Pope in the US: it is worth fighting for the family, "the factory of hope"
Philadelphia (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis took part in the great gathering of families on Saturday evening in Philadelphia, host city of the World Meeting of Families, for a vigil of prayer and a celebration of the family.
In his prepared speech and extemporaneous address, the pontiff said that despite difficulties, quarrels and weariness, it is worth fighting for the family, which he described as a "factory of hope". For him, although “there are no perfect families, this should not discourage us."
Personal stories, songs and dances punctuated the celebration. Vocalist Aretha Franklin and tenor Andrea Bocelli were among the A-list performers. Thousands of people from around the world and participants from the eighth World Meeting of Families – whose theme was ‘Love is our mission: the family fully alive’ – welcomed Francis.
During the celebration, several people related their stories, witnesses like Amy Wall, who was healed of her deafness through the intercession of Philadelphia-born Saint Catherine Drexel; Camillus and Kelly, from Australia, who will get married in November; Mario and Rosa from Argentina, who celebrated the 60th anniversary of marriage; and Gianna Emanuela Molla, daughter of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, who along with Saint John Paul II is the patron of the meeting.
After his speech, the pope "finished" a mural. Three panels of a giant mural prepared by men, women, children and elderly over the summer was brought to the stage. It is slated to be set up at Philadelphia’s Saint Malachy School. The pontiff completed the work by giving the last brush stroke and signing it.
In such an atmosphere, the Holy Father put aside his prepared speech and spoke extemporaneously about love, goodness, beauty, truth and the family.
"It is worth fighting for the family," he said because "societies grow healthy, strong and solid if they grow out of familial goodness and love."
"God gave all the beauty, all the truth, and all the love to the family." Thus, "The family has a divine identity card,” the pope said. “The identity card that the family has, God gave it, so that in its womb truth, love and beauty may grow."
The Pope cited a question that a child once put to him. "What was God doing before He created the world"? Francis said. "Before he created the world, God loved, because he is love." Indeed, it was such “great and overwhelming" love that "created the world." Sadly, we are “destroying” such wonder.
"God gave everything" to man. "All the love that God has in himself, all the beauty that God has in himself, and all the whole truth that God has in himself, he gives to the family."
A family is truly so when it is able to "open its arms" and receive all this love. "We can learn love. We can live love. Love grows 'working at it' according to the life circumstances that every particular family goes through. Love is always born and develops at the cusp of light and shadow."
"Father,” he said again, “you say this because you are a 'bachelor'." That may be, but “Husband and wife argue perhaps,” he noted. “Children create problems. Not to mention the mother-in-law!” Yet, “there is always life in the family, because God’s love opens the door to life. For this reason, the family is a factory of hope, a factory of life, and a factory of resurrection."
Francis stressed again the need to care for children and senior citizens. "Young people are strength, and the future, the elderly are the memory. A people that cannot take care of children, a people that cannot take care of the elderly, is a people without a future, because it does not have strength and does not have the memory to go on."
"Let us take care of the family; let us defend the family,” said the pontiff in concluding, “because our future depends upon it!" Before the blessing, he prayed to Mary and called on Saint Joseph to protect families and "help us believe it is worth fighting for the family".
In his prepared speech, the pope said, among other things, “As Christians, we appreciate the beauty of the family and of family life as the place where we come to learn the meaning and value of human relationships. We learn that ‘to love someone is not just a strong feeling – it is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise’ (Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving). We learn to stake everything on another person, and we learn that it is worth it.
“Jesus was not a confirmed bachelor, far from it! He took the Church as his bride, and made her a people of his own. He laid down his life for those he loved, so that his bride, the Church, could always know that he is God with us, his people, his family. We cannot understand Christ without his Church, just as we cannot understand the Church without her spouse, Christ Jesus, who gave his life out of love, and who makes us see that it is worth the price.
“Laying down one’s life out of love is not easy. As with the Master, ‘staking everything’ can sometimes involve the cross. Times when everything seems uphill. I think of all those parents, all those families who lack employment or workers’ rights, and how this is a true cross. How many sacrifices they make to earn their daily bread! It is understandable that, when these parents return home, they are so weary that they cannot give their best to their children.
“I think of all those families which lack housing or live in overcrowded conditions. Families which lack the basics to be able to build bonds of closeness, security and protection from troubles of any kind.
“I think of all those families which lack access to basic health services. Families which, when faced with medical problems, especially those of their younger or older members, are dependent on a system which fails to meet their needs, is insensitive to their pain, and forces them to make great sacrifices to receive adequate treatment.
“We cannot call any society healthy when it does not leave real room for family life. We cannot think that a society has a future when it fails to pass laws capable of protecting families and ensuring their basic needs, especially those of families just starting out. How many problems would be solved if our societies protected families and provided households, especially those of recently married couples, with the possibility of dignified work, housing and healthcare services to accompany them throughout life.”
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