ARGENTINA, by Osvaldo Martín •
On November 18, 2015, a Holy Mass was held in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires, which was celebrated by Cardinal Aurelio Poli, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, with the motto: With the motto ¡Familia! “Lo mejor está por venir” [Family! “The best is yet to come”] (taken from Pope Francis’ hopeful message in Guayaquil, at the beginning of his Latin American tour, focusing on family life). The Schoenstatt Movement of Buenos Aires organized it.
There was massive participation that filled the naves of the historic church; several Schoenstatt Fathers concelebrated along with the Cardinal, among them, Fr. Guillermo Carmona, Director of the Schoenstatt Movement of Argentina, Fr. Juan José Riba, Fr. Facundo Bernabei, Fr. Manel López Naón…
At the beginning, Fr. Carmona expressed gratitude to Cardinal Poli for his presence and he stressed the importance of the family in building society.
Importance of the family
In his homily, Bishop Poli began by reflecting on the passage of the Gospel, which referred to the Wedding of Cana and the covenant that God made with his people. In the marriage ceremony, God establishes a covenant.
Later, he referred to his participation in the recent Synod of Bishops and the document that the Synod Fathers presented to Pope Francis. He stressed the fundamental role of the family in the present day society. He pointed to the presence of the different family faces from the five continents at the Synod. Finally, he read a paragraph from the final discourse of the Synod and he stressed the start of the Year of Mercy instituted by Pope Francis beginning on December 8, 2015 to November 23, 2016 (Feast of Christ the King), convoking the families to transmit Christ’s merciful love.
Sending forth
Once the celebration concluded, he imparted the final blessing to the entire Schoenstatt Family congregated there, encouraging them to continue with the task of protecting God’s precious gift in the midst of their own Christian families.
It was a beautiful celebration, in which the Movement manifested a feeling of unity and commitment in the task of evangelization that Pope Francis and our beloved Blessed Mother convoke.