At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gathered his disciples and gave them the Great Commission: go and make disciples of all nations. Families have a particular role to play: go and make disciples of your spouse and all your children! Admittedly, the mission of the family is not for the fainthearted. It entails sacrifice and sometimes heartache, but all of that is meant to bring spouses closer together and further along the path to holiness. When husbands and wives accept the challenge of married life, their lives build a community of love and radiate that love to the world.

The foundation of the family is love. St John Paul II even called families “schools of love.” In families, husbands and wives marry in love, then see their love deepen through the myriad good times and challenges of a lifetime of marriage, as long as they are willing to accept the challenge. Spouses have the unique mission of helping each other get to Heaven!

Accepting the added challenge of welcoming children deepens our understanding of our own giftedness and dependence on God. Parents are tasked with teaching their children how to be human. What a concept! Through the family, the school of love, children learn most importantly that they are beloved children of God intended to be with him forever in Heaven. Our world today is full of noise and distraction; young people often feel purposeless, unmoored. The mission of the family is needed now more than ever!

This mission, making disciples in our own families, radiates well beyond the walls of our homes. Families, filled with the love of Jesus and love for each other, invite others to experience love and understand their own purpose. Should you choose to accept it, the mission will change you and transform the world!

“Spouses, in virtue of the Sacrament, are invested with a true and proper mission, so that starting with the simple ordinary things of life, they may make visible the love with which Christ loves His Church.” (Pope Francis, April 2, 2014, n. 2)