Vatican City, 8 October 2015 (VIS) –
Married couples are participating as auditors in this year's Synod
dedicated to the family, presenting their concrete experiences as
couples, parents or grandparents before the Assembly of cardinals,
bishops, priests and experts. On 5 October the Assembly heard the
testimony of the Mexican couple Gertrudiz Clara Rubio de Galindo and
Andres Salvador Galindo, executive secretaries of the Episcopal
Commission for the Family of the Episcopal Conference, secretaries of
CELAM for the Mexico-Central America zone. On 6 October, during the
third General Congregation, the Assembly was addressed by Buysile
Patronella Nkosi and Meshack Jabulani Nkosi, members of the Advisory
Committee for the National Family Desk of the Southern African
Episcopal Catholic Bishops' Conference.
Rubio de Galindo and Galindo Lopez have
been married for 45 years and have two children and four
grandchildren. They commented that the early years of their marriage
were difficult due in particular to the economic problems they
encountered, and some relatives even advised them to separate for
this reason. “In spite of insistence to the contrary, Andres and I
decided to fight against the imbalance that this had caused and to
persevere with our marriage and the family we had started to raise,
although we took this decision without a clear awareness of what the
sacrament of marriage meant”, said Gertrudiz Clara Rubio de
Galindo. “Shortly after, thanks to God we had the opportunity to
have an experience with the Encuentro Matrimonial Catolico, in which
we learned to communicate, to forgive, but above all to understand
God's plan for us as a married couple and as a family. And we
continue to fight for our relationship, but now with more awareness,
in accordance with God's plan”.
“Years later, in other period of
economic difficulty, after visiting the Basilica of Guadalupe, we
decided to collaborate with the family pastoral ministry of the
diocese. This decision led us to contribute in various parts of
Central America, where throughout the years we have seen that the
great problems that occur within families are caused by social,
cultural, political, educational, economic and religious factors, and
if marriage and the family are weakened, they need to be resuscitated
through formation and teaching in terms of its identity and mission”.
Therefore, Rubio de Galindo concluded, the pastoral care of the
family in the third millennium requires “pastors impassioned by
God's plan”, who accompany and form families so that they may
discover and experience “their identity and mission”.
On 6 October the Synod Fathers heard
the story of Meshack Jabulani and Buysile Patronella Nkosi, married
for 35 years and with five children and eight grandchildren. Three of
their children, Meshack Jabulani said, are married with non-Catholics
and so they “are walking in two faiths but one love”. One of
their sons-in-law and their daughter-in-law intend to convert to
Catholicism and in Easter 2016 they will be welcomed into the
Catholic Church.
During the last 33 years they have
accompanied many young people with whom they have shared their life
experience, the Word of God and the teachings of the Church. “We
pass on the Good News of the love of God for us through His Son Jesus
Christ, and we in our life every day try through God's grace to
become good news to each other and to young couples and the world.
This is made possible by letting the Word of God, Christ Himself, be
our compass”.
“We have and have had our numerous
challenges, of perhaps not seeing things the same way or hurting each
other in one way or another but our redemption has always been to try
to be humble enough to say 'I am sorry'. As in the words of the Holy
Father, 'pardon me, thank you and may I please' are indispensable
words if we are to live in peace and harmony in our family. It is
important to remember to say 'I love you' to each other and to the
children. Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical 'Caritas in Veritate',
emphasises the importance of love as the principle of life in
society, the place where a person learns common good since the family
is the first place where a new person learns to love, to forgive,
experiences forgiveness and learns to share”.
“The choice we made 35 years ago is
the choice we continue to make every day to care for each other in
the family and to be faithful to each other as we committed to love
forever. To modern society, which unfortunately has developed a
'throwaway culture', this kind of commitment seems to be utter
foolishness and is ridiculed and discouraged. Young people then tend
to be afraid to get married, and look at this commitment as a burden.
Part of our calling is to encourage them to enter into the journey of
holy matrimony looking at Christ as their new hope”.
“We have experienced new life being
born, and have seen our parents giving us support in raising our
children. We have also seen them getting older and more frail and
have taken care of them until they passed on. We have seen our
children develop to parenthood themselves and us assuming a
supportive role for them and their families. We continue to pass on
our faith, all the Christian values and the culture of 'Ubuntu' –
humaneness. This brings joy and fulfilment and has made our lives
richer and fuller through the grace of God”, concluded Nkosi.
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