The Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life and Mission of CFC-FFL

The Blessed Virgin Mary
in the Life and Mission of
Couples for Christ Foundation for Family and Life


CFC-FFL was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary last August 10, 2007. On October 2 we formulated our Core Values. The two events are intimately connected, and we look to our Mother Mary as the personification of and the model for living out our Core Values. Just as our Core Values function as our constant guideposts as we proceed with our life and mission, so Mary likewise is our guide. (CFC-FFL paper, Nov. 9, 2007)

Mary is at the very core of the life and mission of the Church quietly interceding and praying. Mary is also at the very heart of our community.

As we have redefined ourselves in community as being an integral part of the Church with our life and mission strictly adhering to the values, ideals and teachings of our Catholic faith, we therefore look to Mary, the Mother of the Church, as our inspiration.

More than ever, we would like to focus on Mary as our model for living out our life in community.
She serves as our model of holiness, faith, humility, obedience, total trust in God, hope, joy and discipleship. We look to Mary as our inspiration and help as she intercedes for us.

We therefore need to make an effort within ourselves, our families, our households, and our community to ensure Mary’s becoming an integral part of our lives. Our children need to experience Mary in our homes. Our community needs to put Mary in a place of honor during assemblies, conferences, ministry activities and households. We also need to always remember to call on her to intercede for our community’s needs. Our involvement in our parish should include support for Marian devotions and other related activities.

Practical Application in our Community Life
A. Personal and Family Life

1. Make Mary our model of obedience and faith by following her virtues.
2. Raise our children in appreciating and following Mary’s virtues and to look up to her as our Mother in heaven.
3. Read up on Marian books.
- “Forty Days with Mary” by Frank Padilla, “Mama Mary and Her Children” by Fr. James
Reuter, “Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary for Families” by Jerry
Conicker, etc.
4. Practice devotions and offer novenas to Mary.
- Mother of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our lady of Guadalupe, Mary Mediatrix of
All Grace, etc.
5. Make it a habit to pray the rosary regularly. Offer it for peace in our families, our community, our country and the whole world. 6. Carry a rosary in your pocket daily. 7. Encourage the practice of family prayers by praying the rosary together as a family on a regular basis. 8. Have an image of the Blessed Mother on your home’s altar.

B. Parish Life
1. Actively participate in important Marian celebrations of the parish.
2. Support the diocese/parish in their Communitarian Praying of the Rosary.
3. Actively participate in the parish during the Children’s Rosary Crusade Prayer Rally every
October with our CFC Kids for Family and Life members of the parish.

C. CFC-FFL Community Life
1. CFC-FFL and its ministries’ assemblies may be preceded by the recitation of the rosary.
2. It is encouraged that the image of Our Lady should take a prominent position in all our
assemblies.
3. It is encouraged that each District and/or parish-based chapter has its own image of Our Lady. Images of Our Lady are available in our FFL Shoppe.
4. The CFC-FFL prayer of consecration to Our Lady may be prayed during household meetings and assemblies.
5. Members of CFC-FFL should have teachings and formation on Mary. There should be teachings on the Church and Mary, and Mary and the Rosary. 6. All CFC-FFL members should know how to pray the Rosary. 7. Consider each household having its own image of Our Lady, which will be moved from one host to the other. The image will stay with the host family, so the family can pray the rosary together before the image daily, until it is transferred to the next host after their household meeting. This can serve as our own community’s family rosary crusade per household. 8. The community will have its yearly Marian Pilgrimage. 9. The different districts through their parishes and the CFC Kids for Family and Life should actively participate in the Children’s Rosary Crusade Rally every October. 10. The international community of CFC-FFL in coordination with their respective parishes will be active participants of the Beads for Peace every October being spearheaded by CFC-FFL Manila.

(Approved Feb 9, 2008)