I am delighted to be here today at the Father Peyton Center in North Easton, Massachusetts — the Global headquarters for Holy Cross Family Ministries.
I was blessed to grow up in a family. Families are found everywhere, and their challenges are pretty much the same. I come from India, the Diocese of Agartala, where I have been Bishop for the last 28 years. Today, I am also the Chairman of the Health Commission of the Bishops’ Conference in India. We have 171 Dioceses in India, and traveling through some of them, I find that a major health issue is mental health. Mental health affects families at all levels: divorced families, faithful families, hurting families, and dysfunctional families.
For a society to be good, caring, healthy, and nurturing, we must care for the family.
The Witness of Mother Teresa
This incident of Saint Mother Teresa, who cared for the poorest of the poor and traveled the whole world seeking support for her Missionaries of Charity Congregation, comes to mind.
On one such trip, she gave a talk at the National Presbyterian Church. Author Coleen Evans said she was so deeply moved by Mother’s talk that she would do anything for her. She asked, “Mother, what can we do to help you?” and turning to her quietly, she said, “Love your family.”
This was an amazing reply from a great Christian woman who is totally involved in a ministry to the poor all over the world, says Coleen Evans. Mother Teresa knows that it all begins with us becoming little children in our family. The family is where we learn relationships, it is where we learn to care for others, to share, and to love. We must love our family so that our children may grow to love others.
Pursuing Faith in Families
Today, I want to say that Jesus is inviting us to pursue self-transcendence, which must begin in our family.
The 3 characteristics of discipleship in Matthew’s Gospel are:
- Self-Denial
- Carrying of the Cross
- Losing one’s life for Jesus’ sake.
Dare I say that if you live these out and put these into practice, we are on the way towards better families.
Bishop Lumen Monteiro C.S.C., the esteemed bishop of the Diocese of Agartala, India.
- Bishop Lumen's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and Rosary) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
