FAMILIES ARE HAPPY FAMILIES.  (From BECOMING ECO-FRIENDLY FAMILIES)  “A healthy mind in a healthy body” This ancient Greek philosophy of Hippocrates, refers to physical and mental health and still applies as a goal for our day. Healthy doesn’t just come about on its own but is influenced by food, habits and behaviour.  Health can make us happy and happiness improves health, physical, mental and spiritual. Wellness also encourages reaching beyond oneself and taking care of the health of others and of creation.  

Money plays a role in wellness, providing food security as a bare minimum, but how it is spent affects the enjoyment and health. For rich and poor how and what we eat and our lifestyles do matter.  Taking care of our bodies, how we treat them, what we put into them and through optimum, not excessive,  exercise we can develop a personal sense of wellbeing. Even appreciating beauty, like watching a sunrise, can create a placid mood, produce a sense of inner joy and peace and relieve stress from the start of the day.  

This applies to individuals but to families too.  Good and open communication  is an important key to happiness and to health. Nevertheless in spite of our best efforts sickness, debilitating chronic disease and natural ageing and its limitations upset a family equilibrium.  Patience, tolerance and love are likely to be tested to the limit and so support at such times is necessary for a patient and those providing care. 

The happiness of a healthy family should not make us inward looking but be an invitation to look out for others and aim for “Healthy Families for a Healthy Planet.”       

Reflect, share, act. Scripture:   Jesus went out through cities and villages, preaching, and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.  And with him were the Twelve and some women who had been healed by him and provided for them out of their means.  Luke 8:1-3.  Pope Francis: A healthy relationship with creation is one dimension of overall personal conversion which entails the recognition of our errors, sins, faults and failures and leads to heartfelt repentance and desire to change.  LS 218. Human ecology involves the relationship between human life and the moral law inscribed in our nature and which is necessary for the creation of a more dignified environment. The acceptance of our bodies as God’s gift is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift. Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning in its femininity and masculinity is important in an encounter with someone who is different. LS 155. Eco-tip and prayer. I was recently told that tinned fish and chicken livers are good for anyone’s health, rich or poor. How. can these and other simple foods contribute to our happiness?  Pray around the K I S S principle.  (Keep it simple stupid!)

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.