At the recent World Meeting of Families in Rome, Pope Francis addressed all families on the opening day, saying:
“My word of encouragement is precisely this: start from where you are, and, from there, try to journey together: together as couples, together in your families, together with other families, together with the Church.”
But practically speaking, how can married couples and families do this? Part of the answer may have just arrived on our shores.
The Domestic Church Movement, which is the family branch of the Light-Life Movement (founded in Poland in 1954), officially arrived in Australia earlier this year, finding its first home in a parish in the Diocese of Broken Bay.
The movement aims to renew the Church through the renewal of Catholic family life. It does this by bringing together married couples and families striving to grow in mutual love and holiness, as well as seeking to create an authentic Catholic environment for raising children.
A key part of the movement is providing members with formation, using the Church's spiritual tradition and teachings, particularly on areas related to prayer, Scripture and relationships.
Incredibly, the movement’s establishment in Australia can almost single-handedly be attributed to a baby girl’s arrival into the world in July 2021.
Little Rita’s birth was an answer to many years of prayer, parents Adrian and Maria Andrzejewski, parishioners at St Patrick’s East Gosford, explained.
“We’ve always been open to having children, but Rita’s actually our first child after 14 years of marriage,” Maria said. “We went through five miscarriages, but we just never lost hope.
“We had been praying for the intercession of Pope St John Paul II and my parents had been praying for the intercession of the founder of the Light-Life Movement, Fr Franciszek Blachnicki, for this baby to be born.”
And the timing could not have been more providential.
When Maria returned to work five months after giving birth, her parents, Elizabeth and George Wolski, travelled from Poland to provide support to their daughter and son-in-law.
Little did they know that East Gosford parish priest Fr Greg Skulski SDS had just decided to launch the Domestic Church Movement in his parish – except to do so the movement requires foundational members from Poland to assist.
The Wolskis – who had been involved with the movement in Poland for 41 years – had arrived at the perfect time.
At Fr Greg’s request, they agreed to assist with setting up the program in the parish. Since its establishment in East Gosford, Maria and Adrian have received enquiries from dioceses, parishes and individuals across the country.
Part of the attraction to the movement, Maria and Adrian believe, is its focus on community, faith formation and the importance of developing one’s prayer life.
"A lot of people mention the personal prayer, which helps them become closer personally to Jesus,” Maria said. “Also, even though many people pray daily, they don’t pray as couples, so learning how to pray together is another thing that people value.”
Members of the movement, which is now present in 30 countries, make seven key commitments which aid in the spiritual growth of spouses and parents: daily individual prayer; regular study of Scripture; daily couple prayer; daily family prayer; monthly couple dialogue; rule of life; and participation in a yearly retreat.
Rather than being a burden, the commitments are instead something that many people feel drawn to, Maria said.
“We want to go through the transformation as Catholics so that our faith becomes a very serious issue in our life,” she said. “The commitments in this movement motivate us to stay on track on our path to holiness.
“Personally, the most challenging commitment to keep going is regular study of Scripture, because sometimes daily duties take over, but it is also the one I have found the most beneficial.
“Through daily study of Scripture, the Word of God really comes alive.”
While the movement is new to Australia, for Maria, it has been a constant part of her life from childhood, due to her parents’ involvement in Poland. She believes the movement has helped her to develop a strong “personal relationship” with Jesus.
“This relationship with Jesus has helped me enormously to keep my faith even though I left my home country,” Maria said. “I came to Australia with my husband when we were 22 and we could not even think to skip Sunday Mass… because Jesus Christ is really like another person living with us.
“I think the movement has contributed a lot for me to never lose faith in whatever situation I have been in, and through whatever difficulties we have gone through.”
Maria and Adrian describe the movement as “the path to holiness within our families”.
“The Domestic Church Movement creates a friendly, welcoming environment within our parish and provides a structured formation in line with Catholic teachings and traditions,” Adrian said.
“We want to make sure, as a parish, we’ve got something to offer for everyone to extend our spiritual growth possibilities beyond attending the Sunday Mass and other common observances and to celebrate our faith more within our family homes as well.”
Links
To learn more about the Domestic Church Movement, visit:
http://www.dk.oaza.pl/en/
https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/broken-bays-domestic-church-movement-sparks-national-interest/
Images: Facebook: @StPatricksParishGosford; the Domestic Church Movement official icon.
Words: Matthew Biddle