Family is part of God’s plan, Pope says in 3 Philadelphia addresses

September 28, 2015

In two speeches and a homily in Philadelphia on September 26 and 27, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of family life.

In his address to the festival of families and vigil of prayer at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia on the evening of September 26, Pope Francis emphasized that the family is part of God’s plan, both at creation and in the Incarnation:

God did not want to come into the world other than through a family. God did not want to draw near to humanity other than through a home. God did not want any other name for himself than Emmanuel (cf. Mt 1:23). He is “God with us”. This was his desire from the beginning, his purpose, his constant effort: to say to us: “I am God with you, I am God for you”.

He is the God who from the very beginning of creation said: “It is not good for man to be alone” (Gen 2:18). We can add: it is not good for woman to be alone, it is not good for children, the elderly or the young to be alone. It is not good. That is why a man leaves his father and mother, and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh (cf. Gen 2:24). The two are meant to be a home, a family. From time immemorial, in the depths of our heart, we have heard those powerful words: it is not good for you to be alone. The family is the great blessing, the great gift of this “God with us,” who did not want to abandon us to the solitude of a life without others, without challenges, without a home.

The following morning, Pope Francis met with bishops taking part in the World Meeting of Families. Addressing them at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, he said that fostering appreciation for the gift of the family is the “foremost pastoral challenge of our changing times” and warned about the effects of the consumerist mentality:

The result is a culture which discards everything that is no longer “useful” or “satisfying” for the tastes of the consumer.  We have turned our society into a huge multicultural showcase tied only to the tastes of certain “consumers”, while so many others only “eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Mt 15:27). This causes great harm.  I would say that at the root of so many contemporary situations is a kind of impoverishment born of a widespread and radical sense of loneliness.  Running after the latest fad, accumulating “friends” on one of the social networks, we get caught up in what contemporary society has to offer.  Loneliness with fear of commitment in a limitless effort to feel recognized.

“As pastors, we bishops are called to collect our energies and to rebuild enthusiasm for making families correspond ever more fully to the blessing of God which they are!” the Pope continued. “We need to invest our energies not so much in rehearsing the problems of the world around us and the merits of Christianity, but in extending a sincere invitation to young people to be brave and to opt for marriage and the family.  Here too, we need a bit of holy parrhesia [boldness]!”

On the afternoon of September 27, Pope Francis returned to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and celebrated the concluding Mass for the World Meeting of Families. The Associated Press estimated the size of the crowd in the hundreds of thousands. In his homily, he emphasized the importance of “little gestures” within family life:

[L]ike happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures.  “Whoever gives you a cup of water in my name will not go unrewarded”, says Jesus (cf. Mk 9:41).  These little gestures are those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. 

They are the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children.  They are little signs of tenderness, affection and compassion.  Like the warm supper we look forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go to work.  Homely gestures.  Like a blessing before we go to bed, or a hug after we return from a hard day’s work.  Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home.  Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love.  That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to become faith.

 

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Further information:

• Apostolic Journey of the Holy Father to Cuba, to the United States of America and Visit to the United Nations Headquarters (19-28 September 2015) (Holy See Press Office)
• Pope in Cuba and USA (Vatican Radio)
• Vatican YouTube coverage