Rm 16, 5 Greet also the church at their house

(Rm 16, 5) Greet also the church at their house

[5] greet also the church at their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.

(CCC 1657) It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity" (Lumen gentium, 10). Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for human enrichment" (Gaudium et spes, 52 § 1). Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life. (CCC 2204) "The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and realization of ecclesial communion, and for this reason it can and should be called a domestic church" (Familiaris consortio, 21; cf. Lumen gentium, 11). It is a community of faith, hope, and charity; it assumes singular importance in the Church, as is evident in the New Testament (Cf. Eph 5:21b: 4; Col 3:18-21; 1Pet 3:1-7). (CCC 2685) The Christian family is the first place of education in prayer. Based on the sacrament of marriage, the family is the "domestic church" where God's children learn to pray "as the Church" and to persevere in prayer. For young children in particular, daily family prayer is the first witness of the Church's living memory as awakened patiently by the Holy Spirit.