One of the retreat directors mentioned that an increasing number of persons of all faiths are seeking their spiritual center. This trend is especially true for individuals high up the professional career ladder, as evidenced by the growing number of books on spirituality in the business section of large bookstores. If individuals are looking to spirituality for a personal sense of direction, so, too, must spirituality be looked to as a primary resource for families. Families, after all, serve as a bridge between the individual and the Church at large. The rapid pace of social change, its impact on values within our culture, the intrusion in our homes of the mass media, and the impact of political and economic conditions, pose great challenges to families today.
Many pressures come from within the family unit, caused by poor choices by some family members.
Divorce has also taken a heavy toll on family life, often creating in young people the fear of making a lifetime commitment. It often reduces a family to poverty and other social ills. Families, in their brokenness, are reflections of the brokenness of society, and hence, of the entire Church. While many Church families may be spared the extreme expressions of this brokenness, each has problems in varying degrees. Family life is sacred because family relationships confirm and deepen the union with Christ we acquired at Baptism.