“The Apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter.” (ACTS 15, 6)

We can observe the beginning of the daily life of the Church, which needs to discuss matters when there is something difficult to understand, like today’s councils or synods.
In these months our Church is preparing for a Synod about marriage and family in October: “to see about this matter.” What we can do is to pray for the synod’s fathers to help them receive all the wisdom from Heaven to see clearly, with respect to God’s law, and to protect the truth. This is always the best response to Our Lord’s wish: “remain in me—to bring more fruits.”

“Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord; whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.” (Gospel Acclamation)

Since Program 1: I+YOU=WE has become so popular that it is no longer possible to offer it at all the places that ask for it, we decided to assign some of the work we do to specific FamilyCare Centers (preferably co-operating with FertlityCare Centers). You can find their list on our Foundation’s website.

The main centers in Poland are Wrocław and Łomianki. FamilyCare Centers are intended to create the environment for ongoing formation of Program 1 (or 2, 3 and 4) graduates, for training new coach couples and for mutual support among the families. The Centers also assist smaller locations in organizing the Programs.

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Family Support Foundation,

Dear Graduates of Love and Life Programs,

For a long time, we have wanted to share with you the joys and challenges of our Foundation’s work, but we needed to focus on the work. We’re an organization operating “in a garage,” connecting people of goodwill who think they can make a small contribution in order to leave the world a better place. As the time of Easter approaches, we would like to give you a glimpse of our work.

In the few subsequent blog posts you can read about Love and Life Programs in Poland and worldwide.

Thank you for being with us!

The Family Support Foundation Team

Photos by Łukasz Czechyra

Our Lady in Gietrzwałd spoke to the girls in the local version of the language that they understood best. It is the idea behind the whole New Evangelization. That was also the guiding idea while creating the Love and Life Programs: to tell married couples about the most important issues in a language comprehensible to them and to inspire rather than to instruct.

The Mass with the renewal of Marriage Vows is always an exceptional experience–this time it was celebrated in the atmosphere of the Passion of Christ, which gave us a fresh perspective. The testimonies session after the Program, in which so many young couples took part, demonstrated how important it is to be systematic in fostering your relationship, and that there are always areas for improvement–independent of the years passed since your wedding day. We witnessed the tears of emotion, emotional farewells and plans for the participation in Program 2 next year.

I would like to thank you, dear Friends, for your prayer and support, of which I received so many signs.

With a blessing for a fruitful Holy Week
Fr. Jay

I am so happy when the Programs are held under the special care of Our Lady. The story behind Our Lady of Gietrzwald reminds me of that connected with Our Lady of Guadalupe where the Mother of God spoke to St. Juan Diego in nahuatl–the native language of the Indians. Warmia and Gietrzwald were conquered by Prussia, and Bismarck decided that the “two eternal enemies of German-protestant Prussia,” the Roman Catholic Church and the Poles, were to be eliminated. Our Lady revealed herself in the time of “Kulturkampf” when both the pastoral activities of the Church and the Polish language were banned; every evening between June 27 and September 16, 1887, during the rosary prayers, she spoke in the local dialect of Polish. Since she appeared to two little girls (and blessed a spring whose waters later healed the ill), the shrine is called “the Polish Lourdes,” and the same as at Lourdes and Fatima, she encouraged people to pray the rosary.

St. John Paul II, when he announced the Year of the Rosary, also recommended this prayer as a rescue for families and the way to experience peace in the world.
We’re happy to take this frequently repeated invitation of Our Lady to heart, and we surround the Program and the families who are taking part in it with a devoted rosary prayer. The Holy Family wants to invite every family to their home in Nazareth, so that the couples may renew the grace of the Sacrament of Marriage.
We’re happy to host so many young couples here. It is a great joy that the young people are willing to nurture their marriages and devote a significant amount of time to discover again their depth.

Thank you for all the signs of prayer support for us.

Praying with my heart for you at Our Lady’s place
Fr. Jay