Vatican City, 18 February 2015 (VIS) –
Continuing his cycle of catechesis dedicated to the family, after
reflecting on the figure of the mother and father, the Pope today
spoke about fraternity. “'Brother' and 'sister' are words that
Christianity loves. And, thanks to the family, they are words that
all cultures and all ages understand”.
Fraternal bonds are very important in
the history of the people of God, and are highly praised in the Old
Testament. However their rupture opened up a deep abyss in mankind,
and God's question to Cain - “Where is your brother?” - never
ceases to resonate throughout history. “And”, exclaimed the
Pontiff, “unfortunately, in this generation too, Cain's dramatic
answer is also repeated endlessly: “I do not know. Am I my
brother's keeper?”. The rupture of the bond between brothers
disfigures humanity. And even within families, how many brothers
argue over small things, an inheritance, and then no longer even
speak to or greet each other? If we think that they inhabited the
womb of the same mother …. We all know families in which there are
divisions between brothers. Let us pray to the Lord for them, to help
brothers be reunited and families rebuilt. And let us always keep
these divided brothers in our prayers”.
The bond of fraternity that is formed
in the family, among children, if it occurs a climate of education in
openness to others, “is the great school of freedom and peace.
Perhaps we are not always aware of this, but it is precisely the
family that introduces fraternity into the world”, remarked the
Pope, emphasising that from this first experience, fraternity
“radiates like a promise to the whole of society and the relations
between peoples. And the blessing that God – in Jesus Christ –
lavishes upon this bond of fraternity, extends it unimaginably,
making it capable of surpassing any difference of nation, culture or
even religion”.
He added, “Think about what becomes
of the bond between men, even the most diverse, when they are able to
say of another, 'he is just like a brother, she is just like a sister
to me'. History has demonstrated sufficiently that even liberty and
equality, without fraternity, can be filled with individualism,
conformism and personal interest”.
Fraternity in the family shines in a
special way “when we see the care, patience, and affection that
surround those brothers and sisters who are weak, sick, or disabled.
Having a brother or a sister who cares for you is a powerful
experience, priceless and irreplaceable. The same applies to the
Christian family. We must be moved to tenderness by the smallest, the
weakest, the poorest: they have a 'right' to capture our heart and
soul. Yes, they are our brothers and we must love them and treat them
as such. When this happens, when it is as if the poor are part of the
family, our Christian fraternity comes to life. Indeed, Christians go
towards the poor and the weak not in obedience to an ideological
programme, but because the word and example of the Lord tell us that
they are our brothers. This is the principle of God's love and of all
justice between men”.
“And now I suggest one thing”, he
added, off the cuff: “in silence, each of us, let us think of our
brothers and sisters, and pray for them”. St. Peter's Square
remained in silence for a moment, after which Francis added, “With
this prayer we brought all of them, our brothers and sisters, here in
the square to be blessed”.
“Today, more than ever, it is
necessary to bring fraternity back to the centre of our technocratic
and bureaucratic society: then liberty and equality will also acquire
the correct tone. Therefore, let us not light-heartedly deprive our
families, through apprehension or fear, of the beauty of a full
fraternal experience. And lot us not lose our trust in the broad
horizon that faith is able to draw from this experience, enlightened
by God's blessing”.
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