The Joy of the families
At the end of the family day, with those who stayed a little more!
A wind blowing over the family
Not easy for the family! At the center of God’s project since creation (Gen 1 and 2) and attacked from its beginnings (Gen 3), today more than ever, the family is the center of the Church’s attention and care. She is God’s treasure.
Its image and the place where it gives himself. Couple training, Family Sunday, family camps⊠there are many that we offer for Ethiopian and French-speaking families.
After 10 years in Quebec, in a priory attentive to families, this mission continues for me here too. Although the primary mission of the priory of Addis Ababa is focused on young people, the brothers have not spared caring for families where it all begins. Our latest offers are the Marriage course for the French-speaking community and the Natural Family Planning training for Ethiopian families.
Renew one’s couple
For 5 years at the service of the CCFAA (French-speaking Catholic Community of Addis Ababa), I have often heard the call to take care of couples. But not having the means and tools, we waited for God’s hour which has now come. When we offered this training in January, Sunday morning before Mass, it seemed unpopular! However, we were ready to work for the 2 or 3 couples that would register. Ultimately, more than 15 couples showed up. Some were even completely unknown to me. The secret of the course? the very practical, concrete topics and, above all, the moments of couple discussion during each session. This is where the best work is done for the couple. What an advantage it is to be able to talk serenely about subjects such as the beginnings and foundations of the relationship, communication, conflict resolution, forgiveness, sexuality… It allows you to get to know each other more deeply and to break taboos or resolve frozen situations.
You will be interrested by our books for children: Children of Hope publication
An intimacy leading to respect
The second project that was just born, is the training for our group of Ethiopian families on Natural Family Planning. When we talk about ecology, it starts there: Self-knowledge, respect for the body, respect for others, healthy dialogues and responsible planning, where I discover the benefits of this method for the health of the couples. For those families with whom we already have couples training, family days and camps, all this reinforces all the means they take to live this gift of love that God has given them and the grace of the sacrament of marriage at work in their home.
There’s no doubt that this year the Spirit has blown us in the direction of the family.
Brother BenoĂźt David +