The Family Room (The Quest)

Dr. Greg Popcak, co-founder of CatholicHÔM and Catholic Counselors and co-host of More2Life

Dr. Greg Popcak shares meaningful and practical ways for family members to draw closer to one another by living out their faith in their everyday home lives, starting with forming a deep, personal relationship with Christ. As a real, personal encounter with Jesus, The Eucharist should change everything, Greg notes, especially how we live and love each other as families. Greg discusses how the CatholicHom program teaches families to bring the grace of the Eucharist home and make the faith its center. Greg takes us through a model of family spirituality called the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life and provides ideas on how to live out our Baptismal priestly, prophetic, and kingly missions through three main areas: Christian relationship, family rituals, and reaching out. Greg calls the Eucharist the super-food we need to consume to fulfill our mission as a family. God puts us in families with particular gifts, and when we connect everything to Eucharistic grace, we put ourselves on the path to be healthy, happy, and holy. It’s about meeting the Lord, inviting Him to be the most important member of your family, and being more intentional about walking with Christ all day long. Having presented the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life model to family ministers in 30+ countries on 5 continents, Greg notes that it works with all types of families - from those who identify with the Cleavers to those who mirror the Simpsons - including families that have experienced divorce and single-parent, fostering, grandparenting, or step families.

Dr. Greg Popcak. Ph.D., MSW, LISW-S, is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Pastoral Solutions Institute, the author of almost 20 popular books and programs integrating solid Catholic theology and counseling psychology, and an expert on the practical applications of Pope John Paul the Great’s Theology of the Body. He is the Chair of the Marriage and Family Studies program at Holy Apostles College and Seminary and serves as an adjunct professor of both psychology and graduate theology at Franciscan University. Dr. Greg Popcak and Lisa Popcak were honored to be the Vatican’s choice to present the opening keynote on the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life model at the 2022 World Meeting of Families in Rome.

Resources

• Register for the family track at the Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta June 18, 2022, hosted by Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak: CatholicFamilyAtlanta.com
• Digital platform (website and app) dedicated to providing information and resources to help Catholic families encounter Christ more meaningfully at home, to love like Christ, and draw closer to each other by living the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life: CatholicHÔM (Catholic Households on Mission)
• Pastoral tele-counseling practice serving Catholic individuals, couples, and families worldwide: CatholicCounselors.com
• Original research and professional training in support of Catholic family spirituality and well-being: Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life
• Books:
  • BeDADitudes - 8 Ways to Be an Awesome Dad: showing how the Beatitudes can be viewed as a practical guide to understanding the love of God and applying that love to being a better father.
  • How Our Family Prays Each Day: a read-aloud book for children ages 4 to 8 that emphasizes the importance of praying and spending time with God each day.
  • Discovering God Together - The Catholic Guide to Raising Faithful Kids: how you can transform your family, creating for it a joyful place where each member experiences life as a gift from God.

Scripture

• Luke 10:38-42 - “[Jesus] entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”