1

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM v 2.0

MODULE 1: AN AUTHENTIC AND SPIRIT-FILLED CHRISTIAN LIFE

OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION

ANCHOR VERSE:
whom you will serve, the gods your
ancestors served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are

GOAL: To stress the importance of the Christian family, and to give practical advice for building
up a strong Christian family

CORE MESSAGE:
. It has a mission to guard,
reveal and communicate love. However, God has lost His central place in the family as it is
under serious attack in many fronts. Many have claimed to redefine both marriage and family
that causes great confusion in our society and world today. Let us fulfill our mission by being
present in our own families through three simple yet enriching ways: eating together, praying
constantly and loving each other unconditionally.

TENOR: Inspiring

DYNAMICS:
1. This is a talk show type session where the husband and wife are the speakers and their
children are their sharers.
2. Triad Sharing: Participants show their family picture and introduce each member of his/
her family
3. Talk proper
4. Sharers (children of the speakers)
5. Conclusion
6. Group discussion

SPEAKERS PROFILE
The speakers are a CFC husband and wife tandem who is a strong, Spirit-filled Christian witness
in building a home centered on Christ. They share their journey as a Christian family with its

Christian Life Program Version 2.0 Talk Outline

 2

joys, problems and hopes. It is preferred that their children are also members/leaders of the
Family Ministries for a stronger and more relevant witnessing.

Depending on the number of children the couple may have, the children may share about their
life as a family, how they deepen their faith, and highlights how God moves faithfully and
powerfully in their imperfect family circumstances.

Christian Life Program Version 2.0 Talk Outline

 3

THE EXPANDED TALK OUTLINE

FOR THE USE OF THE SPEAKER

THE EXPANDED TALK OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

Love begets love, and it begins in the family. The family is l

and general sense, the family is the building block of society, of the Church, and is

As an institution, the family is under serious attack in many fronts. Marriages are being
broken and the traditional definition of family is being challenged. Many have claimed to
redefine both marriage and family that causes great confusion in our society and world today.
In almost all countries, except in the Philippines and in the Vatican City, the seat of the Roman
Catholic Church, divorce is legal. In many countries, abortion and same-sex unions are
recognized, accepted and legal.

The family is imperfect yet a beautiful gift from God. Pope Francis affirms us in Amoris
Laetitia (2016):

in love, fulfil their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along
w us that there is no stereotype of the ideal family,
but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys,
(AL 57)

I. GOD FOR THE FAMILY

a. God has intended the family for the transmission of life.

1
It has a mission to
to guard, reveal and communicate love. 2

1
cf. Gaudium Et Spes, 47
2
Familiaris Consortio, 17.

Christian Life Program Version 2.0 Talk Outline

 4

Each family is the home of God, and its members belong to God. Parents must
regard their children as children of God and respect them as human persons.3

blessing of the Creator that of transmitting by procreation the divine image from
person to person. 4 It was meant to be so from the very beginning. (Gen 1:27-28,
Gen 2:18-24) It made sense therefore that God created man male and female, with
their physiology so formed as to enable man to increase, multiply, and fill the earth.
God intended man and woman to be one, not independent individuals producing
babies, but husband and wife raising a family.

b. The family is a place for teaching children and training leaders.

The family is a place to transmit wisdom and values of life.

inalienable right that parents are called to defend and of which no one may claim to
deprive them.5

r children. They bear

witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness,
respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. 6 Teaching is not formal, but
rather comes in the everyday activities in the home.

It is of utmost importance to help mold children to grow in maturity through an

outpouring of love, discipline and education in virtues.

c. The family is a domestic church.

The spirituality of family love is made up of thousands of small but real gestures.7
One of which is for men to rediscover their God-given roles as fathers.

3
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2222

4
Familiaris Consortio 28
5
Amoris Laetitia, paragraph 66
6
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2223
7
Amoris Laetitia, paragraph 315

Christian Life Program Version 2.0 Talk Outline

 5

Parents, especially the fathers, are to be the priests in their families. They present
God to their families by their example of a living Christianity, by diligently teaching
Scripture, (Deut. 6:7) by the use of symbols. (Deut. 6:8-9) They present their families
to God by family prayer, by blessing the children.

Church, ought to be a place where the Gospel is transmitted

and from which the Gospel radiates. In a family which is conscious of this mission, all
the members evangelize and are evangelized. The parents not only communicate
the Gospel to their children, but from their children they can themselves receive the
same Gospel as deeply lived by them. As such a family becomes the evangelizer of
many other families, and of the neighborhood of which it forms part. 8

II.

a. God has lost his central place in the family.

Parents no longer bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
(Eph. 6:4) They look more and more to psychology as a source of wisdom for raising
their children.

.
(Eph. 5:22-25) Their commitment is shaky. They cannot be depended on and the
partners become insecure.

There is too much importance given to acquiring material possessions and having an
easy and comfortable life.

b. The family itself is losing its importance.

The pace of modern life has become very fast, making it difficult for lasting
relationships to develop. The culture of busyness where we fill our schedules with
too much take us away from what are essentials. Moreover, m
responsibilities have been taken over by groups in society education in schools,
livelihood in offices and factories, recreation in malls.

The traditional family has become dispensable separations and divorces becoming
easy to obtain, living in is not only acceptable but normal . The throw-
away culture We treat affective

8
Evangelii Nuntiandi, 71

Christian Life Program Version 2.0 Talk Outline

 6

relationships the way we treat material objects and the environment: everything is
disposable; everyone uses and throws away, takes and breaks, exploits and squeezes
to the last drop. Then, goodbye. 9

c. The family is under attack by evil forces. (1 Pet 5:8)

Marriage and family life have always been under attack, but threats in the recent
years have reached extraordinary heights.

The devil wants to break up the family and promotes many things to undermine the
family, such as secularism (taking God out of the picture in everyday life including
educational systems and government), relativism (belief that there is no absolute
truth, and that truth is subjective), and viral indifference, among others. Pope
Francis notes that rampant individualism makes it difficult today for a person to give
oneself generously to another.10

III. WHAT CAN WE DO?

St. John Paul II exhorts families: . 11 It is imperative

that as parents, as husband and wife, together we make a decision to make God the
center of our family. People will know that we are Christians by the love in our
hearts expressed in our homes.

a. Eat

Pope Francis reminds us:

elevision,
or looks at the smartphone, is a barely familial family. When children are engrossed
with a computer at the table, or a mobile phone, and do not talk to each other, this
is not a family, it is like a boarding house. 12

Eating is a symbol of togetherness. At the table, we talk and listen to one another.
We nourish our relationships in table fellowship with the members of our family.

9
Amoris Laetitia, paragraph 29
10
cf. Amoris Laetitia, paragraph 33
11
JP II, Familiaris Consortio, #17
12
Pope Francis, Catechesis of the Holy Father: General Audience, 11 November 2015.

Christian Life Program Version 2.0 Talk Outline

 7

b. Pray

Consecrate our family to God. Pray as a family. he

family that prays together,

Celebrate the Holy Mass by attending regularly together as a family. This does not
only apply to young families but also to families with adult children. This is one way
we pass on our Christian Catholic faith to them.

Commit to serve the Lord together through Couples for Christ, its Family and Social
Ministries, and through ANCOP.

c. Love
Make time for the task of building a strong family. Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain (Ps 127:1).

and struggles, joys and hopes.13 Examine your daily life to ensure that your family
has enough quality time together. Be ready to reduce your other activities if
necessary. Plan regular family recreation, vacation and other activities. Create
opportunities for love to flourish.

Know, understand and fulfill your role as parents. Fathers, be the pastor, provider
and protector of your family. Model after St. Joseph and his example of spiritual
fatherhood to Jesus and his steady parental presence. Mothers, look to Mother
Mary for inspiration, that you may be a constant nurturer and life-giver in your
home. Light your home with unconditional love, as ll family life is a shepherding
in mercy. 14

CONCLUSION

Every family, despite its weaknesses, can become a light in the darkness of the world.15

We look to the Holy Family for inspiration. Pope Francis, in Amoris Laetitita, says: Nazareth
teaches us the meaning of family life, its loving communion, its simple and austere beauty, its

13
Amoris Laetitia, paragraph 315.
14
Amoris Laetitia, paragraph 252.
15
Amoris Laetitia, paragraph 66.

Christian Life Program Version 2.0 Talk Outline

 8

sacred and inviolable character. May it teach how sweet and irreplaceable is its training, how
fundamental and incomparable its role in the social order

Prayer to the Holy Family

(The speaker may end with this prayer.)

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we contemplate the splendour of true love; to you we turn with
trust. Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our families too may be places of communion and
prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel and small domestic churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth, may families never again experience violence, rejection and division;
may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing. Holy Family of
Nazareth, make us once more mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family and its

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, graciously hear our prayer. Amen.

GUIDE QUESTIONS:

1. For the men: Have I assumed full responsibility for the spiritual and material needs of
my family?
2. For the women: Have I supported my husband in his role and done my share in building
up a Christian family?

Christian Life Program Version 2.0 Talk Outline