CFCA Vic holds a Family Enrichment Retreat in Tasmania by Bro. Ed Cablao

A mission team from CFCA Victoria travelled to Launceston on 24 October to conduct the Family Enrichment Retreat. The team consisted of Joh and me, Bro. Deng and Sis. Lydia Galang, and the Nuestro family — Bro. Mick, Sis. Shiela, Kaila, and Klark.

Originally, the retreat was planned as a Family Camp at Riverbend Youth Centre in Scotchtown from 24–26 October 2025, in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Hobart through Ms. Christine Woods, Director of the Office of Evangelisation and Catechesis. A financial grant had been approved to help subsidise the costs for 20 families to attend, including the mission team and the support group in Tasmania. Personal invitations were extended by Bro. Mike and Sis. Lis Ryan to families in Northwest Tasmania and King Island, and registration details were posted on the Archdiocese’s website.

Two weeks before the event, however, Sis. Lis informed the team that the camp had to be cancelled due to a lack of confirmed participants. As an alternative, the retreat was relocated to Launceston and the invitation was extended to parishioners of the Church of the Apostles, where the event was ultimately held.

The retreat proceeded successfully with participants from CFCA Tasmania and two parish families who joined the weekend family teaching.

The first talk, delivered by Bro. Deng, focused on “God’s Plan for the Family.” He began by posing two thought-provoking questions: What would the world be without the family? and If the family is truly part of God’s plan, why are so many families breaking apart? His message highlighted the central role of the family in God’s divine design, and he concluded with a heartfelt sharing from Sis. Lydia that deeply touched the participants.

The second talk (delivered by me) centred on the roles of each family member and the vital importance of communication between parents and children. It addressed common obstacles to effective communication and emphasized the value of making time for regular, meaningful dialogue within the family.

Talk three was delivered by Bro. Mick on the theme “Healing Relationships between Parents and their Children.” He illustrated his point with a powerful analogy: just as the body cannot function well with a broken limb or a chair with a broken leg, a family cannot fulfil its mission or respond to God’s call to evangelise if its relationships are fractured. Hence, the need for healing. The session concluded with moving testimonies from Klark and Kaila, followed by a prayer of parents for their children and a response prayer of children for their parents.

The final talk of the day, “Partnership in Building a Christian Home,” highlighted that God must always remain at the centre of every family. I shared that each household should intentionally make their home a dwelling place for God by identifying and removing elements that do not belong under His dominion, and by strengthening their life of worship through attending Mass together and engaging in regular family prayer.

A true Christian home, I added, should be a place where faith is lived and nurtured, where love through service is experienced and shared, and where peace and order are cultivated and sustained. The session concluded with an inspiring testimony from Joh, who shared how God’s presence has transformed her own family life; a transformation that continues to manifest in the lives of our married children as they now strive to live out the same faith-filled values in their own homes.