Vatican City, 4 November 2015 (VIS) –
Giving and mutual forgiveness, without which no love can be lasting,
were the theme of the Pope's catechesis during this Wednesday's
general audience.
Before examining this issue in depth,
the Holy Father recalled that the recently concluded assembly of the
Synod of Bishops had reflected at length on the vocation and mission
of the family in the life of the Church and in contemporary society.
“It was an event of grace. At the end the Synod Fathers submitted
to me the text containing their conclusions. I wanted this text to be
published, so that everyone could participate in the work we have
been devoted to together for two years. This is not the moment to
examine the conclusions, on which I myself have to reflect”.
“In the meantime, however, life does
not come to a halt, and in particular the live of families does not
stop! You, dear families, are always journeying. And you already
continually write in the pages of concrete life the beauty of the
Gospel of the family. In a world that at times becomes arid of life
and love, every day you speak of the great gift that is marriage and
the family”.
The Pope went on to introduce the
central theme of his catechesis, reciting the words of the Lord's
Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us”. “It is not possible to live without
forgiveness, or at least you cannot live well, especially in the
family. Every day we wrong each other. We must take account of these
errors that we make due to our fragility and our selfishness.
However, what is required of us is to heal the wounds we make
straight away, to immediately weave again the threads we have broken.
If we wait too long, it all becomes more difficult. And there is a
simple secret for healing wounds and undoing accusations: never let
the day finish without apologising. … If we learn to say we are
sorry immediately and to offer mutual forgiveness, the wounds are
healed, the marriage is strengthened, and the family becomes an
increasingly solid home, that resists the shocks of our evils, great
and small”.
“If we learn to live this way within
the family, we will also do so outside, wherever we find ourselves.
It is easy to be sceptical about this. Many – Christians included –
think it is an exaggeration. … But thanks to God this is not the
case. Indeed, it is precisely by receiving God's forgiveness that, in
turn, we are able to forgive others. … And it is essential that, in
an at times pitiless society, there be places such as the family
where we can learn to forgive each other”.
“The Synod also revived our hope in
this regard: the capacity to forgive others and oneself forms part of
the vocation and mission of the family. … The Church, dear
families, is always beside you to help you build your home on the
rock Jesus spoke of”, exclaimed Francis. “And I assure you that
if you are capable of journeying ever more decisively along the path
of the Beatitudes, learning and teaching to forgive each other, then
in all the great family of the Church the capacity to bear witness to
the renewing power of God's forgiveness will grow”.
“Otherwise, we will give beautiful
sermons and perhaps even cast out the odd demon, but in the end the
Lord will not recognise us as His disciples, as we have not been able
to forgive or to allow ourselves to be forgiven. Christian families
can truly do much for today's society, and also for the Church. …
Let us pray that families may be increasingly able to live and build
concrete roads to reconciliation, where no-one feels abandoned to the
burden of his own trespasses”.
Finally the Pope, accompanied by the
with the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square,
repeated the phrase from the Lord's Prayer: “Forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”.
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