The Church calls us to lovingly safeguard family life. As the fundamental unit of society, the family is "the first school of human values," the first place of socialization where we learn to see ourselves in relationship with the other. We must take care of that family currently going through a cultural crisis rendering it increasingly fragile.
In a society where individualism weakens interpersonal relationships, the family institution itself runs the risk of being regarded as insignificant. Respectful and sensitive toward all, we, Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, carry out various activities aimed at strengthening family values through a ministry to family life that is in union with the teachings of the Church.
GFASC began in 1994, in the province of Paranà, Brazil, for the purpose of forming a great “family” linked to the charism of Mother Clelia and to the spirituality of the Congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The great family of the Sacred Heart - "GFASC" as it is called - is a mission that revolves around the family with the primary objective of consecrating families to the Sacred Heart of Jesus who then live their Christian life with steadfastness. This experience of living within the spirituality and the charism of Mother Clelia is offered to all those who wish to know and love the Heart of Jesus and to witness to that love. For many this is already a light and hope toward new life.
To belong to the great family of the Sacred Heart means to live a program of life that involves all of one’s being, taking on specific characteristics in one’s life that witnesses to the primacy of the love of the Heart of Jesus in all areas of society.
GFASC provides several means for spiritual growth: spiritual direction, formative gatherings, prayer, spirituality, retreats, pilgrimages, as well as national and international GFASC gatherings that provide for an experience of deepening in the spiritual, charismatic and communal life together.
Every person who belongs to and participates in the GFASC group will commit to carrying out an apostolic work, no matter how small, as a service to the Church and to the Congregation, according to each one’s capabilities, as permanent deacons, catechists, ministers of the Eucharist, parochial ministry, social service, and so forth.
Those members who are aged and/or ill will exercise their apostolate through the offering of prayers and sacrifices to the Heart of Jesus. These individuals will be part of the great GFASC family in a very special way.
We are called to be Christians focused on following Jesus, his teachings, his plan to unite us to His Heart, and to learn from Him how to love God, ourselves and others. When Jesus enters our life, we are compelled to announce the Good News and an apostolic energy is born within us. Whoever welcomes the treasure of the Gospel, Jesus and His Merciful Heart, goes and sells everything he has because he wants to buy the field where the treasure lies hidden.
Like the twelve Apostles, the Christians of the early Church, the Martyrs, and the Confessors of the faith, who all testified to Jesus, so too the great family of the Sacred Heart is the ever-growing mustard seed, that small seed which brings the tenderness of the Heart of Jesus to the world of today.
The invitation to belong to the great family of the Sacred Heart is open to each family member: husband, wife, children, and to all who wish to live Christian values and consecrate their life to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is an experience that begins in the family, in one's own home and in everyday life, embracing charity, acceptance, listening, respect and forgiveness. Little by little, family members are moved by the same sentiments as Jesus.
Belonging to the great family of the Sacred Heart must never be a reason to alienate oneself from parish life. To the contrary, it should be an incentive for parishioners to become more involved in the pastoral action of the Church and to be witnesses to faith in Jesus. "Faith is strengthened when it is given to others!" (Redemptoris Missio, 2)
In the GFASC family, all are called to live the Gospel as disciples of Jesus, Apostles of His Kingdom.
The Heart of Jesus is a gift of God, to His Church and to all of humanity. When everyone works together, this gift may become a reality in the heart of every person in such a way that in the family, and in all of society, the Kingdom of Love, of Truth, of Life, of Grace, and of Peace is established: THE CIVILIZATION OF LOVE.
Following the way of evangelical charity is the goal. Everyone must love one another as Jesus has loved us. In the words of Mother Clelia: "Christian charity embraces all who hate us or offend us with words or actions.” (Spiritual Anthology, 3.2., p.92) It teaches us how to act. "Practice charity with a kind and peaceful countenance, with an affable manner, with gentle and cordial speech; be indulgent in the use of charity, always taking the good side and interpreting everything told to you favorably, excusing others even at your own expense, as much as prudence permits." (Spiritual Anthology, 3.2., p.89)
