Presented to the Theology and Religious Department

De La Salle University - Manila

Term 3, A.Y. 2016-2017

In partial fulfillment
of the course
In TREDFOR (C34)

FINAL OUTPUT

Submitted by:
Dela Cruz, Maria Winona G.

Submitted to:
Mr. Lysander P. Rivera

August 14, 2017

Describe the general atmosphere in your family home especially when you are having meals
together, including the changes that have transpired from when you were in grade school up to the
present. Describe your feelings/ attitudes towards your family members?

The atmosphere in our family home has varied over the years. When I was younger, we would
only eat quietly, and things wouldnt be easily brought up in the dining table. This was also the
time where we were distant with each other. We would sit at the same table but we dont really
talk about things. I felt like there was a constant need for us to keep talking on the table, since
its a formula for a good family relationship but somehow, it felt like it was forced. When I grew
up, I saw the change in our relationship as a family. Since I went to college, my brother works in
Pasay and my dad is usually out of town, we rarely have meals together. I think I appreciate our
family time more now than before.

Family bonds are strengthened when we spend as much time with each other and do as many things
together as possible. The old saying the family that prays together stays together still rings true.
Reflect on this and discuss how you spend your time to things that are truly important in this
case, your family. (e.g. Do you find time to join family meals, outings? Do you make sure you keep
family traditions and establish new ones?)

We usually have Sunday lunches together. I think that was our established routine as a family.
Like what Ive mentioned earlier, we rarely get together since were all in different places. What
Ive noticed is that when my dad comes back to Manila, we make it a point to go out, go to mass
and eat dinner together. Other than that, we dont really have something talked about as a
family. The holidays are a given matter but instead of going out and relaxing elsewhere, we
choose to stay home. So I guess we keep family traditions, and we continuously establish new
ones as we go along.

In Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis says: A married couple who experience the power of love know
that this love is called to bind the wounds of the outcast, to foster a culture of encounter and to fight
for justice. God has given the family the job of domesticating the world and helping each person
to see fellow human beings as brothers and sisters. What would it mean for your family to
respond to the challenges of those stories (poverty, injustice, war and violence)? How can your
family transmit love to these people?

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My mom has always been the most compassionate person I know. She has always told us to
give, to help, to do good things without expecting anything in return. She was always the first
person to get cash from her pocket and give it during the offertory. My dad was more of
following my mom into doing things like that. And that made me think that I want a family of my
own who does the same thing. Love knows no limit. And in the simple gestures my parents
instilled in me and my brother, I do know that these gestures will take us further into reaching
out into the people in need. A family, being the most basic form in the society should be able to
carry out what it was always meant to: for love and care to grow and flourish.