Christian

Family
 Introduction
The family in the modern world, as much as and perhaps
more than any other institution, has been beset by the many
profound and rapid changes that have affected society and
culture. Many families are living this situation in fidelity to
those values that constitute the foundation of the institution
of the family. Others have become uncertain and bewildered
over their role or even doubtful and almost unaware of the
ultimate meaning and truth of conjugal and family life.
Finally, there are others who are hindered by various
situations of injustice in the realization of their fundamental
rights.
What is a
Family?
 The FAMILY is the oldest and the most
universal institution established on earth. It
is the basic social institution cherished and
protected by the state. A group formed by
marriage of a male and a female, resulting
later in the birth of one or more children that
would eventually become worthy members
of the society.
 It provides support, love and
affection to its members. It is the
first institution where children learn
to socialize in preparation for their
participation outside of the primary
group, consciousness is formed.
Characteristics
of Family
 • Composed of people united by ties of marriage,
blood or by adoption.

• Live together under one roof and they constitute a

• Members are associated with one another with

• Maintains a CULTURE.
Classification
of Family
 According to organization:

CONJUGAL FAMILY
composed of a wife and a husband.
It is best exemplified by a newlywed
couple with or without children.
 According to organization:

NUCLEAR FAMILY
Husband and wife and their
dependent children.
 According to organization:

EXTENDED FAMILY
Composed of two or more nuclear
families related to each other
economically and socially. It usually
live with other kin and share
economic responsibilities with them.
 According to place of residence:

NEOLOCAL
Norms requires that newlywed
couple live separately or away from
their parents. The husband and wife
decide on the place of their
residence.
 According to place of residence:

PATRILOCAL
Newlywed couple take up residence
with the husband’s kin.
 According to place of residence:

MATRILOCAL
Newlywed couple take up residence
with the wife’s kin.
 According to place of descent:

PATRILINEAL
Traces its ancestry from the father’s
side.
According to place of descent:

MATRILINEAL
Traces its ancestry from the
mother’s side.
 According to place of descent:

BILINEAL
Traces its ancestry from both sides.
 According to place of Authority:

PATRIARCHAL
Authority is solely exercise by the
father.
 According to place of Authority:

MATRIARCHAL
Authority is solely exercise by the
mother.
 According to place of Authority:

EGALITARIAN
Occurs when spouses jointly share
in decision-making, control of family
resources and child-rearing.
 According to form of marriage:

MONOGAMY
Marriage in which there is only one
wife and one husband.
 According to form of marriage:

POLYGAMY
Marriage in which a person may
have more than one spouse at a
time.
 According to form of marriage:

POLYANDRY
Marriage in which a woman may
have more than one husband at a
time.
 According to form of marriage:

POLYGYNY
Marriage in which a man may have
more than one wife at a time.
 Synod of Bishops in
1980
A sign of this profound interest
of the Church in the family was
the last Synod of Bishops, held
in Rome from September 26 to
October 25, 1980. 
 Synod of Bishops in
1980
The Christian family, in fact, is the
first community called to announce
the Gospel to the human person
during growth and to bring him or
her, through a progressive
education and catechesis, to full
human and Christian maturity.
 Synod of Bishops in
1980
In fact, as an educating community,
the family must help man to discern
his own vocation and to accept
responsibility in the search for greater
justice, educating him from the
beginning in interpersonal
relationships, rich in justice and in
love.
Importance of Family
For the Person:
 Importance of Family
The family has central importance in
reference to the person. It is in this cradle
of life and love that people are born and
grown.; when a child is conceived,
societies receive the gift of a new person
who is called from the innermost depths
of self to communion with others and to
the giving of self to others.”
 Importance of Family
It is in the family therefore, that the
mutual giving of self on the part of man
and woman united in marriage creates
an environment of life in which children
develop their potentialities, become
aware of their dignity and prepare to
face their unique and individual destiny.
Importance of Family
For the Society:
 Importance of Family
The family, the natural community in which
human social nature is experienced, makes
a unique and irreplaceable, contribution to
the good of society.
The family unit, in fact, is born from the
communion of persons. “Communion has to
do with the personal relationship between
the “I and the thou”.
I and Thou Relation

Martin Buber
 I and Thou Relation
The human person as a subject, who is a
being different from things or from
objects. The human person experiences
his wholeness not in virtue of his relation
to one’s self, but in the virtue of his
relation to another self. The human
person establishes the world of mutual
relation of experience.
 I and Thou Relation
The human person as subjects have
direct and mutual sharing of selves.
This signifies a person to person,
subject to subject relation or
acceptance., sincerity, concern, respect,
dialog, and care. The human person is
not just being in the world but being with
others or being in relation.
 I and Thou Relation
In contrast, to realm of meeting and
dialog, Buber cites the I-It
relationship. This I-It relationship is a
person to thing, subject to object that
is merely experiencing and using;
lacking directedness and mutuality
(feeling, knowing and acting).
 Community on the other hand
transcends this framework and moves
towards a “society” a “we”. The family
as a community of persons is thus the
first human society.
 We Relation

Karol Wojtyla
(St. Pope John Paul II)
 We Relation
Action reveals the nature of the human agent.
Participation explains the essence of the human
person. Through participation, the person is able
to fulfill one’s self. The human person is oriented
toward relation and sharing in the communal life
for the common good. As Saint Augustine said,
“No human being should become an end to
him/herself. We are responsible to our neighbors
as we are to our actions.
A society built on a family scale is
the best guarantee against drifting
ff course into individualism or
collectivism because within the
family the person is always at the
center of attention as an end and
never as a means.
The good of persons and the proper
functioning of society are closely
connected with the healthy state of
conjugal and family life. Without
families that are strong in their
communion and stable in their
commitment peoples grow weak.
 In the family moral values are taught
starting from the very first years of life
the spiritual heritage of the religious
community and the cultural legacy of
the nation are transmitted. In the
family one learns social responsibility
and solidarity.
The Situation of the
Family in the
Modern World
Today
 The situation in which the
family finds itself presents
positive and negative aspects:
the first are a sign of the
salvation of Christ operating in
the world; the second, a sign of
the refusal that man gives to
the love of God.
On the one hand, in fact, there is
a more lively awareness of
personal freedom and greater
attention to the quality of
interpersonal relationships in
marriage, to promoting the dignity
of women, to responsible
procreation, to the education of
children.
 There is also an awareness of
the need for the development of
interfamily relationships, for
reciprocal spiritual and material
assistance, the rediscovery of
the ecclesial mission proper to
the family and its responsibility
for the building of a more just
society.
On the other hand, however,
signs are not lacking of a
disturbing degradation of
some fundamental values: a
mistaken theoretical and
practical concept of the
independence of the
spouses in relation to each
other;
 serious misconceptions regarding
the relationship of authority between
parents and children; the concrete
difficulties that the family itself
experiences in the transmission of
values; the growing number of
divorces; the scourge of abortion; the
ever more frequent recourse to
sterilization; the appearance of a truly
contraceptive mentality.
The historical situation in which the
family lives therefore appear as an
interplay of light and darkness.
This shows that history is not simply
a fixed progression towards what is
better, but rather an event of
freedom, and even a struggle
between freedoms that are in
mutual conflict,
 according to the well-known
expression of St. Augustine, a
conflict between two loves:
the love of God to the point
of disregarding self, and the
love of self to the point of
disregarding God.
 It follows that only an
education for love rooted in
faith can lead to the capacity
of interpreting "the signs of
the times," which are the
historical expression of this
twofold love.
 Conclusion
Family ties are important but
not absolute. Just as the child
grows to maturity and human
and spiritual autonomy, so his
unique vocation which comes
from God asserts itself more
clearly and forcefully.
 Parents should respect this call and
encourage their children to follow it.
They must be convinced that the first
vocation of the Christian is
to follow Jesus: "He who loves father
or mother more than me is not worthy of
me; and he who loves son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me."
Deo Gratias!!!