VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 080   
   DATE 29-04-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - General audience: the dignity of marriage   
   - The Pope sends a video message to guests at the Caritas centres   
      
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    General audience: the dignity of marriage   
    Vatican City, 29 April 2015 (VIS) - Following last Wednesday's catechesis on   
   God's original plan for man and woman as a couple, the Pope spoke at today's   
   general audience about marriage, recalling that Jesus' first miracle took place   
   during the wedding at Cana, when He transformed water into wine and thus   
   ensured   
   that the celebrations could take place. "This fact reminds us of Genesis, when   
   God completed His creation with his masterpiece: man and woman", he said. "And   
   Jesus began His miracles with this masterpiece, in marriage. ... Thus Jesus   
   teaches us that the masterpiece of society is the family: the man and the woman   
   who love each other. ... Since that time, many things have changed but that   
   'sign' of Christ contains a message that remains valid".   
    "Nowadays it does not seem easy to describe marriage as a celebration that is   
   renewed over time, in the different seasons in the entire life of spouses. It   
   is   
   a fact that fewer people marry. Instead, in many countries the number of   
   separations is increasing, while the number of children is in decline. The   
   difficulty of staying together - both as a couple and as a family - leads to   
   bonds being broken with increasing frequency and rapidity. ... In effect, many   
   young people are led to give up the plan of an irrevocable bond and a lasting   
   family. There is a kind of culture of the provisional: everything is temporary,   
   and it seems that nothing is permanent".   
    For this reason, the Pope continued, one of the questions we must face   
   nowadays   
   is why young people do not choose to get married, and seem to have little   
   confidence in marriage and in the family. "The difficulties are not only of an   
   economic nature, although these are very important", he observed. "Many people   
   believe that the change that has taken place in recent decades was set in   
   motion   
   by the emancipation of women. But this argument is not valid either. It is an   
   insult, a form of misogyny that seeks to subjugate women. If men behave in this   
   way, we are like Adam, when God asked him who had eaten the fruit of the tree,   
   and he said that the woman gave it to him".   
    "In reality, almost all men and women would prefer emotional security in the   
   form of a solid marriage and a happy family ... but, for fear of failure, many   
   do   
   not even want to think about it. ... Perhaps it is precisely that fear of   
   failure   
   that is the greatest obstacle to receiving the word of Christ, Who promises His   
   grace to the matrimonial union and to the family". However, "marriage   
   consecrated by God preserves that bond between man and woman that God has   
   blessed ever since the creation of the world; and it is a source of peace and   
   good for all married and family life. For example, in the early times of   
   Christianity, this great dignity of the bond between man and woman defeated an   
   abuse considered to be entirely normal in those times, that is, the right of   
   husbands to repudiate their wives, even for the most specious and humiliating   
   reasons. The Gospel, the Gospel that announces this sacrament, ended this   
   culture of habitual repudiation".   
    "The Christian seed of radical equality between spouses must bear new fruit   
   today", emphasised the Holy Father. "The witness of the social dignity of   
   marriage will become persuasive, the witness of reciprocity between husband and   
   wife, of complementarity. .. And as Christians we must become more demanding in   
   this respect. For example, in decisively supporting equal pay for equal work:   
   inequality is a scandal. Why is it taken for granted that women should earn   
   less   
   than men? No! They have the same rights. At the same time, the maternity of   
   women and the paternity of men should be recognised as a richness that remains   
   valid, especially for the benefit of children. Equally, the virtue of   
   hospitality in Christian families today retains a crucial importance,   
   especially   
   in situations of poverty, degradation and domestic violence".   
    "Do not be afraid of inviting Jesus to the wedding celebrations! And also His   
   Mother Mary!" exclaimed Pope Francis. "Christians, when they marry 'in the   
   Lord', are transformed into an effective sign of God's love. Christians do not   
   marry only for themselves: they marry in the Lord in favour of all the   
   community, of society as a whole".   
      
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    The Pope sends a video message to guests at the Caritas centres   
    Vatican City, 29 April 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday evening in the Brancaccio   
   theatre, Rome, the guests of the Caritas reception centre were the protagonists   
   of the play "Se non fosse per te" ("If it were not for you"), directed by Carlo   
   Del Giudice, which narrates their life stories. It recounts stories of love,   
   disappointment and abandonment, but also of mutual love for children, parents,   
   life and God. It offers a unique opportunity for dialogue between Rome and her   
   most vulnerable citizens, in which Pope Francis wished to participate by   
   sending   
   a video message to the actors.   
    "The way in which you speak to the city offers a meaningful opportunity for   
   dialogue and exchange. Between you, on the stage, displaying your hidden   
   talents, assisted by expert professionals who have guided you as actors to   
   enable your resources and potential to flourish - and those who are listen,   
   surely amazed by the richness you offer. Whoever thought that a homeless person   
   could be someone we can learn from? Whoever thought they could be a saint?   
   Instead, this evening you transmit to us from the stage valuable teachings on   
   love, on the needs of others, on solidarity, and on how to find, amid   
   difficulties, the love of the Father".   
    "Poverty is the great teaching that Jesus gave to us when he descended into   
   the   
   waters of the Jordan to be baptised by John the Baptist. He did not do so out   
   of   
   a need for penance, for conversion; He did so in order to be among the people,   
   people in need of forgiveness, in the midst of us, sinners, in order to bear   
   the   
   burden of our sins. And this is the path He chose so as to console us, save us,   
   liberate us from our misery. That which gives us true freedom, true salvation   
   and true happiness is His love of compassion, tenderness and sharing. The Good   
   Samaritan who lifts us up, beaten by robbers".   
    "St. Gregory of Nyssa, a great theologian of antiquity, writes: 'Consider well   
   who are the poor in the Gospel and discover their dignity; they wear the face   
   of   
   the Lord. In His mercy He has given them His own face'. And St. Augustine said,   
   'On earth Christ is hungry in the poor. You must fear Christ in heaven and   
   recognise Him on earth; on earth He is poor, in heaven He is rich'".   
    "I too wish to make these words my own. You are not a burden to us. You are   
   the   
   wealth without which our attempts to discover the face of the Lord are in vain.   
   A few days after my election, I received from you a letter of well wishes and   
   offers of prayer. I remember replying immediately, to tell you that I hold you   
   in my heart and am at your disposal. I confirm those words. On that occasion I   
   asked you to pray for me. I reiterate my request, as I am truly in need of your   
   prayers".   
    The Pope went on to thank all the workers of Caritas Rome. "I think of them as   
   my hands, the hands of the bishop, in touching the Body of Christ. I also thank   
   the many volunteers from the parishes of Rome and other parts of Italy. In this   
   way they discover a world that requires attention and solidarity; men and women   
   who seek affection, relationships, dignity, and with whom we can experience   
   charity by learning to welcome, listen and give of ourselves".   
    The Pope remarked that the city of Rome has in all times been distinguished by   
   persons filled with God's love. "Let us think of St. Lawrence (his jewels were   
   the poor) and St. Pammachius (a Roman senator who converted and devoted himself   
   exclusively to the service of the least among us), St. Fabiola (the first to   
   build a hostel for the poor in Porto), St. Philip Neri, Blessed Angelo Paoli,   
   St. Joseph Labre (the 'beggar saint'), and Don Luigi di Liegro, founder of   
   Caritas Rome. How I would like Rome to shine with 'pietas' for those who   
   suffer,   
   with welcome for those who flee from war and death, with willingness, smiles   
   and   
   magnanimity for those who have lost hope. How I would like the Church of Rome   
   always to show herself to be an ever more attentive and caring mother to the   
   weak. We all have weaknesses, all of us; everyone has their own. How I would   
   like the parish communities in prayer, as a poor person enters the Church, to   
   kneel in veneration as they do when the Lord enters! How I would like the flesh   
   of Christ to be touched in the needy of this city".   
    The Pope concluded his message by expressing his hope of meeting the actors   
   personally, as occurred recently with the homeless in the Sistine Chapel, and   
   he   
   bestowed on them his blessing.   
      
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