The Family

For the first time in history, the Muslims have surpassed the Catholic population. The reasons is because the Muslims don't practice contraceptives. The Catholic Church preaches against contraceptives, but many Catholics do not follow the Church's teachings on contraception. In fact, surveys sent to ordinary Catholics around the world showed that the vast majority reject the Church teaching on contraception, divorce, and homosexuality.  Many Catholics also don't see anything wrong with pre-marital sex, and that can be seen in the high number of Catholics co-habitating or living togther outside marriage on Guam.  This photo is a family from Australia walking in the Neocatechumenal Way.  

In the Neocatechumenal Way, the same Catholic teachings are taught on contraceptives, abortion, same sex marriage, homosexuality, premarital sex, divorce, and many other things that the Catholic Church teaches.  

In one annual convivience (which took three days), they spoke about the family, which range from marriage, homosexuality, same sex marriage and pre-marital sex.  These teachings have touched many families because many of them are open to life.  In the Way, there are couples who have more than five children and some of them have adopted children.  The Catholic faith is also being transmitted by their parents to their young children.  Families are praying together in the morning, and couples say a prayer together before going to sleep.  During breakfast, lunch, and dinner families walking in the Way also use real China dishes instead of the usual paper products that some families use to save "washing the dishes."      

The youths also participate in scrutacio every month.  Young men and women are taught the virtues of chastity, something which society doesn't teach them.  In the movies, televisions, and other forms of media pre-marital sex (sex before marriage) is viewed as the norm.  I have listened to catechesis and homilies as to how the family is a reflection of the Holy Trinity, why chastity is a virtue that must be protected, and why contraception is wrong. As a result, couples walking in the Way have been open to life.  Those who have been living together have entered into the sacrament of marriage. Couples having problems in their marriages are working at making their marriage work. Families are not even afraid and standing up to be mission families in foreign countries. 

When husband and wife become one they produce a life, which is a child. When Christ and His Church are one, they produce eternal life.  The family is also a reflection of the Holy Trinity.  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three persons in one God and are in a relationship with each other like a family.   Kiko even took St. Andrei Rublev's icon of the Holy Trinity and represented it into the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (See the weblink below):  

Icon of Holy Family by Kiko