These are powerful words from our Pope.
It is important that today's families also hear the memorable appeal John Paul II left them 25 years ago in the apostolic exhortation "Familiaris Consortio": "Family, become what you are!".
The theme of the forthcoming meeting in Valencia is the transmission of the faith in the family. The theme of the apostolic visit to that city is inspired in this commitment: "Family, Live and Transmit the Faith!"
In so many communities which today are secularized the first urgency for believers in Christ is, precisely, to renew the faith of adults so that they will be able to communicate it to new generations.
On the other hand, the journey of Christian initiation of children and adolescents can become an opportunity for parents to return to the Church and reflect further on the beauty and truth of the Gospel.
In short, the family is a living organism, where a mutual exchange of gifts takes place. What is important is that the word of God, which keeps the flame of faith alive, never be lacking. With a particularly significant gesture, during the rite of baptism, the godfather or godmother lights a candle from the great paschal candle, symbol of the risen Christ and then the celebrant says: "To you, parents and godparents, is entrusted the task of guarding this light so that this child, illuminated by Christ, may always live as a child of the light."
If this gesture, in which the whole meaning of the transmission of the faith in the family lies, is to be authentic, it must be preceded and accompanied by the parents' commitment to further their own knowledge of the faith, rekindling the flame with prayer and the assiduous practice of the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist.
Let us commend to the Virgin Mary the success of the forthcoming great Valencia meeting, and of all the families of the world so that they will be genuine communities of love and life, in which the flame of faith is transmitted from generation to generation.
Taken from
Zenit News Agency
The Pope's first Encyclical letter was released. I was so excited waiting for it since early December. The rumors of its release have hit my ears last year and with each possible date for its release come and gone my excitement just grew. This week it is finally here.
For some reason a lot of people have found the Encyclical a bit surprising. The theme it deals with is love. A purification of love in society and a return to a very fundamentally Christian concept of loving our neighbor. Many people say that there is nothing new in this letter. That it simply restates what the church always believed. This is true, but what it does restates is very badly needed today. The pope knows this and maybe thats why he chose this theme for his first Encyclical.
The world needs love. It needs Christian love. It needs Christians to live their Christian lives in truth and not in shame. Love must be a part of every action of a Christian.
Here is the link to the Encyclical
"It is terrible how much harm we can do if we allow ourselves to be carried away by the fear or the shame of being seen as Christians in ordinary life. "
St. Josemaría Escrivá