Vatican City, 25 March 2015 (VIS) –
On the solemnity of the Annunciation, during this Wednesday's general
audience held in a rain-soaked St. Peter's Square, the Pope announced
to the faithful that today would be a special catechesis, a pause for
prayer during his path of reflections on the family.
“On 25 March, the Church solemnly
celebrates the Annunciation, the beginning of the mystery of the
Incarnation. The Archangel Gabriel visits the humble girl from
Nazareth and announces that she will conceive and give birth to the
Son of God. By this announcement the Lord illuminates and strengthens
Mary's faith, as He will also do for her spouse Giuseppe, so that
Jesus may be born in a human family. This is beautiful: it shows us
how deeply the mystery of the Incarnation, as God wished it to be,
includes not only conception in the womb of the mother, but also the
fact of being welcomed into a true family. Today I would like to
contemplate with you the beauty of this bond, of this, God's
condescension, and we can do so reciting together the Hail Mary,
which in its first part includes the words the Angel addressed to the
Virgin”.
After praying the Hail Mary with all
those present, Francis commented that today in many countries is the
Day for Life, and that twenty years ago on this date St. John Paul II
signed his encyclical “Evangelium Vitae”, in which the family
“occupies a central role, inasmuch as it is the womb of human
life”.
“The word of my venerated predecessor
reminds us that the human couple has been blessed by God since the
beginning to form a community of love and life, to whom the mission
of procreation has been entrusted. Christian couples, by celebrating
the sacrament of Marriage, indicate they are willing to honour this
blessing, with the grace of Christ, for all their life. The Church,
for her part, solemnly commits to caring for the family that is thus
born, as a gift from God for her own life, in good times and bad: the
bond between the Church and the family is sacred and inviolable. The
Church, as a mother, never abandons her family, even when it is
debased, hurt and humiliated in many ways. Not even when it gives in
to sin or drifts away from the Church; she will always do everything
to seek to cure and heal it, to invite it to convert and be
reconciled with the Lord”.
If this is her task, the Pontiff
observed, then it appears clear how much prayer the Church needs in
order to be able to carry out this mission. “A prayer full of love
for the family and for life. A prayer that knows how to rejoice with
those who rejoice, and to suffer with those who suffer”. The Holy
Father explained that he and his collaborators had decided to propose
a renewal of the prayer for the Synod of Bishops on the family, and
asked all present to continue to recite it until October, when the
Synod assembly dedicated to the family is due to take place.
“I would like this prayer, like the
entire Synod path, to be inspired by the Good Shepherd's compassion
for his flock, especially for those people and families who for
various reasons are 'harassed and helpless, like sheep without a
shepherd'. In this way, supported and inspired by the grace of God,
the Church will be able to be even more committed, and even more
united, in her witness of the truth of God's love and His mercy for
the world's families, without exception, both inside and outside the
fold”.
“I ask you, please, to ensure that
your prayer is not lacking. All of us – the Pope, cardinals,
bishops, priests, men and women religious – we must all pray for
the Synod. We need this, not chatter! I encourage even those who feel
distant to pray too, and those who are not used to doing so. This
prayer for the Synod on the family is for the good of all of us. I
know that this morning an image has been given to you, which you now
hold in your hands. I invite you to keep it and carry it with you
always, so that over the coming months you can recite the prayer
often, with holy insistence, as Jesus asked us. Now, let us pray
together:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
In you we contemplate
The splendour of true love,
We turn to you with confidence.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
Make our families, also,
Places of communion and cenacles of
prayer,
Authentic schools of the Gospel,
And little domestic Churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth
May our families never more experience
Violence, isolation, and division:
May anyone who was wounded or
scandalised
Rapidly experience consolation and
healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
May the upcoming Synod of Bishops
Re-awaken in all an awareness
Of the sacred character and
inviolability of the family,
Its beauty in the project of God.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Hear and answer our prayer. Amen”.
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