Podstawowe funkcje Kościoła w życiu rodziny

Abstract

The magisterium of the Church and modern theology describe the Christian family as a „little Church” or „domestic Church”, because in the family the Church discharges its basic functions. Through these functions the Church realizes itself and grows, continuing the prophetic, priestly and royal mission of Christ. The author discusses the saving mission of the family by presenting the family as a community of faith and evangelization, a community of priestly dialogue with God and a community in the service of man (cf. Pope John Paul II’s exhortation „Familiaris consortio”, nos. 49‒64). The prophetic function of the family includes: the reading of the Scripture, the deepening of faith, discoveringand proclaiming God’s plans regarding marriage and family, revealing God to children through love, family catechesis and proclaiming the Gospel to the world. Each member of the family is both evangelizer and evangelized. The priestly aspect of the family manifests itself in its sacramental life, the spiritual offering of everyday life, and prayer. In the first of these spheres special stress is laid on the need for the married couple to gain a profound experience of the sacrament of marriage, on the Eucharist and on the sacrament of penance. The intimate bond of marriage with the Eucharist is elucidated in terms of three ideas: covenant, self-sacrificing love and community, and mission. In the sanctuary of the domestic Church there should be harmony between the liturgical prayer of the Curch and the private prayer of the family suited to current needs and to the periods of the liturgical year. The royal function of the family consists in services to others within the family and in the broader community of the Church, to humanity at large and to the whole creation. „Mastery of oneself” is the foundation of serving others. Emphasis is put on hospitality and on the need for political and social involvement with a view to building a „civilization of love”. In realizing the threefold mission of Christ and the Church the family community becomes a community of salvation, that is a community both saved and saving. It is, then, like the Church itself, a sign and instrument of internal union with God and of the unity of mankind.