Family as a Gift Conference is Happening on June 16 at SMX Moa

FAMILY IS A GIFT Conference is happening on June 16, 2018, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. 

This whole day event aims to showcase the gift of the family, its dignity, and high calling, recognize the challenges families go through today, provide tools that will help couples and families confront these challenges in the form of workshops/breakout sessions and exhort families to work together and persevere in building strong, Christ-centered families that will build a strong, Christ-centered society.

The discussion will feature the following topics:

Part 1: Family Is a Gift

1. The family is a gift.

• Children are born from an act of mutual self-gift; the family is the first environment where we are received as a gift and where we become a gift to another.
• Being a gift is being in communion. The marriage of husband and wife is the symbol of the communion of the Trinity and the communion of Christ and the Church. Through their mutual self-gift and life-giving union, children are born.

2. The family is called to be a gift to others outside of it, to other families and to those in need of a family’s love, by being a light that reveals God’s plan for humanity. In a world surrounded by so much darkness, the family is called to shine Christ’s light of truth and hope amidst: 

• Secularism – God has been removed from how we live our lives
• Relativism – each one dictates his own truth and morality
• A technological culture that threatens genuine communion and leads to isolation

3. As families we don’t just exist for ourselves; we don’t secure the welfare only of our own children. We exist in a community of families that interact and depend on one other; the weakness of one part affects the whole body.

4. Strong families begin with strong marriages.

• Marriage is where husband and wife make a total gift of self to each other and become fruitful.
• Strong marriages allow the light of the family to shine more brightly as it illuminates the way for the children and the future generations, and for other families around it.

Speaker: Fr. Joel Jason, Commissioner on Family and Life, Archdiocese of Manila. Professor of Fundamental Moral Theology, Sexuality and Integrity, Bioethics, and Special Moral Theology at San Carlos Seminary. Parish priest at the Mary Mirror of Justice Parish in Comembo, Makati.

Part 2: Strong Marriages, Strong Families

• Strong families do not just happen. They require hard work, time, and a solid sense of connectedness between spouses.

Speaker: Lissy Ann Puno, counseling psychologist and Certified Imago Relationship Therapist in private practice in Singapore where she is the co-founder of the International Counseling and Psychology Centre; has 25 years of experience working on psychological health and wellness in the US, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and now Singapore; author of “Affairs Don’t Just Happen” a book on protecting marriages and long-term relationships; workshop presenter for the “Getting the Love You Want” couples workshop.

Part 3: Family: A Light in the Darkness

5. The family is threatened but not helpless. As families, we will not allow the darkness to overwhelm us and extinguish our light.

• Parents need to take charge of the future and welfare of their families while also working to help other families.
• Parents and children need to be equipped with practical, relevant ways to work together to address issues that beset them and the culture in which they live.
• Families working together create a bigger, brighter light that will reveal and bring to the reality God’s plan for His children.

6. Strong, Christ-centered families together build a strong, Christ-centered society.

Speaker: Bro. Melo Villaroman, CFC Chairman; Operating Vice-President, United Laboratories

Registration fee is at Php500, but if you sign up before June 10, 2018, you only have to pay Php350. For more details, visit http://familyisagift.com/family-is-a-gift-conference/