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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Pope Francis's Letter To Families: Text


Here is the text of the letter the Holy Father has written to families, released today.

Dear families,

With this letter, I wish, as it were, to come into your homes to speak about an event which will take place at the Vatican this coming October. It is the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which is being convened to discuss the theme of "pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization". Indeed, in our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.

This important meeting will involve all the People of God – bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world – all of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting through practical suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary than ever. This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and mission in the Church and in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task. As you know, this Extraordinary Synodal Assembly will be followed a year later by the Ordinary Assembly, which will also have the family as its theme. In that context, there will also be the World Meeting of Families due to take place in Philadelphia in September 2015. May we all, then, pray together so that through these events the Church will undertake a true journey of discernment and adopt the necessary pastoral means to help families face their present challenges with the light and strength that comes from the Gospel.

I am writing this letter to you on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The evangelist Luke tells us that the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, in keeping with the Law of Moses, took the Baby Jesus to the temple to offer him to the Lord, and that an elderly man and woman, Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit, went to meet them and acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah (cf. Lk 2:22-38). Simeon took him in his arms and thanked God that he had finally "seen" salvation. Anna, despite her advanced age, found new vigour and began to speak to everyone about the Baby. It is a beautiful image: two young parents and two elderly people, brought together by Jesus. He is the one who brings together and unites generations! He is the inexhaustible font of that love which overcomes every occasion of self-absorption, solitude, and sadness. In your journey as a family, you share so many beautiful moments: meals, rest, housework, leisure, prayer, trips and pilgrimages, and times of mutual support… Nevertheless, if there is no love then there is no joy, and authentic love comes to us from Jesus. He offers us his word, which illuminates our path; he gives us the Bread of life which sustains us on our journey.

Dear families, your prayer for the Synod of Bishops will be a precious treasure which enriches the Church. I thank you, and I ask you to pray also for me, so that I may serve the People of God in truth and in love. May the protection of the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph always accompany all of you and help you to walk united in love and in caring for one another. I willingly invoke on every family the blessing of the Lord.

From the Vatican, 2 February 2014
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

FRANCISCUS

4 comments:


  1. Father I welcome the letter from our holy father and I note the following lines.

    This important meeting will involve all the People of God – bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world – all of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting through practical suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary than ever.

    I am sad that in the Diocese of Meath it appears that those who lead us failed or decided that the survey was not needed to be given to the faithful,I am not sure if you offered it to your parish.well in my parish it certainly must have been left in the printer machine because it did not find its way to the pews.

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  2. Thankfully the Diocese of Meath, where I come from, is mostly theologically orthodox and sound. Due to the sound teaching, Priests and laity are aware of their distinct, though intrinsically separate, roles in the Church. As far as I am aware the survey was available.

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  3. Well my friend i welcome and respect your observations.as to meaning of what you are saying i am lost.does it mean that as a pastor if you show this survey then you are not theo sound.i am nit sure what parish your in in meath but from my observations very few brought it to the faithfuls attention.if its on the diosce web site i would love you to send me the link or post it.i note that i asked the question did father offer it in his meath parish and i note the silence.meath is not on their own i took a general look around other dioces and very little mention.i have hidden agenda here just was interested after the media spin had said one thing but i truly beliveca lot of the church in ireland missed thus precious momeng offered by the holy father

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  4. Sorry that should have read no no hidden agenda. Blame the finger on a i phone i need to go to spec savers

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