Thirty-fifth Family meeting entitled ” Family and Sacraments ” “This is my beloved Son! All my grace is in him!” (Mt 3:17) was held in Split from January 27 to 28, 2024, in the Franciscan monastery of Father Ante Antić on Trstenik.

The organizers were the Family Counseling Center at the Monastery of Our Lady of Health, Split, in cooperation with HKLD and HZBS Split and the support of the Office for Pastoral Care of the Archdiocese of Split-Makar. Leaders and lecturers were: prof. Dr. Don Ante Mateljan, theologian, prof. Ph.D. Father Nikola Stanković, SI, theologian, philosopher, associate professor. Ph.D. Fr. Domagoj Runje, OFM, theologian, M.Sc. sci. Silvana Dragun, theologian, designer, Darija Mladin, religious teacher, Danijela De Micheli Vitturi, MD, specialist in family medicine, logotherapist. The hosts were: the guardian of the monastery, Fr. Ante Antić, Ph.D. Fr. Domagoj Volarević and PAX hotel manager Ivan Livaković, B.Sc. oec.. Members of HKLD, HZBS and their friends and longtime participants of Family Meetings and Family Summer Schools came to the meeting. The participants came from Metković, Opuzen, Dugi Rat, Podstrana, Split, , Kaštela, Zadar. The meeting began on Saturday morning in the monastery hall of “Fr. Karl Balić”. After the invocation of the Holy Spirit and greetings from the priest of the Split branch of the HKLD, Br. Domagoj Runja, Danijela De Micheli Vitturi greeted those present and welcomed the participants of the 35th Family Meeting, which was held in this space for the second time. Since 1996, 29 family meetings have been held in the Franciscan monastery of St. Mary in Zaostrogo, and four in the monastery of the Holy Cross in Živogošće and three summer recreational meetings in the monastery of St. Duje in Kraji, Pašman. In her introductory presentation on Sacraments in the family through family cycles, she referred to the Letter to Families of St. Pope John Paul II, which he wrote in 1994 in the year of the family, when family meetings also began at the Family Counseling Center at the Monastery of Our Lady of Health in Split. She highlighted the Pope’s recommendation on the need for family cooperation and companionship and the importance of family prayer and receiving the sacraments so that the family can be and remain the Church in miniature. Throughout their lives, a married couple is called to live in love harmoniously and committed to the promise, drawing permanent inspiration in the person of Jesus Christ, who is permanently present among us through the sacraments and the Gift of the Holy Spirit, and never abandons those who believe and open their hearts.

Prof. Dr. Don Ante Mateljan spoke about the sacraments of confession and the anointing of the sick. Sacraments are a visible sign of God’s invisible grace that happens in communion and is related to salvation. Personal experience can be told but not transmitted. We subjectively enter into the experience of meeting God in a human way in the sacrament of penance. He referred to the Gospel passages that speak about the sacrament of confession. God gives us the possibility according to our human nature to meet him. Speaking about the anointing of the sick, which, along with confession and communion, is a sacrament for the sick, he said that illness is sometimes a person’s path to integrity. He referred the participants to the Gospel text of St. James on dealing with the sick and to his book entitled “The Little Book of Illness and Health”. Sacraments make sense of suffering and illness and bring peace. After the lecture, the participants shared their experiences by working in small groups.

About the Sacraments in the paintings of the great masters, mr. sci. Silvana Dragun, theologian, designer, showing the seven holy sacraments through the masterpieces of painters starting from ancient art onwards, interpreting the symbols in the depiction of the holy.

Children to parents – an appropriate play on the theme of the meeting is an integral part of the meetings so far. This time the topic was “Sacraments in the family”, which was prepared for children and young people by Mrs. Darija Mladin, a long-time collaborator and participant in family meetings, mother of six children, religious teacher.

On Saturday afternoon, after praying the rosary and invoking the Divine Mercy, associate professor Ph.D. Fr. Domagoj Runje, OFM, theologian spoke about the sacraments of initiation, which are: baptism, confirmation and communion. Sacraments of initiation are also sacraments of introduction to Christianity. As a professor of the Old Testament, he referred to sacraments through biblical texts. Baptism – a new birth, is an event from which the relationship between God and man arose. It also happens in the encounter with the Holy Spirit. This communication is a mystery that happens in communion. He spoke about the rite of passage, who can be baptized and who can be a baptizer, about the distinction between the terms cross and baptism. Then the sacrament of confirmation as a mystery and the rite of its reception, which is somehow connected with baptism, unlike in our Church, where it is postponed until the age of 15 to 16. He asked the participants the question: “How do I live from the sacraments?” Speaking about the sacrament of the Eucharist, he referred to the history of celebrating the Eucharist and the rhythm of receiving communion, which was not everyday like today. The Eucharist is a sacrament that has no measure or comparison with anything else. The mystical body of Christ that becomes real is distributed to the faithful and we must not forget that the Eucharist is food. After the lecture, there was a lively discussion and a series of questions to the lecturer. On Saturday evening, Fr. Domagoj celebrated mass for the participants of the meeting. After the mass, there was Eucharistic adoration and blessing.

The program continued on Sunday, where the participants together with other believers in the monastery church of the Holy Redeemer celebrated the Sunday Mass, which was presided over by Fr. Domagoj Volarević, guardian of the monastery on Trstenik. After the Mass, Prof. Dr. Father Nikola Stanković, theologian and retired professor of philosophy, spoke about the sacrament of Holy Orders. With reference to the biblical texts about the priest, he presented to the participants his experience of responding to God’s call. He spoke of hierarchy and authority that originates from the Holy One. Through Christ the Lord, the authority comes to the priests. It is a service that originates from “The Most Ancient”. A priest is a mediator between God and people. There are three degrees of priestly service. Dedicated prophetic and managerial. He said that there is no priestly vocation without prayer. It is necessary to meet a pious person and see an example.

The lecture on the priesthood was followed by a round table and a speech on the sacrament of marriage, which, like holy orders, is a sacrament of service. The participants were: married couple Zvonko and Štefica Tošić from Opuzen, they have been married for 30 years and are parents of six children. Then Prof. Dr. Elza Jurun, who has been married to her husband Nikica for 42 years and they have six sons and prof. Dr. Father Nikola Stanković. The moderator was Danijela De Micheli Vitturi. The married couple Tošić talked about their first steps starting at a young age, walking in respect of premarital chastity, accepting marital obligations, joyfully receiving children as a gift from God and indispensable care for elderly parents in the family. They spoke about the importance of prayer and sacramental life, from which they drew strength for daily challenges, then about the connection with the parish and long-term singing in the parish choir and the joy of meeting other families through long-term Family Meetings. Prof. Dr. Elza Jurun, who together with her husband Nikica was the coordinator for Dalmatia at HZBS for many years, in her presentation referred to the importance of personal and family prayer, the practice of sacramental life and the indispensable preparation for the sacraments, which should first and foremost take place in the family and with indispensable preparation in the parish.

Father Nikola Stanković, growing up among ten brothers and sisters, had a good example of family work and prayer from an early age, along with the stimulating example of his grandfather. He spoke about his vocation and priestly formation, which requires both personal and family prayer.

At the end of the meeting, the married couple Nikola and Franko Nogolic from Metković, who have been married for 41 years, parents of six children, performed the dialogue “Socrates and Xanthippus”, authored by Father Nikola Stanković. Through a humorous dialogue, Pater pointed out the basic disagreements of today’s married life, adding to them the ancient context and the message that some “disagreements” in the marital dialogue have remained from ancient times.

Along with the appropriate program, at the meeting there was an opportunity to talk and share experiences between participants of various generations who show by example that despite many enemies, families are not afraid of life, but accept it responsibly, generously and gratefully as the most valuable Gift, and sacramental life permanently it nourishes them and gives them strength for many life challenges.

Thank you to God and the hosts, co-organizers and all the participants who, with their participation, realized and contributed to the joy of meeting in the great family of God’s children.

Danijela De Micheli Vitturi, MD.

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