Contribution of Father Professor Ludwik Adam Szafrański to the Development of the Theology of Marriage and Family

Abstract

Father A.L. Szafrański made an original contribution to the development of the theology of marriage and family. In his reflections on marriage and family he applied, taken from St. Thomas Aquinas, the notion of mutual participation. Therefore, he exposed, within the endorsed by himself trend of the theology of marriage and family, the links between the persons of the Holy Trinity and the spouses who create the community of marriage and family. According to Fr. Szafrański, in the sacrament of marriage a man and a woman enter into a deep relation with the individual persons of the Triune God. Furthermore, through the sacrament of the Eucharist the spouses gain the power to overcome all difficulties and support of Christ in building a happy family. A family regularly receiving Holy Communion is not closed in itself, but as a living cell of the Church it is opened to the needs of other people and communities. Fr. Szafrański also undertook the issues of rights and privileges of the family, the education of children and youth. In his research he included the topics related to the ecology of the family, which implies the natural family planning and birth control. In addition, he showed the people of today that a good, religious, and morally, spiritually, physically and mentally healthy family is the best environment for the development of the young generation and for the future of the nation and the whole humanity.