THE CFC International Council got together for three days of prayer, silence and dialogue on August 11 to 13, 2023 for the annual Discernment Weekend aimed to identify the community’s theme for 2024. The activity was held at the Mirador Jesuit Villa and Retreat House in Baguio City.
Jose Yamamoto, CFC Chairman/ President, issued the following statement announcing the 2024 theme:
Peace and blessings be with you, our dear Couples for Christ Family! Once again we are grateful to God for the gift of our CFC theme for 2024: “BE A SERVANT AND A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS!”
The anchor verse is taken from Isaiah 49:6 (NABRE): “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
After spending weeks of different spiritual preparations, including dialogues, a pilgrimage, and a recollection, your International Council and our wives came together for a weekend of prayer and discernment. Fr. Joel Jason, our Spiritual Adviser, joined us in this spiritual journey that again reminded us of God’s immense love for Couples for Christ.
When God exhorted us to be like the paralytic in Mark 2:1-11 this 2023, He also promised ongoing healing and forgiveness as long as we commit to His grand plan individually, as a married couple, as a family, and as His beloved community. Indeed, we have never seen anything like this!
But as His beloved, there is more. His love for us is like no other; it has no comparison. Our experiences of healing are not just meant to provide us comfort and relief; rather it is intended for us to remember that we are made for more. As families in the Holy Spirit renewing the face of the earth, we are to share our giftedness through a deeper and greater commitment to embrace authentic servanthood through Christ’s perfect example of humility and obedience.
In his Letter to the Philippians, St. Paul has crystal clear guidelines on exactly how we can do this in chapter 2, verses 7, 8, and 11: “Taking the form of a slave, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross, to the glory of God the Father.”
Let the words of the late Pope Benedict XVI — “The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were not created for an easy life, but for great things, for goodness,” — remind us to journey together as one, guided by Christ’s self-giving love, to embrace this precious and privileged call.
May the Blessed Mother continue to keep us in her Holy Mantle of protection on her Feast of the Assumption. May God bless you and your families.
The CFC International Council
(Written and signed on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 2023)