Vatican City, 16 February 2016 (VIS) –
Yesterday afternoon, after visiting the Cathedral of San Cristobal de
Las Casas, the Pope departed by helicopter to Tuxtla Gutierrez where
he met with families in the Victor Manuel Reyna stadium. Upon arrival
at the stadium, by popemobile, he was greeted by thousands of people
and received the keys to the city from the hands of the governor of
the state of Chiapas.
The meeting began with testimonies from
a young couple; a family made up of divorced parents in a new
relationship; Manuel, a disabled adolescent; Beatriz, a single
mother, and various other couples from the diocese of Tapachula who
had been married for many years.
The Pope then addressed those present,
starting by giving thanks to God "for being here, on Chiapaneca
soil". He continued, "It feels good to be here on this
soil, on this land; it is good to be here in this place which, with
you here, has a family flavour, a home flavour. … I also thank you,
families and friends, for giving us your witness, for opening to us
the doors of your homes, the doors of your lives; you have allowed us
to sit with you sharing both in the bread that nourishes you and in
the sweat of your brow as you face the difficulties of every day. It
is the bread representing the joys, the hopes and the hard sweat with
which you confront sadness, disillusion and failings".
"Manuel, before thanking you for
your testimony", he continued. "I thank you for your
witness and especially for your example. I liked the expression you
used, 'to put your heart into it' [echarle ganas] describing the
attitude you took after speaking with your parents. You began to put
your heart into your life, your family, your friends; you put your
heart into us gathered here. Thank you. I believe that this is what
the Holy Spirit always wants to do in our midst: to put a new heart
into us, giving us reasons to keep on taking risks for the good of
the family, dreaming and building a life that has this sense of home,
of family".
"This is something which God the
Father has always dreamt of and for which God the Father has fought
for a very long time. When everything seemed lost that afternoon in
the Garden of Eden, God the Father put a new heart into that young
couple and told them that everything was not lost. And when the
people of Israel felt that they could not go on journeying through
the desert, God the Father put His heart into it by giving them manna
from heaven. And when the fullness of time came, God the Father put
His heart into it, into humanity, by sending us His Son".
"Similarly, all of us here have
had this experience, in different moments and different ways; God the
Father has put His heart into it for us. We can ask ourselves: why?
Because He cannot do otherwise. God our Father does not know how do
to anything else but love us and put His best into us, encouraging
us, helping us move forward… because His name is love, His name is
self-giving, His name is mercy. This He has shown us with complete
power and clarity in Jesus, His Son, Who risked everything to the end
so as to once again make possible the Kingdom of God. A Kingdom that
invites us to share in a new mindset, that puts into motion a dynamic
power capable of opening the heavens, capable of opening our hearts,
our minds, our hands and capable of challenging us with new
possibilities. This is a Kingdom which has the feeling of family, the
flavour of a life shared. In Jesus and with Jesus this Kingdom is
possible".
"Manuel, you asked me to pray for
the many adolescents who are disillusioned and on a wrong path. How
well we know this. Many adolescents who are deflated, tired and
without aspirations. And as you yourself rightly said, this attitude
often comes from a feeling of loneliness, from not having someone to
talk to. Think of fathers and mothers: do they speak to their sons or
daughters or are they always busy or in a rush?"
"This reminds me of the witness
which Beatriz gave us", he continued. "Beatriz, you said:
'the struggle has always been difficult because of uncertainty and
loneliness'. How many times did you feel singled out, judged: 'that
one'? Let us think of all those people, of all those women who go
through what Beatriz went through. Uncertainty, insufficiency, and
often not having the bare essentials, can lead to despair, can make
us deeply anxious because we cannot see a way to go on, especially
when we have children in our care. Uncertainty is not only a threat
to our stomach (which is already serious), but it can also threaten
our soul, demoralising us and taking away our energy so that we seek
apparent solutions that in the end solve nothing. And you were brave
Beatriz, thank you. There is a kind of uncertainty which can be very
dangerous, which can creep in surreptitiously; it is the uncertainty
born of solitude and isolation. And isolation is always a bad
counsellor".
"The way to overcome the
uncertainty and isolation which makes us vulnerable to so many
apparent solutions – as Beatriz mentioned – can be found on
different levels. One is through legislation which protects and
guarantees the bare necessities of life so that every home and every
person can develop through education and dignified employment. There
is, on the other hand, what the witness of Humberto and Claudia made
evident when they explained how they tried to convey to others the
love of God that they experienced through service and generous
giving. Laws and personal commitment make good duo that can break the
spiral of uncertainty. And you have the inspiration, you pray, and
you are united to Jesus, and you are involved in the life of the
Church. You used a beautiful expression: 'Let us take communion with
the brother who is weak, ill, needy, in prison'. Thank you. Thank
you".
"Today we see how on different
fronts the family is weakened and questioned. It is regarded as a
model which has done its time, but which has no place in our
societies; these, claiming to be modern, increasingly favour a model
based on isolation. … It is true that family life is not always
easy, and can often be painful and stressful but, as I have often
said referring to the Church, I prefer a wounded family that makes
daily efforts to put love into play, to a family and society that is
sick from isolationism or a habitual fear of love. I prefer a family
that makes repeated efforts to begin again, to a family and society
that is narcissistic and obsessed with luxury and comfort. … I
prefer a family with tired faces from generous giving, to a family
with 'made up' faces that know nothing of tenderness and compassion.
I prefer a man and a woman, don Aniceto and his wife, with faces that
are wrinkled due to the daily struggles over the fifty years of
strong married love; and here we have them".
"And speaking of wrinkles, to
change the subject a little, I remember the testimony of a great
actress – an actress of Latin American films – almost in her
sixties, and showing some wrinkles on her face. She was advised to
have some work done on her face so as to carry on working
successfully. Her response was quite clear: 'These wrinkles cost me a
lot of work, much effort, much pain and a full life, so I would never
even dream of touching them; they are the signs of my life history.
And I am still a great actress'. The same thing happens in marriage.
Married life has to be renewed every day. And, as I said before, I
prefer families with wrinkles, with wounds, and scars, but who carry
on moving forwards; for these wounds, scars and wrinkles are the
fruit of a faithful love which has had its share of difficulties.
Love is not easy, it not easy, but the most beautiful thing is when a
man and a woman can offer each other true love and offer it for
life".
"I have been asked to pray for you
and I want to do so now. You, dear Mexicans, have something extra;
you run ahead with an advantage. You have a Mother, la Guadalupana.
La Guadalupana wanted to visit this land and this gives us the
certainty of her intercession so that our dream, which we call the
family, may not be lost through uncertainty or solitude. She is a
Mother and is always ready to defend our families, our future; she is
always ready to put her heart into it by giving us her Son. For this
reason, I invite you, as you are, without moving around too much, to
hold hands and address her together: 'Hail Mary…'".
After all those present in the stadium
prayed a Hail Mary together, the Pope added, "And let us not
forget St. Joseph, quiet, a worker, but always at the forefront
looking after his family. Thank you, and may God bless you. And pray
for me. And now I would like to invite married couples here present,
in the context of this celebration of the family, to renew in silence
their marriage vows. And those who are preparing for marriage, ask
for the grace of a faithful family, full of love. In silence, renew
your marriage vows, and newly-weds, pray for the grace of fidelity
and love in the family".
Later in the afternoon Francis returned
by air to Mexico City, from where he travelled to Morelia to
celebrate Mass with the priests, men and women religious, consecrated
persons and seminarians of the city, and to meet the rectors of
various Mexican universities and leaders of other Christian
confessions in the cathedral. The Pope's day will conclude with a
meeting with young people in the Morelos y Pavon Stadium, after which
he will return to Mexico City.
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