At the centre of Christmas is a Child. The festival means a lot to children. And you can’t think of children without thinking of families.
This month we will look at two priests whose vision and initiative have helped several thousand families all over the world. Thanks to a unique movement they were associated with and a programme it popularized, even couples staring at divorce have rediscovered the love they had for each other when they married and so would not let anything destroy their marriage. As a result, their children have grown up in happy, loving families.
The priest who founded ‘Marriage Encounter’ is a Spaniard, Fr Gabriel Calvo. Born in Barcelona in 1927, he studied at the University of Salamanca and was ordained a priest in 1952. A member of the Spanish Diocesan Labourer Priests, he chose to focus his priestly ministry on peace and love in families. He realized that the relationship between the husband and wife was central to peace and happiness in the family. If they could be given the time and the opportunity to communicate with each other and share their innermost selves, he thought they could rediscover honesty, love, and commitment.
Fr M A Joe Antony SJ
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