How do we reach out to those around us? From sunrise to sunset, CANA’s national leaders meet in a webinar on the theme: “The Joy of Love”.
Meeting around “The Joy of Love”!
On this Friday 26 November, for some in the West it was time to get up (6-8am – North and South America), for others it was mid-afternoon (Europe/Africa), and finally in the East it was more than bedtime (Seychelles)! For the second time this year, national leaders from 25 countries met in a webinar around the central theme of the CANA 2021-2022 season: Amoris Laetitia – The Joy of Love.
Despite a complicated start due to a technical error, the time spent together was full of joy and very rich. Sharing news, teaching on Amoris Laetitia – The Joy of Love, time for reflection and prayer, exchange of experiences on the discovery of “The Joy of Love known” in different countries (Chad, Ivory Coast, Canada, Lebanon) (link to article Lebanon), testimonies, time flew by like lightning. The meeting was translated into 5 languages: English, Russian, Slovak, Czech and Polish.
Let us cultivate the joy of love
Denis & Claudine POINAS, from the CANA International team, focused their teaching on the joy of love in the letter Amoris Laetitia. This text, which is addressed to everyone, invites us to marvel, to change our view of our brothers and sisters and to renew our way of life. Here is a short summary and the 8 essentials to remember.
Joy is a sort of red thread in Pope Francis’ writings. The Gospel is Good News, the mission of Christians and the Church is to live it and share it! “The joy of love that is lived in families is also the joy of the Church” (AL1). “The joy of this contemplative love must be cultivated. (AL129)
Let us revisit our human relationships
In order to have quality relationships in our couple, in the family, in the church, in society, it is fundamental to rely on the hymn to love (1Corinthian 13, 4-7) of which the Pope offers us a magnificent commentary. He addresses the spouses directly (AL 113); he is direct and concrete about dialogue (AL 136) and about the need and importance of taking quality time (AL 137).
Let us look at our spouse and the world with the eyes of Jesus
Are we learning to look at our spouse with the eyes of God? The Pope encourages us to make our faith incarnate in the world (AL 181), to go out and meet others (AL 183).
Let us learn to follow Jesus in small steps, like Saint Ignatius!
Each one of us has its own rhythm, we are invited to advance on a path that leads us in freedom to the responsibility of our lives. (AL 37 and AL 271). Likewise, the Pope has beautiful words on how to be with children (AL 261 and 262).
Let us discern in order to move forward
Discerning also means learning to follow Jesus in small steps. And in CANA’s pedagogy, learning to discern is at the heart of our spirituality. (AL 291 and AL 305).
The eight essentials of The Joy of Love
The Pope does not speak of ideal families, but is close to families, with their worries and joys, with their strengths and weaknesses, living in the contemporary world. And he invites us to :
- Cultivate the joy of love
- Propose the good news of marriage
- Adopt the merciful gaze of Jesus.
- Start from the reality of fragility: reality is superior to ideas.
- Look first at what is beautiful and good in families.
- Develop the conscience, the responsibility and the freedom of each person.
- Set out to follow Jesus in small steps.
- Welcome and integrate everyone, without judgement.
What a great encouragement for our CANA mission!