Marriage & Family Life: Our Faith Heritage

by Adam Storey | July 18, 2018

As you’ve probably seen, The Catholic Church of Southwest Iowa, a diocesan history written by Father Steven Avella, has just been published by Liturgical Press. I was involved in some of the final stages of the book and so it’s a great joy to see it in print.

Seeing the history in print has got me thinking about marriage and family life, and specifically about how important our heritage is for every one of us. As a diocese, we build upon the foundations laid for us by previous generations, and so too in our families we build upon what we have received. To me, our families are a great reminder that everything, absolutely everything, is received. I received my mom’s love of books, my siblings gave me an odd sense of humor, and my dad gave me a very distinctive nose. Through the eyes of faith we can go further and say that everything is not only received, but in fact everything is a gift!

 All of our families have traditions we are proud of, and traditions that we’d rather let go of, and yet if we truly believe that all things can work for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28) then we believe Jesus when he says “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Matthew 10:8b). In a society where we are becoming more and more isolated I think it’s important to remind ourselves how dependent we are on each other, because that can only lead us to the realization that we’re ultimately dependent on God. And the family is a beautiful and powerful place to learn that lesson! So let us thank God for the heritage received in our families, and let us respond to that gift with generosity!

Copies of The Catholic Church of Southwest Iowa are available for purchase on amazon, Litpress.org or at Divine Treasures in Des Moines.