Become What You Are: Restoring Confidence in Family

“The family finds in the plan of God the Creator and Redeemer not only its identity, what it is, but also its mission, what it can and should do. The role that God calls the family to perform in history derives from what the family is; its role represents the dynamic and existential development of what it is. Each family finds within itself a summons that cannot be ignored, and that specifies both its dignity and its responsibility: family, become what you are.” - St. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio

Less Than Perfect

Have you ever had one of those moments when you ask yourself, “how did I get here?!”?

Renzo recently had the privilege of speaking to a group of women who were a part of our good friend’s Patreon group about our family’s consecration to St. Joseph. And the invitation challenged us to pause and reflect…when did our devotion first begin?

This opportunity further reminded us to reflect on what our purpose for beginning our “Two Become Family” ministry in the first place.

The answer: We’re passionate about restoring confidence in the sacredness of ordinary family life and empowering others to live out the Sacrament of Marriage through the grace of God.

But inevitably, speaking or writing about a particular subject tends to paint the speaker as an “expert.”

I mean, why would an audience listen to a someone, if that someone wasn’t some sort of expert in the subject they were talking about?! But, alas, we are NOT experts on marriage. Nor are we experts on parenting.

Yet, here we are. Right in the middle of the difficulties of family life and knowing it is only the Sacrament that is keeping us afloat. And it is exactly because we are not experts that we share our experiences through pre-cana events, marriage preps, patreon talks, and blog posts. We come from a place of solidarity and hope. We do it in hopes that sharing our story allows others to embrace their own.

We are certainly not perfect. But through our marriage and family life, we are being perfected.

Lean In

In his papal exhortation, “Familiaris Consortio”, St. JPII reminds families that they have all that they need to embrace the process of being perfected not only in or through, but by being family.

“Family, become what you are.”

We needn’t look any further for sanctification than in what we belong: a family. It is through the grace of the sacrament that binds spouses, parents, children, siblings, whatever the make up of your family, that is both the source and solution to life’s challenges and redemption.

John Paul the Great notes that, “the modern Christian family is often tempted to be discouraged and is distressed at the growth of its difficulties”, but urges to find “confidence in itself, in the riches that it possesses by nature and grace, and in the mission that God has entrusted to it”.

Yes, life is hard, but the family already has all that it needs, both in its nature and grace, to face it together and to strive towards Heaven.

So here’s your reminder for the day: If your marriage and family are struggling, lean in before you look for answers somewhere else. Every Catholic family has all that it needs to succeed, simply by being family. In the midst of challenges and hardships, families need not look beyond the Sacrament that binds them.

This ministry is our witness to how the Sacramental bond between us has been our source of conversion, redemption, and strength. Our articles, videos, instagram posts, and any other content that we share on social media is directed towards that end: to restore families’ confidence that they have what it takes by the choice made at the very beginning, for two to become family.

Lean in. - Renzo and Monica