Pope francesco: “take care of yourselves, as couples and as families! Take the necessary time for prayer, for dialogue between you spouses and with children, and for community life in the Church”
On Friday 2 December, in the Clementine hall, Pope Francis received the members of the Forum of family associations, of which also Ai.Bi. and the association La Pietra Scartata are part. The leaders of the associations that make it up were present together with Gigi De Palo, president of the Forum. Between them the President of Ai.Bi. Marco Griffini and the wife Irene Teresa Bertuzzi founders of the Friends of Children Association. On the occasion, Griffini gave Pope Francis the last copy of the first edition of his book on the spirituality of adoption “… but God is silent” (of which the second edition is being reprinted, which anyone can book by writing an email to shop@fondazioneaibi.it). He was also present at the hearing Christine Riccardi, vice president of Ai.Bi. and Vice-President of the Family Forum.
A set of associations began the Pope, in his speech, reported in full on Vatican Va who always tries to: “keep the voice of families is loud in Italy: a voice that is not plaintive, but purposeful; a non-ideological voice, but capable of interpreting the reality and needs of Italian families, especially those with multiple children, who find themselves unjustly penalized”.
The first aspect that the Holy Father recognizes to the associations present is “The joy of being a family”
“Joy of being familyPope Francis explains does not mean that everything is fine, that there are no problems… No, it’s not that. We all know that family life is made up of happy moments and other painful ones, of more serene periods and others that are more difficult, sometimes hard. But there is a joy that can go through all these situations, because it lies at a deeper level, and that comes from being a familyperceived as a gift, with an intimate sense of gratitude.
The Christian family must “never” remain closed in its own shell
The second aspect that the Pope underlines in his speech is the importance of dialogue and openness to the world that Catholic families must have.
“A Christian family – underlines the Pope- it can never close itself in its shell; he can’t say: we’re fine, the others can manage! The Christian family – but I would say every family founded on love – is open and attentive to what happens outside the hometry to be welcoming and supportive, starting from neighborhood situations, condominiums, neighborhoods, up to those at a wider social level, as well as in other countries and other continents. The family is called to be a factor of fraternity and social friendship, rooted in a territory and at the same time open to the world”.
Then, Pope Francis does not fail to recall the “demographic winter” we are experiencing and to thank the families of the Forum for their activity.
The last, most intimate thought is addressed to the spouses:
“take care of yourselves, as couples and as families! Take the necessary time for prayer, for dialogue between you spouses and with children, and for community life in the Church. And also take the time to play with the children! Playing, “wasting time” with the children, playing. Families who want to commit themselves on an associative and social level must, all the more reason, nourish the spiritual life and conjugal and family spirituality”.
To read the complete speech of the Pope HERE
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