PANAMA/ROME, aciprensa. Pope Francis sent a message to the participants of the First Latin American Congress for the Pastoral Care of the Family that took place in Panama on 4-9 August, in which he explains that “Within the family, faith is absorbed together with mother’s milk.” In his message published by the Panama archdiocese on 5 August, the Holy Father asks: “What is the family?” and he answers: “Over and above its most pressing problems and its peremptory necessities, the family is a “centre of love”, where the law of respect and communion reigns and is able to resist the pressure of manipulation and domination from the world’s “power centres”.
“In the heart of the family, the person naturally and harmoniously blends into a human group, overcoming the false opposition between the individual and society. In the bosom of the family, no one is set apart: both the elderly and the child will be welcome here. The culture of encounter and of dialogue, openness to solidarity and transcendence, originates in the family.”
This is why “the family constitutes a great and ‘rich social resource.’ In this sense I would like to highlight two primary factors: stability and fruitfulness.”
The Holy Father then explained that “relationships based on faithful love, until death, like marriage, fatherhood, being child or sibling, are learned and lived in the household.”
It broadens the horizon of existence
“When these relationships form the basic fabric of a human society, they lend cohesion and consistency. It is therefore not possible to be part of a people, to feel as a neighbour, to take care of someone who is more distant and unfortunate if, in the heart of man, these fundamental relationships which give him security in openness toward others are broken.
“Moreover, family love is fruitful, and not only because it generates new lives, but because it broadens the horizon of existence, it creates a new world; it makes us believe, despite any discouragement and defeatism, that coexistence based on respect and trust is possible. In facing a materialistic view of the world, the family does not reduce man to sterile utilitarianism, but offers a channel for the realization of his loftiest aspirations.”
Object of evangelization
The Pope also emphasized that “thanks to the basic experience of familial love, man also grows in his openness to God as Father. For this the Aparecida Document affirms that the family should not be considered as only the object of evangelization, but also the agent of evangelizing work.”
“In it is reflected the image of God, who in his most profound mystery is a family and, in this manner, He allows human love to be seen as a sign and presence of divine love. Within the family, faith is absorbed together with mother’s milk. For example, that simple and spontaneous gesture of requesting a blessing, which is cherished in many of our nations, perfectly reflects the biblical conviction according to which God’s blessing is passed on from father to son.”
Sorry, thank you, please
The Holy Father also said that “cognizant of the fact that familial love dignifies all that makes man, giving him additional value, it is important to encourage families to cultivate healthy relationships among their own members, to know how to say “sorry”, “thank you”, “please”, to each other and to address God using the beautiful name of Father.
Pope Francis concluded by expressing his hope that “Our Lady of Guadalupe [may] obtain abundant blessings from God for America’s families and make them fonts of life, harmony and robust faith, nourished by the Gospel and by good works. I ask you please, to pray for me, because I need it.”
