Denver Catholic

CATHOLIC LIFE I 3 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I OCTOBER 15, 2014 BY JULIE FILBY Unlike the idea of tradi- tional missionaries traveling the world to bring religion to those who never knew God, the family—and specifically mothers—serve as missionar- ies simply by the way they live their lives, according to theolo- gian, wife and mother of eight, Lisa Lickona. Lickona presented the most recent installment of the 2014- 2015 Archbishop's Lecture Series, focused on the Cath- olic family, in her Oct. 7 talk: "Love At the Heart of the Fam- ily: Motherhood in the New Millennium." "For most of the Church's history, a mission was some- thing you went on," she began. "No one thought of the fam- ily as a mission. What does it mean for the family to have this missionary impulse?" The notion of the new evan- gelization comes into play be- cause evangelizing through family life addresses "a new situation that requires a new approach." "Our contemporaries are not looking for Christianity as a solution," she said. Because so many people see faith as irrelevant, and at times, severe and unattractive, outreach must take on a differ- ent look and sound. "This is how the family can be a mission," she continued. "This is how your family can witness to the world." When families live married life and family life with joy, love and mercy—focused on Jesus Christ—people are drawn to them. "It's not just about going out and telling someone," she said, "but about doing." Continuing with a blend of theology and biology, Lickona described the essentials at the heart of motherhood on earth, such as feeding, supporting and protecting; as well as the essentials for eternal life. "These children entrusted to me are all made for… eternal life," said the mother whose children range from age 20 to 2. "It's about a final destiny they have, it enlarges our role as mothers. We're raising our children for heaven. "If possible, we're going to get them to heaven and to Har- vard," she added with a laugh. But in the course of their maternal roles, many women struggle in their vocation. "I think about this stuff every day," she said of the challeng- es. "It doesn't seem very easy to me right now." She compared two extremes: the "Catholic tiger mom"— whose kids are good at every- thing, involved in every activ- ity—with the Catholic moms who are trying to do the "tiger mom thing" and are burnt out or couldn't do it from the beginning. "A lot of us go between the extremes," she said. To break a cycle of feeling overwhelmed and pressured, or feeling the need to be con- stantly "doing," a mother's faith cannot be separated from life. "When things go wrong and we just want to check out, the Christian response is to kneel down and pray," she said, "and acknowledge that it is much bigger than you." Life must be lived with a pro- found trust in another person, she said, Jesus Christ. "Nothing is going to change in our lives as mothers until we put Christ at the center." She offered two key pieces of advice for mothers: pray and receive the sacraments, and read the Psalms because they cover the full range of human emotions. "You have to take care of your own heart first," she advised. The next talk in the Arch- bishop's Lecture Series, slated for Feb. 17, 2015, will feature Frank and Genie Summers, founders of Family Missions Company. Julie Filby: 303-715-3123; julie. filby@archden.org; www.twitter. com/DCRegisterJulie Every mom can be a missionary from home, speaker says PHOTO BY JULIE FILBY/DCR LISA Lickona delivers the latest talk in the 2014-2015 Archbishop's Lecture Series Oct. 7 at Bonfils Halls on the campus of the St. John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization in south Denver. ONLINE EXTRA Listen to Lisa Lickona's talk at www.archden.org (select Our Archbishop, Lecture Series). Pope Francis set the tone for listening, discussion BY KATHLEEN NAAB The synod of bishops wrapped up its first week on Saturday, Oct. 11, with the 253 participants having heard some 200 talks from the syn- od fathers and another sev- eral dozen presentations giv- en during the open debate sessions. This III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bish- ops is part of a two-year Church- wide process focusing on family issues. A bigger "ordinary syn- od," also on the family, is sched- uled for a year from now. Pope Francis set the tone for the synod with a vigil Saturday, Oct. 4, in which he prayed that the synod fathers might have the "gift of listening;" "willing- ness for a sincere discussion;" and that their gazes might be fixed on Christ. He inaugurated the synod Sunday, Oct. 5, with a Solemn Mass. He recalled that "synod assemblies are not meant to discuss beautiful and clever ideas, or to see who is more intelligent. They are meant to better nurture and tend the Lord's vineyard, to help realize his dream, his loving plan for his people." Pope Francis has followed Benedict XVI in continuing to reform the synod process. A principal change was that the declarations of the synod fathers were turned in before- hand in writing, and thus the opening document already re- flected their submissions. This week's discussions then built on that opening document. Basilian Father Thomas Ros- ica, who is assisting in the Vati- can press office, said about the synod thus far: "The openness, the dialogue, the discussions .... and also the listening style of Pope Francis have caused something new to come about." The Holy Father has par- ticipated in almost all of the sessions. Twelve married couples are participating as auditors, and have touched on a variety of themes in their own presen- tations, including the need to promote natural family plan- ning as a benefit for marriag- es, for priests to preach this message and for the Church to give clear teaching on contra- ception. They've also spoken about marriage as the "sexual sacrament," and the challeng- es and successes of living in interfaith marriages. On Monday, Oct. 13, the synod participants received a summary of the week's pro- ceedings, which is expected to be incorporated into the origi- nal report. The group then divided in- to 10 language-based working groups. Though the discussions are being described as open and frank, the texts of the synod fathers' presentations are not being released to the public as they had been at past synods. This has led some to comment that the faithful are at the mer- cy of the summaries given by the Vatican press office. In any case, the opening re- port, given by relator-general Cardinal Péter Erdo, archbish- op of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, went well beyond the issue often discussed by the press prior to the synod, that of a debate led by Germany's Cardinal Walter Kasper over whether there's any possibil- ity for the divorced and civil- ly remarried to receive Holy Communion. That has been an issue dis- cussed, but among many oth- ers, including nearly every imaginable theme related to family and marriage. Discus- sions have ranged from same- sex unions, to the need for bet- ter marriage preparation and post-marriage ministry, sup- port for widows and care for children of divorced parents. There also has been a focus on streamlining the annulment process. Cohabitation and the challenges for married couples who do not share the same faith have also been themes. On Friday, Oct. 10, the synod fathers prepared a statement for all families living in areas of conflict, especially those suf- fering in Iraq and Syria, assur- ing the families that the synod participants "share the pater- nal concern of the Holy Father" for them. Realities from the Church in Africa have been discussed, in- cluding the problem of polyg- amy and the issue of interna- tional agencies who promise aid on the condition that Af- rican countries open to West- ern-style "population control." On Friday afternoon, seven representatives of non-Cath- olic Christians gave input, saying they share many of the same concerns voiced throughout the week by the bishops. 'Something new' taking place at family synod

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