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It will begin on March 19, 5 years after the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation and will end on June 26, 2022 on the occasion of the X World Meeting of Families. It will be, as the Pope announced today at the Angelus, on the feast of the Holy Family, a year of reflection and deepening of the content of the Document to which Francis invites everyone to adhere.
Gabriella Ceraso – Vatican City
“May the families of the world be increasingly fascinated by the evangelical ideal of the Holy Family and, with the help of the Virgin Mary, become the leaven of a new humanity and a concrete and universal solidarity.” This is the hope that the Pope expresses for the coming year that, in this Sunday’s Angelus, the feast of the Holy Family, he proclaims the Year dedicated to the Family. Joy; Inspired by the ideal of conjugal and family love embodied by Jesus, Mary and Joseph and underlined in the Apostolic Exhortation five years after its promulgation.
The Son of God needed the warmth of a family
Thus, the reflection of the Pontiff, before the Marian prayer in connection from the Library of the Apostolic Palace, is entirely dedicated to today’s feast that, after having seen the Holy Family give birth and care for the newborn Jesus, the she admires in everyday life as she watches him grow into the “joy” of childhood:
It is nice to reflect on the fact that the Son of God wanted, like all children, the warmth of a family. Precisely for this reason because the family of Jesus, that of Nazareth, is the model family, in which all the families of the world can find their safe point of reference and a safe inspiration.
In fact, in Nazareth, as today’s Luke Gospel passage says, the “child grew and grew strong, full of wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.” Within the walls of the House of Nazareth, Pope Francis emphasizes, between the “care” of the Mother and the “care” of Joseph, Jesus could see the “tenderness of God.” There “sprouted the source of human life of the Son of God” and his childhood passed with joy.
Family home of prayer, forgiveness, tenderness and God’s will
And it is still there in Nazareth where everything is contained, starting from the “educational value” of the family nucleus in which the Pope lives, based on “love that always regenerates relationships”, but also on “sincere communion.” “,” tenderness “,” adherence to the will of God “:
Sincere communion can be experienced in the family when it is a house of prayer, when the affections are serious, deep and pure, when forgiveness prevails over discord, when the daily harshness of living is softened by mutual tenderness and serene adhesion. a The will of God In this way, the family opens up to the joy that God gives to all those who know how to give with joy.
The open family and carrier of positive stimuli
In the joy that comes from God and knowing how to give oneself, the family also finds – Francis continues – “the spiritual energy to open up to others”, at the service of the brothers, to “collaboration for the construction of an ever new world and better; therefore, to be the bearer of positive stimuli and to evolve with the example of life. The Pope does not fail then, speaking spontaneously, to remember that in every family there are problems and there is struggle, the important thing is to make peace. Let the day end because “the cold war the next day is very pernicious.” And again, the recommendation that is so dear to the Pontiff is to keep three keywords that are “allowed”, “thank you” and, “the most difficult say “, which is” sorry “:
Because we always do bad things and many times someone is offended by this: “I’m sorry”, “I’m sorry”. Don’t forget the three words: “Permission”, “Thank you”, “Sorry”. If in a family, in the family environment there are these three words, the family is fine.
Referring again to the evangelizing power of the family, first of all of the Holy Family, Francis quotes the Apostolic Exhortation Joy that precisely emphasized the ideal of conjugal and family love. The fifth year of its promulgation will take place on March 19. On this date the Pope announces the beginning of a special year:
It will be a year of reflection on Amoris laetitia and it will be an opportunity to deepen the content of the document. These reflections will be made available to ecclesial communities and families, to accompany them on their journey. From now on I invite everyone to join the initiatives that will be promoted during the year and that will be coordinated by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. We entrust this journey with families from all over the world to the Holy Family of Nazareth, in particular to Saint Joseph, husband and caring father.
An entrusted study trip to the Sagrada Familia
For the families of the world, this year will represent, therefore, in the Pope’s intentions, a path of deepening the contents of the Document, the result of the two Synods on the family held in 2014 and 2015, signed on March 19 and disseminated on April 8, 2016. A Document dedicated to love in the family, as the Chirographer who accompanies it says, for “the good of all families and of all people, young and old.” To Our Lady the most intimate wish for all the families that will join:
May the Virgin Mary, to whom we now address with the Angelus prayer, may the families of the whole world feel more and more fascinated by the evangelical ideal of the Holy Family, to become the leaven of new humanity and of a concrete and universal solidarity.
