This reminds me of a passage in Pius XI's 1937 encyclical, Mit Brennender Sorge. Pope Pius wrote this encyclical to contest the Third Reich's persecution of the Church in Germany, and the Nazi harassment of Catholic young people, families and schools. He wrote that, "every true and lasting reform has ultimately sprung from the sanctity of men who were driven by the love of God and of men" (33). He said that "personal sanctification" is the crucial first step to sanctifying the world by extending the kingdom of God. And that makes perfect sense. Most of us learn how to seek God and hunger for holiness from our parents and within our families.

Familiaris Consortio encourages families to become involved in forms of social service, especially those which favor the poor; to cultivate the practice of hospitality and to engage themselves politically. The Pope especially encourages families to "be the first to take steps to see that the laws and institutions of the state not only do not offend, but support and positively defend the rights and duties of the family."

The Pope also reminds us that in many places around the world, the family is under siege from a hostile society and state. And in response to these abuses, he outlines a charter of 14 family rights that range from the right to political and economic security, to freedom of education, of worship and of movement to seek better living conditions.

John Paul II closes this section of Familiaris Consortio by reminding us that "[I]nsofar as it is a `small-scale church,' the Christian family is called upon, like the `large-scale church,' to be a sign of unity to the world, and in this way to exercise its prophetic role by bearing witness to the kingdom and peace of Christ, toward which the whole world is journeying." In other words, in the name of Jesus Christ, every Catholic must in some sense be an internationalist — and so must every Catholic family.

Now how do we apply these teachings?

As the Holy Father says in Novo Millennio Ineunte, we should never be "seduced by the naïve expectation that, faced with the great challenges of our time, we shall find some magic formula . . . It is not a matter of inventing a new program. The program already exists: It is the plan found in the Gospel . . . [and it] has its center in Christ Himself, who is to be known, loved and imitated, so that in Him we may live the life of the Trinity, and with Him transform history . . ." (29).

The most important way for families to live Familiaris Consortio as if it really mattered is to pray often and together — and not to "lie" when they do it. We need to live what we say we believe. That means bringing Christ into all of our daily routines, and all of our daily interactions and reflections.

I think it was Karl Barth who said that there are actually two sources of revelation: the Scriptures and the newspapers. In one sense he was right. It's a poetic way of expressing the fact that God speaks to us through the events of our time, not only important events but also in the daily events of our lives at home, in our communities, and with our relatives and friends.

That's why I've always clipped the newspapers. Sooner or later, God uses the headlines to speak to the heart. Let me give you just a few examples.

Here's the first example: Awhile back the Congressional Budget Office reported that the wealthiest 2.7 million Americans now have as much to spend as the poorest 100 million Americans. The incomes of the richest Americans are rising twice as fast as those of the middle class. Four out of five American households take home a smaller portion of the economic pie than they did in 1977, and the gap between the rich and poor in the United States is actually increasing.

Here's another example: A couple of weeks ago the Chicago Tribune reported on the rise of a "pro-anorexia" movement on the internet. Hundreds of websites now exist to encourage and support people — not in overcoming their anorexia, but in hanging onto it. About 5 million Americans, mostly young women, struggle with anorexia, and at least 1,000 die from it every year. And it's very difficult to shut any of these websites down because of the protection they get from constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech.

Here's another example: Last fall, the London Times reported on the marketing of a new toy called "Death Row Marv." The toy allows children to electrocute a plastic doll based on a comic book character convicted of murdering the man who killed his girlfriend.

According to the Times, "strapped into the chair, the 6-inch figure can move his neck, shoulders, waist and wrists. As the current is applied, his eyes glow red and his body convulses. In his death throes, he taunts his executioners through clenched teeth [with the words, `Is] that the best you can do, you pansies?'"

Here's another example: Earlier this month Chicago papers reported on the death of a Richard Englbrecht. At 81, Englbrecht was quiet and something of a loner, so he didn't have many friends. He was dead in his house for several weeks before anyone noticed he was missing.

But that's not the whole story. Englbrecht lived right next door to Adolph Stec, 72, who was also found dead in his house, earlier this spring. Stec had been dead, sitting in his living room chair, for more than four years. Both men had died of natural causes. Neither had close relatives. Nobody noticed they were missing. In the case of Adolph Stec, he wasn't discovered until the authorities auctioned his house for unpaid taxes, and the new owners broke in to do renovations.

And here's one final example: On Aug. 2, the New York Times reported a story entitled "Bioethicists find themselves the ones being scrutinized." The story had three key points. (1) Bioethicists play a growing role in deciding morally sensitive questions like stem cell and cloning research. (2) As one expert complained, "anybody can stand up and claim to be an ethicist — there is no licensing, there is no accreditation." And (3) in the words of another expert, research corporation "bioethics boards look like watchdogs, but they're used like show dogs." In other words, corporations tend to hire and manipulate bioethicists to get the moral counsel they want.