GENERAL
AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Saint
Peter's Square
Wednesday,
18 February 2015
The family - 5. Siblings
Dear
Brothers and Sisters, Good morning,
In our
continuing catechesis on the family, after having considered the roles of the
mother, the father, the children, today we shall reflect on siblings. “Brother”
and “sister” are words that Christianity really loves. And, thanks to the
family experience, they are words that all cultures and all times comprehend.
The
fraternal bond holds a special place in the history of the People of God, who
received his revelation at the core of the human experience. The Psalmist sings
of the beauty of the fraternal bond: “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when
brothers dwell in unity!” (Ps 133[132]:1). And this is true, brotherhood is
beautiful! Jesus Christ also brought to its fullness this human experience of
being brothers and sisters, embracing it in Trinitarian love and thereby
empowering it to go well beyond the ties of kinship and enabling it to surmount
every barrier of extraneousness.
We know
that when the fraternal relationship is destroyed, when the relationship
between siblings is destroyed, the road is open to painful experiences of
conflict, of betrayal, of hate. The biblical account of Cain and Abel is an
example of this negative outcome. After the killing of Abel, God asks Cain:
“Where is Abel your brother?” (Gen 4:9a). It is a question that the Lord continues
to repeat to every generation. And unfortunately, in every generation, Cain’s
dramatic answer never fails to be repeated: “I do not know; am I my brother’s
keeper?” (ibid., 4:9b). The rupture of the bond between siblings is a nasty,
bad thing for humanity. In the family too, how many siblings quarrel over
little things, or over an inheritance, and then they no longer speak to each
other, they no longer greet one another. This is terrible! Brotherhood is a
great thing, when we consider that all our brothers and sisters lived in the
womb of the same mother for nine months, came from the mother’s flesh!
Brotherhood cannot be broken. Let us consider: we all know families that have
divided siblings, who have quarrelled; let us ask the Lord — perhaps in our
family there are a few cases — to help these families to reunite their
siblings, to rebuild the family. Brotherhood must not be broken and when it
breaks, what happened to Cain and Abel occurs. When the Lord asks Cain where
his brother is, he replies: “I do not know, my brother does not matter to me”.
This is terrible, it is a very, very painful thing to hear. In our prayers let
us always pray for siblings who are at odds.
Should
the bond of fraternity which forms in the family between children arise in an
educational atmosphere of openness to others, it is the great school of freedom
and peace. In the family, among siblings, human coexistence is learned, how one
must live in society. Perhaps we are not always aware of it, but the family
itself introduces fraternity into the world! Beginning with this first
experience of fraternity, nourished by affection and education at home, the
style of fraternity radiates like a promise upon the whole of society and on
its relations among peoples.
The
blessing that God, in Jesus Christ, pours out on this bond of fraternity,
expands in an unimaginable way. He renders it capable of overcoming all
differences of nationality, language, culture and even religion.
Consider
what becomes of the bond between men and women, even when completely different
from each other, when they are able to say of another: “He is truly like a
brother, she is just like a sister to me!”. This is beautiful! History has
shown well enough, after all, that even freedom and equality, without brotherhood,
can be full of individualism and conformism, and even personal interests.
Familial
fraternity shines in a special way when we see the care, the patience, the
affection that envelop the weakest little brother or sister, sick or physically
challenged. There are countless brothers and sisters who do this, throughout
the world, and perhaps we do not appreciate their generosity enough. And when
there are many siblings in a family — today, I greeted a family that has nine
children? — the eldest boy or girl helps the dad, the mom, to take care of the
younger children. This work of helping among siblings is beautiful.
Having a
brother, a sister, who loves you is a deep, precious, irreplaceable experience.
Christian fraternity happens in the same way. The smallest, the weakest, the
poorest soften us: they have the “right” to take our heart and soul. Yes, they
are our brothers and sisters and as such we must love and care for them. When
this happens, when the poor are like family members, our own Christian fraternity
comes to life again. Christians, in fact, go to meet the poor and the weak not
to obey an ideological programme, but because the word and the example of the
Lord tell us that we are all brothers and sisters. This is the principle of
God’s love and of all justice among men. I should like to suggest something:
before concluding, just a few words, in silence each of us, let us think of our
brothers, our sisters, and from our heart let us pray in silence for them. A
moment of silence.
Here
then, with this prayer we have brought all, brothers and sisters, with our
thoughts, with our hearts, here to the Square to receive the blessing.
Today
more than ever it is necessary to place fraternity back at the centre of our
technocratic and bureaucratic society: then even freedom and equality will find
the correct balance. Therefore, let us not thoughtlessly deprive our families,
out of criticism or fear, of the beauty of a bountiful fraternal experience of
sons and daughters. And let us not lose our trust in the broad horizon faith is
able to draw from this experience, enlightened by God’s blessing.
Special Greetings
I would
like once again to invite you to pray for our Egyptian brothers who three days
ago were killed in Libya for the sole fact of being Christians. May the Lord
welcome them to his house and give comfort to their families and their
communities.
Let us
also pray for peace in the Middle East and in North Africa, remembering all the
victims, the wounded and the refugees. May the international community find
peaceful solutions to the difficult situation in Libya.
I greet
the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience,
including those from England, Japan and the United States of America. Upon you
and your families I cordially invoke joy and peace in the Lord Jesus. God bless
you all!
I
cordially greet the Bishops of Ukraine — Praise be to Jesus Christ! —, who have
come on their “ad limina” visit, as well as the pilgrims from the dioceses who
have accompanied them. Brothers and sisters, I know that among the many other
intentions that you bring to the Tombs of the Apostles, there is the request
for peace in Ukraine. I bear the same wish in my heart and I join in your
prayer, that a lasting peace may come to your homeland as soon as possible. God
bless you!
I
address a warm welcome to the Italian-speaking pilgrims. I greet in particular
the Rural Catechist Sisters of the Sacred Heart with the “Zambia for Life”
Association and the “Villa Maria” rehabilitation home in Monticello Conte Otto.
My thoughts go to the young people of International Catholic Charismatic
Renewal who, in various parts of the world today, are gathering in prayer for
an hour of Eucharistic adoration. I spiritually join them in expressing
appreciation for this initiative and I hope the new generations may
increasingly meet Christ.
I greet
the young people, the sick and newlyweds. Lent is a favourable time to
intensify your spiritual life: may the practice of fasting be of help to you,
dear young people, to acquire mastery over yourselves; may prayer be for you,
dear sick people, the means to entrust your suffering to God and to feel in it
his loving presence; lastly, may works of mercy help you, dear newlyweds, to
live your marital life by opening it to the needs of your brothers and sisters.
Happy
Lent to all!
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Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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