The Pope asks for prayers for the Synod on the
family
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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