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OVERVIEW
Amoris Laetitia is Latin for "The Joy of Love". The opening sentence reads, "The Joy of Love
experienced by families is also the joy of the Church". The exhortation is meant to echo the
conviction of the Synod Fathers that the Christian family is good news indeed and to help the
Amoris Laetitia covers a wide range of topics related to marriage and family life, with a
particular emphasis on the family's vocation and mission of love. It speaks about the family's
strengths and gifts, and also the contemporary challenges faced by families throughout the world.
The exhortation encourages married couples, families, and pastoral ministers to accompany and
care for families and others in need of the Lord's mercy and healing. It includes an extended
reflection on love and what it means in the day-to-day reality of marriage and family life.
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OUTLINE
THESIS: Family is essential to every human being living here on earth. It is a gift from God that
we should forever cherish. But what is the present day situation of the families? Is is still
In this chapter, In the Light of the Word, Pope Francis talks and reflects about the Holy
Scriptures regarding the families. According to him, the Holy Bible is full of families, births,
love stories, and family crises. He wants us to meditate and think of the significance of having a
family. He tells us that family is important to us. He wants us to realize that family is not an
abstract ideal but rather like a practical “trade”. Hence, the Word of God “is not a series of
abstract ideas but rather a source of comfort and companionship for every family that
experiences difficulties or suffering. For it shows them the goal of their journey...” (AL 22).
Of all the scripture that Pope Francis have stated in his encyclical, this scripture from Psalms
struck me most and has a special meaning to me. “Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who
walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands; you shall be happy, and it
shall go well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children
will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!” (Psalms 128:1-6).
This scripture may be simple but it has a very big meaning to me. It is just a short scripture
but it reminds us of our obligation as individuals and as members of a family. It tells us how we,
and our family should live. It reminds me that we have to live the life that Jesus wanted us to
live. It reminds me that we should live in accordance of God’s will and the scriptures. We should
live a morally upright life. As said in the scripture: “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who
walks in his ways”, We have to follow the path which Jesus Christ, son of God, has taken. We
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have to walk in his ways. We have to imitate what Jesus Christ did during his time here on Earth.
We have to be like Christ in our own simple ways. We must lead each member of the family to
Another important meaning that this scripture wanted to tell us is about the value of labor.
When Adam and Eve committed a sin, back then, work became its consequences. Before, they
lived in a garden full of graces from God. Everything that they need in order to survive are
already in the garden. But when they dreamed of being like God, even though they are made in
the image and likeness of God, they fell into sin and they have to face all the consequences. And
one of the consequences is work. From then on, humans have to work and earn for their living.
We have to work in order to survive. And in the lives of families, work has a very important role.
It sustains the family. Work provides all the things we need to survive.
It also tells us the importance of our families. The "vine" is an symbol mainly of fruitfulness,
but may be also of dependence. As needing support; the "olive", is a symbol of vigorous,
healthy, joyous life. In the family, the father is the foundation and the mother supports the
foundation. A family will not be fruitful without a mother, because we all know that it is their
responsibility to shape and mold each and everyone in the family. And a family will not be
joyous, or happy, if there will be no children. It is because the children are essential to the
family. They are the reason why the parents work hard. A family will not be healthy and joyous
without children because, in them, you will see how your family have gone through. In them you
will see, if your family lives a life in accordance with God. A family will never be complete
I’m so lucky and blessed for having my family. I will forever be grateful to God for giving me
a great family like them. I don’t have to ask for more because everything that I’ve been looking
for a family they already have it. They may not be perfect, but for me, they are the best. We’ve
been together for so long. We have been together through ups and downs and I’m proud to say
that here we are standing up! It simply means that, in my sixteen years of existence, we have
successfully surpassed all our trials in our family life. And it will not successful without God.
Four years back, my family has been through a great test. Our family was tested how strong
we are. My father before had an affair with another woman. There were no days that they were
not fighting. We’ve been like this for almost two consecutive years. And after this, my father
decided to go abroad with the help of my uncle. I thought my family has already forgotten God
by that time. But before he left my mother gave him a rosary, novena pamphlet, and a keychain
with the image of God. I was very hopeful because I know that our family was still holding on to
God. I thought that my family already gave up, but I was wrong. Although it is for our good, we
felt so sad when he left. Our uncle told us that, it good for both of us, because maybe it is the
only way for him to change. It might be the way that for my father to to realize the importance of
our family. It is really a challenge for him because he will be working and living in an Islamic
country, Saudi Arabia. Almost two years have passed and our only communication is only
through phone calls. We don’t know his situation in his work. We don’t even know if he’s living
in a decent place, if he’s safe in his environment. For all those years that he wasn't with us, all
I’ve been praying to God is our family’s safety and I always pray to him to change my father. Let
him realize our importance. Two years have passed and he came back from Saudi Arabia. We
were all so excited to see him. We are all so excited to see him change. And that moment we saw
him I can saw that he changed. I know and I can feel that he’s better now. After few months, we
have seen a lot of improvements. He wasn’t violent anymore. He spent all his time for us and he
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gave value to every seconds that we were all together. He don’t drink and smoke. Our family is
better now, we live happily and more peacefully. He has really changed and I thank God for it.
Without God, it will not be possible for my family to be complete and be one again.
In the second chapter the Pope talked about the current situation of families. Families, as
we all know, face and experience a lot of challenges and circumstances. According to him,
families face many challenges, from migration to the ideological denial of differences between
the sexes, from the culture of the provisional to the anti-birth mentality and the impact of
biotechnology in the field of procreation; from the lack of housing and work to pornography and
abuse of minors; from inattention to persons with disabilities, to lack of respect for the elderly;
from the legal dismantling of the family, to violence against women. In Familiaris Consortio, he
states that we do well to focus on concrete realities, since the call and the demands of the Spirit
resound in the events of history, and through these the Church can also be guided to a more
profound understanding of the inexhaustible mystery of marriage and the family. But if we fail to
listen and see the reality, we will not be able to understand the need of the present of the spirit.
He also talked about individualism which makes it difficult for us today to give ourselves to
others. We only think of our own good and and we don’t care about the people around us. We
need to see and face the reality and we must no be fooled in the present day ideologies.
We also need to be humble and realistic, acknowledging that at times the way we present
our Christian beliefs and treat other people has helped contribute to today’s problematic
situation. We need a healthy dose of self-criticism. Then too, we often present marriage
in such a way that its unitive meaning, its call to grow in love and its ideal of mutual
Nor have we always provided solid guidance to young married couples, understanding
their timetables, their way of thinking and their concrete concerns. At times we have also
proposed a far too abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage, far removed
from the concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families. This excessive
idealization, especially when we have failed to inspire trust in God’s grace, has not
helped to make marriage more desirable and attractive, but quite the opposite.
We can encourage our families and friends to have an openness to grace in many ways that
we can. One of the best way that we can is by talking to them and conversing with them. We can
use the relationship and connection that we have with them in order for them to realize. We have
to know their sides first before we give advice to them. We need to know what the root cause of
the situation because if not, we might give the wrong advice. After knowing the root of the
situation, then we think and we can give a good advice but we need to give advice with the
People nowadays present Wrong beliefs and teachings can lead to a big disaster and this is
what Pope Francis also wants to address in this chapter. The humility of realism helps us to avoid
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presenting “a far too abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage, far removed
from the concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families”. Idealism does not allow
marriage to be understood for what it is, that is, a “dynamic path to personal development and
fulfilment”. It is unrealistic to think that families can sustain themselves “simply by stressing
doctrinal, ethical and moral issues, without encouraging openness to grace”. Calling for a certain
“self-criticism” of approaches that are inadequate for the experience of marriage and the family,
the Pope stresses the need to make room for the formation of the conscience of the faithful: “We
have been called to form consciences, not to replace them”. Jesus proposed a demanding ideal
but “never failed to show compassion and closeness to the frailty of individuals like the
The Pope insists on concreteness, which is a key concept in the Exhortation. And it is
concreteness, realism and daily life that make up the substantial difference between acceptable
Pope Francis also pointed to the various symptoms of a “culture of the ephemeral” (AL 39)
like love can connect and disconnect, obsession with free time, loneliness, everything is
disposable, and narcissism. And today, I can see this symptoms in some people today. Like for
example love. Love is so complicated nowadays. And it can really affect the connection of
people. It can disconnect, because love can be the root of some conflict nowadays. Very far from
the reality that love connects people. Another symptom, is obsession with free time. And this is
what I can see in our class today. We are so obsessed with free time. We want more free time
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and we just spend it with nonsense things. We give more value to non sense things rather than
studying. Another symptom is loneliness, and almost a lot of people experience this symptom of
ephemeral culture and this can be seen anywhere. Another symptom that is visible today is that
everything is disposable. We don’t give value to the things we have today. We always want to
change things from time to time which is very sad. These symptoms can really affect the parish
community today. Because of all these things, we isolate ourselves from the community.
Because of these symptoms the parish communities which is supposed to be one and united, are
now separate.
The mystery of the Christian family can be fully understood only in the light of our Father’s
infinite love revealed in Christ. The son who gave and offered his own life for the salvation of
all. And He, who continues to dwell in our midst everyday in our lives. This chapter, The
Vocation to Family, summarizes the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage and family. Pope
Francis mentioned in this chapter what the Synod Fathers said about about the light offered by
our faith in God. It also stresses the themes of indissolubility, the sacramental nature of marriage,
the transmission of life, and also the education of children. It also provides a broad view on the
A lot of people today rejected marriage as evil and contrary to those who rejected it, the New
Testament teaches that everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected (1 Tim
4:4). Marriage is created by God therefore it is good for everyone and we must not reject it. It is
a gift from the Lord (1 Cor 7:7) and so, we have to give value and importance to it.
According to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, the sacrament of marriage is not a social
convention. It is not an empty ritual or merely a sign of commitment. The sacrament is a gift
given for the sanctification and salvation of the spouses. Spouses are mutual belongings which is
a real representation, through sacramental sign, of the same relationship between Christ and us,
the church. Married couples reminds everyone of what took place in the cross. They are
witnesses of salvation in which they share through the sacrament. The sacrament of Matrimony
Most of the families today live out their life differently from their vocation. It is not just
called to procreate but spread love, and continue the life that Christ wanted us to to have. It is
their vocation to spread their love and love of God through teaching and preaching the others
most especially to their children. They have to share the message of salvation to everyone since
they are witnesses of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. Couples are supposed to continue their lives in
Christ after the Sacrament of Matrimony. But today, it is not practiced anymore. They only
respond to the call for procreation. After marriage, they become more busy with some other
things and sometimes they already forget God. They don’t share their love and the love of God to
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the others. There are also some who don’t share their love to the fruit of their love, their children.
They don’t continue the life that Jesus Christ wanted them to live. They don’t give value to the
real meaning of the Sacrament of Matrimony. They only view it as a process in order for them to
be called legal. They don’t realize that it is a sacrament and a sacrament is Holy. As I have said,
it is a gift of God that we should never ever reject. It seems like today, most of the people don’t
know the real meaning of the Sacrament of Matrimony and they don’t know the essence of this
sacrament.
As a community we can seek God’s grace in many ways that we can. One simple way is
doing good. It is not hard to do good to others in just simple ways we can already be good to
other. Helping the poor and needy, as simple as giving food to them, in itself is already an act of
kindness. And God is fair and just to his people, if you will do good to others he will return it
Another way that we can seek God’s grace is through our loving care to our neighbors.
Neighbors includes all the people around you. It is basically just us! We are your neighbors and
you are my neighbors. We need to take good care of the others too not just only of ourselves. We
should care for them the way God cares for them. We need to make them feel the presence of
God in us. We need to make them feel the love and care of our God. Like what the greatest
commandment of God is telling us, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”. It is our duty as
brothers and sisters in Christ to protect and take loving care of each other. And when we do this,
Another way for us Christians to seek for God’s grace is through community service.
Communities include the school, organizations, and most especially the society. We can serve
the community in so many simple way. Like for example in Church, we can serve the church by
helping in the mass like what the altar servers do. And when you do serve your community, then
through community prayers. Prayer is a powerful way we can connect to God and I think it is
the best way we can seek God’s grace. God is everywhere we are and he is a merciful God. He
never failed to hear our prayers. He will hear our prayers and will give time for it. He will never
answer no, unless it is not his plan for us. He will give us what we deserve and he will give us
communion with other families. Like for example, I am a scholar of the Church and every month
we have to attend meeting where we are also shaped spiritually. We have some talks and we are
asked to reflect on some scriptures. We commune with other people together we reflect on the
mysteries of the Holy Spirit. And as a domestic church, we care for the others. We talk, guide,
The fourth chapter treats love in marriage. Everything that is stated and written in the first
three chapters is insufficient to express the real and true meaning of marriage and the family. We
cannot encourage a path of loyalty and self giving without encouraging growth, strengthening
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and deepening of our conjugal and family love. “Even if I have faith so as to remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but
have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Cor 13:2-3). The word love is commonly used but often
misused today.
This chapter is introduced by a Bible verse explaining the deep and real meaning of love. This
Bible verse is from the the book of Corinthian, and is written by St Paul;
“Love is patient, love is kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at
wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
This Bible verse is a collection of brief passages carefully and tenderly describing the humane
love in absolute concrete terms. It explains the whole though of what human love really is. Love
is experienced and nurtured in the daily life of couples and their children. It is helpful to think
more deeply about the meaning of this Pauline text and its relevance for the concrete situation of
every family.
The first word used is patient. It refers, to the quality of one who does not act on impulse and
avoids giving offense. Being patient does not mean letting ourselves be constantly mistreated,
tolerating physical aggression or allowing other people to use us. We encounter problems
whenever we think that relationships or people ought to be perfect, or when we put ourselves at
the centre and expect things to turn out our way. Then everything makes us impatient, everything
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makes us react aggressively. Unless we cultivate patience, we will always find excuses for
responding angrily. We will end up incapable of living together, antisocial, unable to control our
impulses, and our families will become battlegrounds. Couples need to be patient in order to
The next word that Paul used to explain what is love, is kind. It should be understood along
the lines of the Hebrew verb “to love”; it is “to do good”. As Saint Ignatius of Loyola said,
“Love is shown more by deeds than by words”. So meaning to say, couples must do good. Like
what I’ve said above. After the sacrament of Matrimony, we still need to live the life that Christ
wanted us.
The next statement into which couples can reflect on and apply to their lives is that love is
not boastful. It is important for us Christians to show our love by the way we treat family
members who are less knowledgeable about the faith, weak or less sure in their convictions. At
times the opposite occurs: the supposedly mature believers within the family become unbearably
arrogant. Love, on the other hand, is marked by humility. If we are to understand, forgive and
serve others from the heart, our pride has to be healed and our humility must increase.
We are all just mere humans and we can never be perfect as God is. It is normal for couples
to experience struggles and hardships after marriage because both of them have their own flaws
and they have to accept it. They have to accept the fact that it is really part of the family life so
all they can do is face it and never fear it. God is always with us no matter what happens so we
The love of friendship unifies all aspects of marital life and helps family members to grow
constantly. This love must be freely and generously expressed in words and acts. In the family,
The love of friendship unifies all aspects of marital life and helps family members to grow
constantly. This love must be freely and generously expressed in words and acts. In the family,
“three words need to be used. I want to repeat this! Three words: ‘Please’, ‘Thank you’, ‘Sorry’.
Three essential words!”. These words are really important to the family. This is important for the
In our family, we make use of these three words. Whenever we ask a favor we say please.
Whenever we receive something or we receive help from the other member we give thanks to
that member. And whenever we hurt one of the members, we say sorry. We use this most of the
time but sometimes, we use our own special way to say these three words. We show and we
Many people who are unmarried and they are not devoted to their own family. They often
render great service in their friends, in the Church community and in their professional lives.
Sometimes their presence and contributions are overlooked, causing in them a sense of isolation.
Many put their talents at the service of the Christian community through charity and volunteer
work. Others remain unmarried because they consecrate their lives to the love of Christ and
neighbour. Their dedication greatly enriches the family, the Church and society. The Church
only need to respect them and they must not be judged. We should just let them live their lives
the way they wanted it to be. And it is more than simply being unmarried because they are not
dedicated to love someone but rather they are dedicated to help everyone.
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The fifth chapter is focused on love’s fruitfulness and procreation. It is all about welcoming
new life in Christ, about the waiting period of pregnancy, and also about the love of mothers and
fathers. This chapter also talks about the fruitfulness of adoption, welcoming the contribution of
families to promote a “culture of encounter, and of family life in a broad sense which includes
aunts and uncles, cousins, relatives of relatives, friends. It deals with the roles of sons and
daughters and reaching out to the wider family such as brothers and sisters, grandparents and
other elderly family members, in-laws and other relatives, as well as out into the broader
community of friends and neighbors. Amoris Laetitia does not focus on the so-called “nuclear”
family” because it is very aware of the family as a wider network of many relationships. The
spirituality of the sacrament of marriage has a deeply social character. And within this social
dimension the Pope particularly emphasises the specific role of the relationship between youth
and the elderly, as well as the relationship between brothers and sisters as a training ground for
Our family has so many ways nurturing the fruitfulness of love within us. Like for example
we spend time with each other. For me, spending time with my family nurture our love with each
others. It binds us more tighter and stronger. Through it we develop a good connection and
relation with each other in order to avoid conflicts between each members. When we spend time
together, we are able to determine all our limitations so we can adjusts and we can avoid
struggles. Whenever we are together, we get to know more each other. Yes we’ve been through
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many years but years will pass by and anyone might change so we have to spend time with each
other and know and observe what changes are happening and we have to adapt to these changes.
Another way my family nurtures the fruitfulness of love is through having strong faith in
God. God is the defender of my family and we really and truly believe in him and his existence.
We may not be showy when it comes to our faith, but deep inside our hearts is the heart of a real
Christian. Some people don’t even notice it but we know deep inside our heart is God dwelling
with us every second, every hour and everyday. He is the reason why our family is so fruitful
today. And because of all these my family lives peacefully and happily.
. The nuclear family needs to interact with the wider family made up of parents, aunts and
uncles, cousins and even neighbours. This greater family may have members who require
assistance, or at least companionship and affection, or consolation amid suffering. My family has
a bigger role in the wider family. We help whenever someone needs us most especially to the
elderlies in our family. My nuclear family might be small, but it has a big importance. We don’t
need to be part of the bigger group because we can reach out to the community in simple ways
that we can.
In our family, we have elderlies. There are four elderlies in our family, two grandmothers and
two grandfathers. But they never feared that they will be forgotten someday. They know that we
love them so much and that we will never ever forget them. And we show them that we love
them so much through giving time to them, respecting them, and being patient to them. We
always spend time with our “lolos and lolas“. I may not have thanked them for all the good they
brought to my life but I let them feel it. I am a shy type person but I express my words through
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my actions. We have to give time and value the elderly in the family. In our parish they have
programs that involves the elderly like for example in the church they can be lectors and
commentators. Through it they develop their own skills and they can be part of the bigger
community
Works Cited:
Holy Bible