live a life of faith, ... to see that their suffering is a gift for the
Church, because they also help others to defend the stability of love, of
Marriage; ... theirs is a suffering in the community of the Church for the
great values of our faith".
A Greek family asked the Pope what families affected by the economic crisis
can do not to lose hope. "Words are insufficient", the Holy Father replied.
"We should do something tangible and we all suffer because we are unable to do
so. First let us
Subject: VISnews120603
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
speak of politics. I believe that all parties should show an increased sense
of responsibility, that they should not make promises they cannot keep, that
they should not seek votes only for themselves but show responsibility for the
common good of
everyone, in the awareness that politics is also a human and moral
responsibility before God and man". Moreover, each of must do everything we
can "with a great sense of responsibility and in the knowledge that sacrifices
are necessary if we are to
prevail". The Holy Father also suggested that families help one another, and
that parishes and cities do likewise, supporting one another with material
assistance and never forgetting to pray.
A seven year old girl from Vietnam asked the Pope to say something about
his own family and infancy. Benedict XVI recalled the essential importance
Sunday had had for his family. "Sunday began on Saturday afternoon when my
father would tell us the
Sunday readings. ... Thus we entered into the liturgy in an atmosphere of joy.
The next day we would go to Mass. I lived near Salzburg so there was always
music - Mozart, Schubert, Haydn - and when the 'Kyrie' began it was as if the
sky itself had
opened. ... We were of one heart and soul, with many shared experiences even
through difficult times because there was the war and before that the
dictatorship, then poverty. But the reciprocal love that existed between us,
the joy in simple things was
so strong that we could bear and overcome these things. ...Thus we grew up in
the certainty that it is good to be human, because we could see the goodness
of God reflected in parents and siblings. ... In this context of
trust, joy and love we were happy and I think that heaven must be similar to
my youth. In this sense I hope 'to go home' when I go 'to the other part of
the world'".
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LOVE IS THE ONLY FORCE THAT CAN TRULY TRANSFORM THE WORLD
Vatican City, 3 June 2012 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. today, Benedict XVI presided
at an open-air Mass at Bresso Park in Milan, Italy, for the closure of the
seventh World Meeting of Families. The meeting began on 30 May and has had as
its theme: "The Family:
Work and Celebration". Extracts of the homily delivered by the Pope to the one
million faithful present are given below.
"The liturgical Solemnity of the Holy Trinity that we are celebrating today
... urges us to commit ourselves to live our communion with God and with one
another according to the model of Trinitarian communion. ... It is not only
the Church that is
called to be the image of One God in Three Persons, but also the family, based
on marriage between man and woman. ... God created us male and female, equal
in dignity, but also with respective and complementary characteristics, so
that the two might be
a gift for each other, might value each other and might bring into being a
community of love and life. It is love that makes the human person the
authentic image of God. Dear married couples, in living out your marriage you
are not giving each other any
particular thing or activity, but your whole lives. And your love is fruitful
first and foremost for yourselves, because you desire and accomplish one
another’s good, you experience the joy of receiving and giving. It is
also fruitful in your generous and responsible procreation of children, in
your attentive care for them, and in their vigilant and wise education. And
lastly, it is fruitful for society, because family life is the first and
irreplaceable school of
social virtues, such as respect for persons, gratuitousness, trust,
responsibility, solidarity, cooperation. Dear married couples, watch over your
children and, in a world dominated by technology, transmit to them, with
serenity and trust, reasons for
living, the strength of faith, pointing them towards high goals and supporting
them in their fragility".
"Your vocation is not easy to live, especially today, but the vocation to
love is a wonderful thing, it is the only force that can truly transform the
world. You have before you the witness of so many families who point out the
paths for growing in
love: by maintaining a constant relationship with God and participating in the
life of the Church, by cultivating dialogue, respecting the other’s
point of view, by being ready for service and patient with the failings of
others, by being able to
forgive and to seek forgiveness, by overcoming with intelligence and humility
any conflicts that may arise, by agreeing on principles of upbringing, and by
being open to other families, attentive towards the poor, and responsible
within civil society.
These are all elements that build up the family. Live them with courage, and
be sure that, insofar as you live your love for each other and for all with
the help of God’s grace, you become a living Gospel, a true domestic
Church.
"I should also like to address a word to the faithful who, even though they
agree with the Church’s teachings on the family, have had painful
experiences of breakdown and separation. I want you to know that the Pope and
the Church support you
in your struggle. I encourage you to remain united to your communities, and I
earnestly hope that your dioceses are developing suitable initiatives to
welcome and accompany you".
"We may recognise the task of man and woman to collaborate with God in the
process of transforming the world through work, science and technology. ... In
modern economic theories, there is often a utilitarian concept of work,
production and the
market. Yet God’s plan, as well as experience, show that the one-sided
logic of sheer utility and maximum profit are not conducive to harmonious
development, to the good of the family or to building a more just society,
because it brings in its
wake ferocious competition, strong inequalities, degradation of the
environment, the race for consumer goods, family tensions. Indeed, the
utilitarian mentality tends to take its toll on personal and family
relationships, reducing them to a fragile
convergence of individual interests and undermining the solidity of the social
fabric.
"One final point: man, as the image of God, is also called to rest and to
celebrate. The account of creation concludes with these words: “And on
the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the
seventh day from all
his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed
it”. For us Christians, the feast day is Sunday, the Lord’s day,
the weekly Easter. It is the day of the Church, the assembly convened by the
Lord around the table of
the Word and of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. ... It is the day of man and his
values: conviviality, friendship, solidarity, culture, closeness to nature,
play, sport. It is the day of the family, on which to experience together a
sense of celebration,
encounter, sharing, not least through taking part in Mass. Dear families,
despite the relentless rhythms of the modern world, do not lose a sense of the
Lord’s Day!"
"Family, work, celebration: three of God’s gifts, three dimensions of
our lives that must be brought into a harmonious balance. ... In this regard,
always give priority to the logic of being over that of having: the first
builds up, the second
ends up destroying. We must learn to believe first of all in the family, in
authentic love, the kind that comes from God and unites us to Him".
___________________________________________________________
PHILADELPHIA 2015, THE NEXT WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES
Vatican City, 3 June 2012 (VIS) - At midday today, after having celebrated
Mass in the presence of almost one million faithful at Bresso Park in Milan
and before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father announced that the eighth
World Meeting of Families
will be held in Philadelphia, U.S.A. in the year 2015. "I send my warm
greetings to Archbishop Charles Chaput", he said, "and to the Catholics of
that great city, and look forward to meeting them there along with numerous
families from all around the
world".
Before bidding farewell to the participants in the seventh World Meeting of
Families, Benedict XVI expressed his thanks to Cardinal Ennio Antonelli,
president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, and to Cardinal Angelo
Scola, archbishop of
Milan, as well as to all the organisers and volunteers.
The Pope then went on the greet pilgrims in various languages. Speaking
French, he spoke of his joy at today's beatification in the French diocese of
Besancon of Fr. Jean-Joseph Lataste of the Order of Friars Preachers, whom he
described as an
"apostle of mercy" and "apostle of prisons".
"Dear families of Milan, Lombardy, Italy and the whole world, I greet you
all with affection and thank you for your participation", the Holy Father
concluded. "I encourage you to show solidarity towards families experiencing
the greatest
difficulties. I am thinking of the economic and social crisis, I am thinking
of the recent earthquake in Emilia. May the Virgin Mary always accompany and
support you".
___________________________________________________________
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