Marriage in the Catholic Church, also called matrimony, is the “covenant by which a man and woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring”, and which “has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptised.”

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“The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the church.”Pope Francis

The vocation of the family – every family – is to reveal and communicate life and love in communion with the Lord.  Like Mary and Joseph, families have a mission to welcome Jesus into their homes and lives, to “listen to him, speak with him, take care of him, protect him and grow with him, and in this way improve the world” (Pope Francis, 2014).

The Holy Family of Nazareth shows families how to be holy and how to help others be holy.  The witness of families who answer God’s call, who open the doors of their hearts, reaches far beyond the walls of their home. This witness speaks the Gospel by their example to their extended family, to neighbors, to friends, to schoolmates, to everyone.  It brings Christ to the world