Since last spring, families and individuals alike have contended with unforeseen struggles and uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an effort to remind the faithful that God is with them every step of the way, the Catholic five (arch)dioceses of New Jersey have launched a virtual conference, the “Joy of Love and Family Conference Series,” with diocesan, local and national speakers providing support and guidance for every stage of life’s journey, including young adults, newly married, families with young children, single/married adults, golden years and family healing.
The conference began in June with six videos – four in English and two in Spanish. New talks will be available each month for the next six months. The more than 30 English- and Spanish-language presentations “give families spiritual food and nourishment,” said Donna Ottaviano-Britt, diocesan director of the Office of Discipleship and Leadership.
Current and future videos, as well as a schedule, can be found at the conference website, www.lightingheartsonfire.org. Videos will be archived on the site for a year. The talks are free, but visitors are encouraged to register and freewill donations are accepted.
The series is hosted by the Diocese of Metuchen, in partnership with the Dioceses of Camden, Trenton, Paterson and the Archdiocese of Newark. Sponsors include the New Jersey Catholic Conference, the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for the Study of Marriage and Family, Living Stones Inc. and Focus Marriage Ministries. It coincides with the Year of the Family, established March 19 by Pope Francis to mark the fifth anniversary of the pope’s apostolic exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia” (The Joy of Love).
“The Church is a family of families, constantly enriched by the lives of all those domestic churches,” the pontiff wrote in the exhortation. “The Church is good for the family, and the family is good for the Church.”
Andres Arango, Bishop’s Delegate for Hispanic Ministry and the Diocese of Camden’s director of evangelization, helped kick off the series with a Spanish-language video titled “Authentic Masculinity.” The presentation focuses on the lives of Jesus and his earthly father, Joseph, and how the two – with their faith, discipline, commitment and sense of mission to God – are perfect examples to men today.
The Spanish-language talks that Arango and others are leading can strengthen Hispanic families in a language and culture that they understand, he said.
“Latinos can grow in their personal relationship, and share [God] and his love with others,” Arango said, explaining that the Spanish-language videos are vital to the entire state, especially in the Diocese of Camden, where one-third of Catholics are Hispanic.
Among the talks currently available in English are “Protecting the Family through the Rosary and Devotion to Saint Joseph,” from Father Donald Calloway, MIC, of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, and “The Single Life: Pickle Juice or Champagne?” from Katrina J. Zeno, MTS, national and international speaker on the Theology of the Body.
Future talks will include “Educating Kids in the Faith,” by Mark Hart, executive vice president of Life Teen International, and “Being Fruitful and Multiplying without Kids,” by Eniola Honsberger, director of the Office for Family Life in the Diocese of Paterson.
The series is “a wonderful way to equip the laity to service,” Ottaviano-Britt said. “Everyone has a vocation, and these videos can help people discover what God has planted in their hearts, and understand how they are called.”
At the same time, she sees an opportunity to reach out to the “nones,” those who have fallen away from the Church, or those who have never experienced the joy of the Catholic faith. She plans on working with parishes to promote the conference so that videos can reach families and individuals in their own homes as well.
The series, and the feedback received and energy created through its content, can help the Diocese of Camden better “meet the needs of [the people of South Jersey], and walk with them,” she said.
Allan Caballero, director for the Office of Evangelization and Hispanic Evangelization in the Diocese of Metuchen, said that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, “the need for greater outreach and support of the families … became clear. We’re hoping to answer the needs of many people.”
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