The Domestic Church as a Place of Ecclesial Growth in Faith

Abstract

Sacramental life is one of the fundamental dimensions of the Church’s existence. It is around the celebration of salvific mysteries that its missionary, evangelizing, formational, and educational nature is actualized. In this sense, the liturgy serves as a shared framework within which all members of the Church can find their identity. This applies equally to the conduct of individual believers and entire communities: from the family community to the communities that correspond to one’s current personal or professional circumstances to the global and cosmic dimension of the community that is the Church.

The present article examines the influence of liturgical life on the spiritual condition of the family. As such, it aims to analyze the concept of the Domestic Church as the sphere in which the spiritual formation of a given family takes place. This formation has its source in sacramental life, and the religious activities experienced by the family naturally pertain to the local dimension—actualized in the parish to which the family belongs.

Theoretical findings are reflected in the empirical research (qualitative and quantitative surveys) conducted in the parish of St. Joseph in Toruń, administered by the Fathers of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. Initiatives undertaken by the Redemptorist Fathers to support families were researched as part of the grant project titled “The Model of Family Support Offered by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in Toruń,” directed by Krzysztof Pilarz, PhD, DSc, Professor of the Nicolaus Copernicus University. The grant was funded by the Rev. Jerzy Bagrowicz Scholarship Fund (supervised by the Pro Futuro Theologiae Foundation). This article is one of the three planned publications to be prepared upon the completion of the research grant.