The Christian Family: a Community of Love
THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY: A COMMUNITY OF LOVE
Pope John Paul I
On, Thursday, 21 September, Pope John Paul I received in Audience the Archbishops and Bishops of the U.S. Twelfth Pastoral Region, on the occasion of their "ad limina" visit. His Holiness addressed, them as follows:
Dear Brothers in Christ,
It is a real pleasure for us to meet, for the first time, a group of American Bishops making their ad limina visit. With all our heart we welcome you; we want you to feel at home, to feel the joy of being together in the family. Our great desire at this time is to confirm you all in your faith and in your service to God's people; we want to keep alive the ministry of Peter in the Church.
Since becoming Pope, we have studied, with particular, attention the wise teaching that our beloved predecessor Paul VI gave earlier this year to the United States' Bishops on the subjects of the Church's Ministry of Reconciliation, on promoting life, and on fostering devotion to the Eucharist. His teaching is ours; and we renew the encouragement and guidance that he gave you in those discourses.
Power of the family
Although we are new in the Pontificate—just a beginner—we too want to choose topics that deeply touch the life of the church and that will be very relevant to your episcopal ministry. We believe that the Christian family is a good place to start. The Christian family is so important, and its role is so basic in transforming the world and in building up the Kingdom of God, that the Council called it a "domestic Church " (LumenGentium, 11).
Let us never grow tired of proclaiming the family as a community of love: conjugal love unites the couple and is procreative of new life; it mirrors the divine love, is communicated, and, in the words of Gaudiumet Spes, is actually a sharing in the covenant of love of Christ and his Church (par. 48).
We were all given the great grace of being born into such a community of love; it will be easy for us to uphold its value.
And then we must encourage parents in their role as educators of their children—the first catechists and the best ones. What a great task, and challenge they have: to teach children the love of God, to make it something real for them. And by God's grace, how easily some families can fulfill the role of being a primum seminarium (Optatam Totius, 2): the germ of a vocation to the priesthood is nourished through family prayer, the example of faith and the support or love.
Timely topics
What a wonderful thing it is when families realize the power they have for the sanctification of the world: the mutual sanctification of husband and wife and the reciprocal influence between parents and children. And then, by the loving witness of their lives, families can bring Christ's Gospel to others. A vivid realization of the sharing of the laity—and especially the family—in the salvific mission of the Church is one of the greatest legacies of the Second Vatican Council. We can never thank God enough for this gift.
It is up to us to keep this realization strong, by supporting and defending the family—each and every family. Our own ministry is so vital: to preach the word of God and to celebrate the Sacraments. It is from them that our people draw their strength and joy. Ours too is the role of encouraging families to fidelity to the law of God and the Church. We need never fear to proclaim all the exigencies of God's Word, for Christ is with us and says today as before: "He who hears you hears me" (Lk 10:16). In particular, the indissolubility of Christian marriage is important; although it is a difficult part of our message, we must proclaim it faithfully as part of God's word, part of the mystery of faith. At the same time we are close to our people in their problems and difficulties. They must always know that we love them.
Today we want, to express our admiration and praise for, all the efforts being made to guard and preserve the family as God made it, as God wants it. All over the world Christian families are trying to fulfill their wonderful calling and we are close to all of them. And priests and religious are trying to support and assist them—and all these efforts are worthy of the greatest praise. Our special support goes to those who help couples preparing for Christian marriage by offering them the full teaching of the Church and by encouraging them in the highest ideals of the Christian family. We wish to add a particular word of praise also for those, especially priests, who work so generously and devotedly in ecclesiastical tribunals, in fidelity to the doctrine of the Church, to safeguard the marriage .bond, to give witness to its indissolubility in accordance with the teaching of Jesus, and to assist families in need.
Renewal through family prayer
The holiness of the Christian family is indeed a most apt means for producing the serene renewal of the Church which the Council so eagerly desired. Through family prayer, the ecclesia domestica becomes an effective, reality and leads to the transformation of the world. And all the efforts of parents to instill God's love into their children and to support them by the example of faith constitute a most relevant apostolate for the twentieth century. Parents with special problems are worthy of our particular pastoral care, and all our love.
Dear Brothers, we want you to know where our priorities lie. Let us do everything we can for the Christian family, so that our people may fulfill their great vocation in Christian joy and share intimately and effectively in the Church's mission—Christ's mission—of salvation. And be assured that you yourselves have our full support in the love of the Lord Jesus, and we give you all our Apostolic Blessing.
Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
28 September 1978, page 11
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