“What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Mk.10:9)

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha through its family apostolate operations tries to fortify and consolidate the catholic vision and understanding of the Sacrament of marriage and family

From the beginning of time God planned for man and woman to unite in love and marriage for the continuity of his creation, the human family. Children are the fruit and bond of a marriage. The family provides a framework for each family member to grow as a person in love and security.

St. Joseph is the Patron Saint of Marriage. Bishop Fulton J. Shean, noted in his book ‘The World's First Love’ that "no husband or wife ever loved each other as much as Joseph and Mary," for they had a pure union of heart. St. Augustine wrote that the true basis of married love is the attachment of hearts. C. S. Lewis in his book The Four Loves describes Agape is true, unconditional love, a generosity of spirit which gives and expects nothing in return. It is the love that God has for us. It is love at the highest level. The more this true love there is between a man and a woman, there is Christian family. The Holy Family is our best example of a loving family. The family is a community of life and love, founded upon marriage, to protect each family member and to communicate love. Marriage provides commitment and security to each member of the family.

Our family is an opportunity to grow in virtues such as love, generosity, patience and where one quickly learns that forgiveness is the key to peace. Pope John Paul II calls the family the sanctuary of life in his encyclical The Gospel of Life: "Within the family each member is accepted, respected, and honored precisely because he or she is a person; and if any family member is in greater need, the care which she or he receives is all the more intense and attentive." As the parents have given life to their children, they have the primary responsibility for the education of their children. The family is the principal school of virtues.

Our Family Apostolate tools and interventions primarily aim to reinforce and strengthen family tie-ups.

Family visits:

Family visits are the same saving mission of Jesus Christ who brought the sinners back to God`s love by going to their houses by taking part in their joys and difficulties and by initiating them to return back with repentance. The very presence of Jesus was enough for many to realize their shortcomings and return back to their blessed and graceful lives. Absorbing this spirit of Jesus, the Founder was always alert to mingle with people irrespective of caste, creed, social or economic status. The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha follows the footsteps of its Founder in understanding people in their actual and real situations through family visits and thereby to help them to lead a life attuned to the will of God.

Spiritual Counsellings:

Our sisters enlighten people about the importance and sacredness of family life and convince them of their responsibilities to build a good home based on mutual love and respect. Special concern is shown towards those broken families including those who are suffering physically and mentally. Reconciliation and mediation efforts are taken to restore broken families and those who are living in separation with difference of opinion. Sisters make visits to their homes and counsel them with prayerful fellowship to settle all matters hindering their family tie-ups and thus assisting them to live their lives with renewed hope and love.

Children/Youth Ministry:

Our sisters through their concurrent home visits come into contact with the children and youth of the locality. After making rapport with those girls and boys sisters involve diligently in their character formation and personality development. There are individual attending sessions or collective group work programs organized to address the youth related issues and concerns as well.

Preparing to Receive Sacraments:

This is one of the most important missions of our family apostolate operations. Sisters prepare the catholic people to receive sacraments in general especially the reception of the sacrament of baptism including adult baptism, preparing the dying for the reception of last sacrament etc. Our sisters also are keen to teach the basic Christian values in mission areas.

Community Organization:

Community organization is well planned systematic approach to uplift the poor and downtrodden people in the remote villages of the mission areas where our sisters work hard. The sisters, who are in the mission areas, visit the families of the villages, design according to the felt need of the people in order to empower them to a state of self-reliant growth and development and also to strengthen their social, moral and cultural values.

Home Mission Programme:

Home mission is a daring step in the field of family apostolate. Families are now facing challenges due to the drastic social changes taken place in the society. According to Second Vatican Council every family is the basic Christian unit of the church. Considering this as our top-most priority, we arrange parish level home mission programs, comprising of home visits, family counsellings, prayer sessions, reconciliation and agape gathering etc. Today our provinces possess special trained and dedicated teams of sisters for the home mission programs alone. They work hard to safeguard the sanctity and integrity of the family. It is mainly through the restoration of forgiving love of Jesus in the families, we can revitalize the basic unit of church today.