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Amoris Laetitia: The Joy of Love
This apostolic exhortation is one of joy and love for marriage and families. It comes from the heart of our Holy Father and is filled with mercy and tenderness for his children.
Below are 10 quick insights to reflect on - nothing new, or earthshattering but we can all use a gentle reminder of the necessities of life.
1. The family that prays together stays together. This includes Mass, praying together at home, reading scripture, frequent confession, spiritual direction and the occasional retreat - 'or family life conference'. Pray for each other!
2. Couples can help couples. Gather with other couples for faith sharing and prayer, for mutual support, strength, and encouragement. Older families/spouses mentor to younger ones.
3. Marriage takes work. Young love needs to keep dancing. Lifelong attention must be given: spending time together; forgiveness; helping each other mature and grow. Love is a kind of craftsmanship.
4. Children are a wonderful gift from God. Family planning involves being generous and bestowing life through responsible parenthood.
5. Adoption is an option. Motherhood and fatherhood are not solely biological realities but expressed in diverse ways. Adoption is a very generous way to become parents.
6. The family is the sanctuary of life. The family is the place where life is conceived and cared for. The family protects human life in all its stages, including its last.
7. Please, thank you, sorry. These are three essential phrases, that when used, families experience peace and joy. Don't be stingy about using them; repeat often every day.
8. Families need personal contact. Electronic communication cannot replace the need for more personal and direct dialogue.
9. Marriage is indissoluble. This should not be viewed as a 'yoke' imposed on humanity, but as a 'gift' granted to those joined in marriage.
10. His mercy endures forever. Pastors are asked to accompany those in irregular families. Reach out to all, help each person find his or her proper way of participating in the ecclesial community and thus experience being touched by an "unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous" mercy and also an understanding of the extent of their participation in the life of the Church.
Archbishop Richard Smith will reflect on the beauty and relevance of 'Amoris Laetitia' for marriage and family, and additionally, the pastoral guidelines issued by the Alberta Bishops following this apostolic exhortation. He will also celebrate Mass, an annual blessing and tremendous witness of his pastoral care for our marriages and families. He is our shepherd - let us listen attentively to his voice.
Fr. Ben Cameron was born in Kokomo, Indiana, and grew up as a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church in that city. During junior and high school, he attended a small Christian school operated by a local Baptist Church. It was in that non-Catholic environment, where his faith was often challenged, that he began to study the Catholic Faith. At a small Catholic liberal arts college in Front Royal, Virginia, he became involved in a lay apostolate known as the Legion of Mary, which awakened his desire to share his Catholic Faith with others.
Receiving his degree in Political Science and History, Fr. Ben planned a career in the political arena, but soon found that God had other plans. He joined the Fathers of Mercy in 1992, studied theology at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in 1997.
Fr. Ben has served as Vocation Director, Treasurer, Mission Director and Assistant General of the Fathers of Mercy and is currently a full-time parish mission preacher and retreat master, and the Spiritual Director of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy, a new confraternity in the Church for women and men, wounded by abortion, but now seeking holiness.
Fr. Jerome Lavigne was born in Hull, Québec in 1974. He moved west with his family in 1982 – first to Calgary, AB, and a few years later to Canmore. It was there that the seeds of his love for nature, hunting, fishing, and the outdoors, took root. He was social by nature, but also loved to go off alone, sit on the berm overlooking the valley, and reflect on the meaning of life.
Fr. Jerome realized that he needed to take some time out to find peace and a deeper sense of purpose in his life. He returned to his family home in Canmore where at his mother’s insistence, he agreed to attend Mass with his parents. Walking into the church, he was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace – so much so that the following week, he went on his own. As he was exiting the church, the priest said to him: “You and I, we have to talk.” Seven days later, he asked Fr. Jerome, “So tell me, when did it start?”
The possibility of a vocation to the priesthood had never entered Fr. Jerome’s mind. Before he was ready to do battle for the Lord, he first battled with the Lord. Ten years later he walked down the aisle at St. Mary’s to make his own promises to God: promises of obedience, celibacy, and praying the Liturgy of the Hours.
Today, the first thing that you notice when you meet Fr. Jerome is that he is filled with energy, passion, and an irrepressible zest for life. Friendly and outgoing, he has a wonderful sense of humour and puts everyone at ease wherever he goes. He has a profound under-standing of human nature, as well as of faith and Scripture. He digs deep – then even deeper – to discover what the Lord wants to reveal through him.
He prepares every homily before the presence of Our Lord in the Tabernacle, and when you listen to him, you always come away challenged and inspired. He unpacks the mysteries of the spiritual life in a way that is as down to earth as it is unmistakably orthodox.
Melissa Ohden is the survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion in 1977. Despite the initial concerns regarding Melissa's future after surviving the attempt to end her life at ~7 months gestation, she not only survived but thrived. With a Master’s Degree in Social Work, she has worked in the fields of substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence and sexual assault counseling, and child welfare.
Melissa was formerly a College Outreach Speaker with Feminists for Life and is the former Patron of Real Choices Australia. She has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and the Australian Parliament. Melissa is on the Board of Directors for the Vitae Foundation, an organization which uses media to advance a culture of life.
In 2012, Melissa founded The Abortion Survivors Network (ASN) which seeks to educate the public about failed abortions and survivors while providing emotional, mental and spiritual support to abortion survivors. Since ASN’s inception, Melissa has been in contact with over 210 survivors.
Melissa has been featured on television and radio programs including: The 700 Club, EWTN, Fox News, Focus on the Family, American Family Radio, the Mike Huckabee show, and the Teresa Tomeo show. She is the author of You Carried Me, A Daughter’s Memoir, released in January of 2017.
After years of searching for her biological family and offering them forgiveness for the decision that was made to end her life, her story, and her life, is so much more than one of survival. It’s evidence of the intergenerational impact of abortion on all of our lives. More importantly, it’s a testament to the beauty of God’s grace in our lives, the power of love, and the transformational power of forgiveness and in answering God’s call for your life.
Fulfilling the purpose that she believes God set out for her, she is a voice for the voiceless.
• Fr. Paul Moret • Myriam Beth'lehem Sisters
• Mike Landry and Third Place Project • Vital Grandin Chaplaincy Choir
• FacetoFace • Pure Witness • Given Grace
• Guardian Angels
Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage Site
Map/Directions
Online Registration IS NOW available. Register by June 19 for reduced pricing as per below.
Youcan also print the registration form from the link above and mail, with your cheque, to the address on the form.
Note: Price increases in this year's registration are due to US Exchange Rates CFM incurs for speaker costs and their travel expenses, plus increases in our overall expenses. We showed an overall loss on our Family Life Conference last year.
Thank you for your understanding.
Photos of the Conference: A Peek for First-Timers
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Take the Catholic Family Life Conference Survey 2017
Once you've attended the Family Life Conference this year, we want to hear from you. Every opinion matters and is considered in the light of the consensus of all participants who respond. Whether it is just a quick "bravo" or a prayerful "lament" it keeps the board responsive to the needs of those who attend. Thank you!