Dear Friends,
Next weekend is our spring Spaghetti Dinner! Please remind your friends, tell your relatives and bring your neighbors to this wonderful event with great food and fun. And, if you have not set aside a time to help, please consider doing that as well. It takes lots of hands to make these kinds of events come off well. Simply grab someone the day of the dinner and ask where they need help. I am sure they will find a spot for you.
On Friday of this past week, Pope Francis published his response to the two Synods which were called to reflect upon the condition of marriage and family life throughout the word. The document is a bit long and I have not had a chance to read it through and to study it completely, but from what I have read I would encourage all of you to find it online and read it at your leisure. Pope Francis himself says, “I do not recommend a rushed reading of the text. The greatest benefit, for families themselves and for those engaged in the family apostolate, will come if each part is read patiently and carefully, or if attention is paid to the parts dealing with their specific needs. It is likely, for example, that married couples will be more concerned with Chapters Four and Five, and pastoral ministers with Chapter Six, while everyone should feel challenged by Chapter Eight. It is my hope that, in reading this text, all will feel called to love and cherish family life, for “families are not a problem; they are first and foremost an opportunity.”
After you have read parts of the text, I would love to hear your reactions. Maybe we should do a study group on the text later this spring?
I think the Pope really does intend this for all of us and so he writes it in a way that most Catholics can understand. Let me give you a little sample to entice you:
“Adam, who is also the man of every time and place, together with his wife, starts a new family. Jesus speaks of this by quoting the passage from Genesis: “The man shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one” (Mt 19:5; cf. Gen 2:24). The very word “to be joined” or “to cleave”, in the original Hebrew, bespeaks a profound harmony, a closeness both physical and interior, to such an extent that the word is used to describe our union with God: “My soul clings to you” (Ps 63:8). The marital union is thus evoked not only in its sexual and corporal dimension, but also in its voluntary self-giving in love. The result of this union is that the two “become one flesh”, both physically and in the union of their hearts and lives, and, eventually, in a child, who will share not only genetically but also spiritually in the “flesh” of both parents…
…The welfare of the family is decisive for the future of the world and that of the Church. Countless studies have been made of marriage and the family, their current problems and challenges. We do well to focus on concrete realities, since “the call and the demands of the Spirit resound in the events of history”, and through these “the Church can also be guided to a more profound understanding of the inexhaustible mystery of marriage and the family”. I will not attempt here to present all that might be said about the family today. Nonetheless, because the Synod Fathers examined the situation of families worldwide, I consider it fitting to take up some of their pastoral insights, along with concerns derived from my own experience…
…I thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect, live in love, fulfill their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way. The Synod’s reflections show us that there is no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems. The situations that concern us are challenges. We should not be trapped into wasting our energy in doleful laments, but rather seek new forms of missionary creativity.”
Well I wish I could give you more and that we had more space, but we will try to find a way to look at the letter over the months ahead. Until then, find it online and enjoy reading about the Joy of Love.
Peace,
Fr. Damian