Vatican City, 11 November 2015 (VIS) –
This morning's Wednesday general audience was held in St. Peter's
Square, attended by thousands of faithful. Before beginning, the Holy
Father invited those present to recite a Hail Mary for the cardinals,
bishops, consecrated persons and laypeople who are currently meeting
in Florence for the National Congress of the Italian Church.
He dedicated today's catechesis to
conviviality, a typical characteristic of family life. This attitude
of sharing the goods of life and of being happy to do so is, he said,
“a precious virtue”. He continued, “Its symbol, its icon, is
the family gathered around the table, partaking of a meal together –
and therefore not merely food, but also sentiments, stories, and
events. It is a fundamental experience. When there is a celebration –
a birthday, an anniversary – the family gathers around the table.
In some cultures it is customary to do so also following bereavement,
to stay close to those who suffer for the loss of a family member”.
“Conviviality is a sure thermometer
for measuring the health of relations: if in the family there is a
problem or a hidden trouble, you understand immediately at the table.
A family that almost never eats together, or in does not talk at the
table but instead watches the television, or smartphones, is not a
close family. Christianity has a special vocation to conviviality, as
we all know. The Lord Jesus taught at the table, and represented the
Kingdom of God as a festive banquet. Jesus also chose to consign to
the disciples His spiritual testament at the table, condensed in the
memorial gesture of His Sacrifice”.
Francis explained that the family
brings to the Eucharist its own experience of conviviality, and opens
it to the grace of a universal conviviality, of God's love for the
world. “Participating in the Eucharist, the family is purified of
the temptation to close up in itself, fortified in love and in faith,
and broadens the boundaries of its own fraternity according to
Christ's heart. In our time, marked by closed minds and too many
walls, the conviviality generated by the family and extended in the
Eucharist becomes a crucial opportunity. The Eucharist and families
it nourishes are able to overcome such limitations and to build
bridges of acceptance and charity”.
“Nowadays many social contexts impede
family conviviality. We must find a way to recover it, if adapting it
to the times. Conviviality seems to have become something to buy and
sell, but in that way it becomes something else. Nourishment is not
always the symbol of a just sharing of goods, able to reach those who
have neither bread nor affection. In rich countries we are induced to
spend first on excessive consumption, and then again to remedy the
excess. This senseless behaviour diverts our attention from the true
hunger of the body and the mind”.
“The living and vital alliance of
Christian families, which support and embracesin the dynamism of
their hospitality the burdens and joys of everyday life, cooperates
with the grace of the Eucharist, which is able to create ever new
communities with its strength that includes and saves”. The Pope
concluded, “the Christian family thus shows the true extent of its
horizon, which is the horizon of the Mother Church and all humanity,
the abandoned and excluded among all peoples”.
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