Life and family suggestions for homilies and prayers of the faithful during January 2016

Monday, December 21, 2015

Pope Francis recently opened the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, on December 8, and will soon conclude the Year of Consecrated Life, on February 2. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) throughout 2016 will continue to post possible homily ideas and prayers of the faithful to help link the Sunday liturgy with the national pastoral initiative for life and family. The proposed texts for the first month of 2016 include suggestions from the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, January 1, to the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 31, including suggestions for the Sunday celebrations of Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord. January 1 is also the World Day of Peace, while January 17 is the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is from January 18 to 25. The theme chosen by Pope Francis for his 2016 World Day of Peace Message is “Overcome Indifference and Win Peace”. As usual, the suggestions for homilies and prayers can be easily adapted for family prayer, as well as for personal prayer or for use with other groups or organizations. The texts for the month of January are available on the special Life and Family webpage, under the section “Documents and activities proposed by the CCCB“.