November 16, 2007
Papal Address to Focolare
Families
"Your Task Is a Silent and Deep Commitment to Evangelization"
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 15, 2007 (Zenit.org).-
Here is a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI's Nov. 3 address
to the New Families Movement of the lay Catholic Focalare
Movement.
* * *
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO MEMBERS OF "THE NEW
FAMILIES MOVEMENT"
Clementine Hall Saturday, 3 November 2007
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Welcome and thank you for coming to visit me. You come from the
five continents and belong to The New Families Movement which
came into being 40 years ago in the context of the Focolare
Movement. You are thus a branch of Focolare and today form a
network of at least 800,000 families working in 182 nations, all
committed to making their home a "focolare" [hearth] which
radiates in the world the witness of a Gospel-style family life.
I offer each one of you my most cordial greeting, which I extend
also to those who have wished to accompany you at our meeting. I
greet in a special way your leaders who have conveyed your
common sentiments and described to me your Movement's working
methods as well as its goals. I thank you for the greetings you
have brought me from Chiara Lubich, to whom I send my warm good
wishes, thanking her because she continues to guide the large
family of the Focolare with wisdom and unswerving attachment to
the Church.
As has just been recalled, it is precisely in the context of
this vast and praiseworthy institution that you, dear married
couples, place yourselves at the service of the world of
families with an important and ever timely pastoral action that
has four orientations: spirituality, education, sociability and
solidarity. Your task is effectively a silent and deep
commitment to evangelization with the goal of testifying that
only family unity, a gift of God-Love, can make the family a
true nest of love, a home that welcomes life and a school of
virtue and Christian values for children. As you confront the
many social and economic, cultural and religious issues that
challenge contemporary society in every part of the world, your
work, truly providential, is a sign of hope and an encouragement
for Christian families to be a privileged "space" where the
beauty of making Jesus Christ the focus and of faithfully
following his Gospel is proclaimed in everyday life, sometimes
despite many difficulties. Indeed, your meeting's theme: "A
house built on the rock -- the Gospel lived, a response to the
problems of families today", emphasizes the importance of this
ascetical and pastoral itinerary. The secret is precisely to
live the Gospel!
Rightly, therefore, in the work of the assembly during these
days, in addition to contributions that illustrate the situation
of today's families in the different cultural contexts, you have
planned to deepen your knowledge of the Word of God and to hear
the testimonies that show how the Holy Spirit acts in hearts and
in family life, even in complex and difficult situations. Only
think of the uncertainties of engaged couples as they face
definitive decisions for the future, of the crisis of couples,
of separations and divorces as well as irregular unions, of the
condition of widows, of families in difficulty and of welcoming
abandoned minors. I warmly hope that also thanks to your
commitment, pastoral strategies may be identified to cope with
the increasing needs of families today and the multiple
challenges that face them, so that they will not fail in their
special mission in the Church and in society.
In this regard, in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Christifideles
Laici," my venerable and beloved Predecessor John Paul II noted
that the Church maintains that for the faithful, "the first and
basic expression of the social dimension... is the married
couple and the family" (n. 40). To bring this vocation to
fruition, the family, aware that it is the primary cell of
society, must not forget that it can find strength in a
Sacrament desired by Christ to reinforce the love between man
and woman: a love understood as a gift of self, reciprocal and
profound. As John Paul II likewise observed: "The family has the
mission to guard, reveal and communicate love, and this is a
living reflection of and a real sharing in God's love for
humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church, his
Bride" ("Familiaris Consortio," n. 17). Thus, according to the
divine plan, the family is a sacred and sanctifying place and
the Church, which has always been close to the family, supports
it in this mission, especially today when the internal and
external threats to it are so numerous. In order not to succumb
to discouragement, divine help is essential; thus, every
Christian family must look with trust to the Holy Family, the
original "domestic Church" in which "through God's mysterious
design, it was in that family that the Son of God spent long
years of a hidden life. It is therefore the prototype and
example for all Christian families" (ibid., n. 45).
Dear brothers and sisters, the humble and holy Family of
Nazareth, the icon and model of every human family, will not let
you go without its heavenly support. Nonetheless, your ceaseless
recourse to prayer, to listening to the Word of God and to an
intense sacramental life is indispensable, together with a
constant effort to live Christ's commandment of love and
forgiveness. Love does not seek its own interests, it does not
harbour rancour for evil received but rejoices in truth. Love
"bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things" (I Cor 13: 5-7). Dear brothers and sisters,
continue your journey and be witnesses of this Love which will
make you increasingly the "heart" and "leaven" of the entire New
Families Movement. I assure you of my remembrance in prayer for
each one of you, for your activities and all those you meet in
your apostolate, and with affection I now impart to you all the
Apostolic Blessing.
© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
