"I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20)

Families today face no shortage of challenges. And perhaps it is precisely in those moments, amid the noise and the pressures of ordinary life, that the words of Christ carry their greatest weight: "I am with you always."

That promise does not hover somewhere above the everyday. It meets us in the middle of it. In shared meals and fractured conversations. In laughter around the table and in the exhaustion of days that run too long. A quiet, faithful presence remains, even when it goes unnoticed.

This year's National Family and Life Week, running from May 10 to 17, 2026, invites us to look again at that reality with fresh eyes: Christ is present at the heart of family life, and most especially where families feel their fragility most keenly.

The resources prepared for this week are offered to a wide community of people who shape and support family life in different ways. They are for families themselves, for parish and catechetical leaders, for those who teach or work in schools rooted in Catholic tradition, and for all who serve in marriage, family and life ministry. The work you do matters. The efforts that go unseen, the fresh starts, the commitment to love even when it is difficult: none of that is lost. It is there, in those very places, that the promise of Christ's presence becomes most alive. You are called to be its witnesses and to let it shine in the lives of those around you.

To help sustain that hope day to day, a range of practical and accessible resources is available for free download through the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). Designed to fit naturally into daily life at home and in parish or school settings, they offer small but meaningful moments of faith, reflection and encouragement, whether individually, as a couple, as a family or within a group. They are there to be used, adapted and shared freely.

Highlights among this year's offerings include:

• A one-minute introductory video offering a gentle entry point into the week's theme
• Daily social media visuals to accompany each day of the week at home and online
• Age-appropriate activities for toddlers, children and young people, as well as materials suitable for parish use

Whether the setting is a family dinner table, a quiet conversation between spouses, or a parish gathering, these resources are there to support and inspire.

For further information, please contact us at 514 925-4300, ext. 206.

May this National Family Week be full of life and of moments that carry lasting meaning, sustained by the presence of Christ, always with us, our source of peace and hope.

The team at the Diocesan Centre for Marriage, Life and Family