SUMMARY:
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THE POPE MEETS TEN THOUSAND ENGAGED COUPLES IN ST. PETER'S SQUARE
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AUDIENCES
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
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TO CZECH BISHOPS: SYNERGY BETWEEN THE CLERGY, RELIGIOUS AND LAY
FAITHFUL
______________________________________
THE
POPE MEETS TEN THOUSAND ENGAGED COUPLES IN ST. PETER'S SQUARE
Vatican
City, 14 February 2014 (VIS) – Ten thousand engaged couples from
all over the world gathered today, on the feast of St. Valentine, in
St. Peter's Square to consider the vocation of marriage, with the
theme “The joy of 'Yes' for ever”, and to meet with Pope Francis.
The event, organised by the Pontifical Council for the Family, takes
as its starting point the idea that one does not get married once all
problems are solved, but rather that one marries in order to face
problems together, and concludes that it is still possible to take
the risk of saying “for ever”, that it takes courage, but “for
ever” is a prospect that brings joy and allows us to look to the
future with hope.
The
event began at 11 a.m. with a series of testimonies from couples,
interspersed with readings and songs dedicated to love in its various
manifestations, and at 12.30 p.m. the Holy Father entered the Square
to greet the couples and to comment on three issues put forward by
many couples: The fear of “for ever”, living together, the
matrimonial way of life; and the type of matrimonial celebration.
“It
is important to ask ourselves if it is possible to love one another
'for ever'”, affirmed the Pope. “Today many people are afraid of
making definitive decisions, that affect them for all their lives,
because it seems impossible … and this mentality leads many who are
preparing for marriage to say, 'We will stay together for as long as
our love lasts'. But what do we mean by 'love'? A mere emotion, a
psycho-physical state? Certainly, if it is just this, it cannot
provide the foundation for building something solid. But if instead
love is a relationship, then it is a growing reality, and we can also
say, by way of example, that it is built in the same way that we
build a house. And we build a house together, not alone! … You
would not wish to build it on the shifting sands of emotions, but on
the rock of true love, the love that comes from God. The family is
born of this project of love that wishes to grow, as one builds a
house that becomes the locus of affection, help, hope and support.
Just as God's love is stable and lasts for ever, we want the love on
which a family is based to be stable and to last for ever. We must
not allow ourselves to be conquered by a 'throwaway culture'. This
fear of 'for ever' is cured by entrusting oneself day by day to the
Lord Jesus in a life that becomes a daily spiritual path of common
growth, step by step. Because 'for ever' is not simply a question of
duration! A marriage does not succeed just because it lasts; its
quality is also important. To stay together and to know how to love
each other for ever is the challenge Christian married couples face!
… In the Our Father prayer we say, 'Give us this day our daily
bread'. Married couples may also learn to pray, 'Give us this day our
daily love', teach us to love each other, to care for each other. The
more you entrust yourselves to the Lord, the more your love will be
'for ever', able to renew itself and to overcome every difficulty”.
In
response to the second question, Francis emphasised that living
together is “an art, a patient, beautiful and fascinating journey …
which can be summarised in three words: please, thank you and sorry.
'Please' is a kind request to be able to enter into the life of
someone else with respect and care. … True love does not impose
itself with hardness and aggression. … St. Francis said that
'courtesy is the sister of charity, it extinguishes hatred and
kindles love'. And today, in our families, in our world, often
violent and arrogant, there is a need for far more courtesy. 'Thank
you': gratitude is an important sentiment. Do we know how to say
thank you? In your relationship, and in your future as married
couples, it is important to keep alive your awareness that the other
person is a gift from God, and we should always give thanks for gifts
from God. … It is not merely a kind word to use with strangers, in
order to be polite. It is necessary to know how to say thank you, to
journey ahead together”.
“'Sorry'.
In our lives we make many errors, many mistakes. We all do. … And
this is why we need to be able to use this simple word, 'sorry'. In
general we are all ready to accuse other sand to justify ourselves.
It is an instinct that lies at the origins of many disasters. Let us
learn to recognise our mistakes and to apologise. … Also in this
way, the Christian family grows. We are all aware that the perfect
family does not exist, nor does the perfect husband, nor the perfect
wife. We exist, and we are sinners. Jesus, who knows us well, teaches
us a secret: never let a day go by without asking forgiveness, or
without restoring peace to your home. … If we learn to apologise
and to forgive each other, the marriage will last and will move on”.
Finally,
the Holy Father commented that marriage should be a celebration, but
a Christian rather than a worldly one. He offered as an example
Jesus' first miracle at Cana, when he transformed water into wine
when the latter appeared to have run out, thus saving the
celebrations. “What happened at Cana two thousand years ago,
happens in reality at every wedding feast. It is the presence of the
Lord, who reveals Himself and the gift of His grace, that will render
your marriage full and profoundly true. … At the same time, it is
good for your wedding to be sober and to emphasise that which is
truly important. Some people are more concerned with external signs,
with the banquet, the dress... These are important aspects of a
feast, but only if they are able to indicate the true reason for your
joy: the Lord's blessing upon your love. Ensure that, like the wine
in Cana, the external signs of your wedding feast reveal the presence
of the Lord and remind you, and all those presence, of the origin of
and reason for your joy”.
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 14 February 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
Fifteen
prelates of the Czech Bishops' Conference on their “ad limina”
visit:
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Cardinal Dominik Duka, O.P., archbishop of Prague, with his
auxiliaries, Bishop Vaclav Maly and Bishop Karel Herbst, S.D.B., and
Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, archbishop emeritus;
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Archbishop Jan Graubner of Olomouc;
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Bishop Vojtech Cikrle of Brno, with his former auxiliary, Bishop Petr
Esterka;
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Bishop Frantisek Vaclav Lobkowicz, O. Praem., of Ostrava Opava;
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Bishop Jiri Padour, O.F.M. Cap., of Ceske Budejovice, with his
auxiliary, Bishop Pavel Posad;
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Bishop Jan Vokal of Hradec Kralove, with his auxiliary, Bishop Josef
Kajnek;
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Bishop Jan Baxant of Litomerice;
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Bishop Frantisek Radkovsky of Plzen; and
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Bishop Ladislav Hucko, apostolic esarch for Catholics of Byzantine
rite resident in the Czech Republic.
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Moyses Louro de Azevedo Filho, founder and moderator general of the
“Comunidade Catolica Shalom”, Brazil.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 14 February 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
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appointed Rev. Alejandro Daniel Giorgi as auxiliary of the
archdiocese of Buenos Aires (area 203, population 2,917,000,
Catholics 2,671,000, priests 791, permanent deacons 11, religious
1,871), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in Buenos Aires,
Argentina in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1990. He studied
medicine at the National University of Buenos Aires and holds a
licentiate in theology from the Catholic University of Argentina. He
has served in a number of pastoral roles, including vicar of the
parish of “San Pedro Apostol”, in Villa Devoto, and prefect and
vice-rector of the “Inmaculada Concepcion” metropolitan seminary.
He is currently rector of the metropolitan seminary of Buenos Aires.
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appointed Msgr. Gustavo Alejandro Montini as auxiliary of the diocese
of San Roque de Presidencia Roque Saenz Pena (area 71,303, population
519,032, Catholics 456,120, priests 48, permanent deacons 4,
religious 123), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in Raquel,
Argentina in 1970 and was ordained a priest in 1996. He holds a
licentiate in spiritual theology from the “Teresianum” Pontifical
Institute of Spirituality in Rome. He has served in a number of
pastoral roles, including vicar in three parishes in the diocese of
Rafaela, diocesan and national assessor for youth pastoral, regional
delegate for the National Commission for Youth Pastoral, deputy
president of diocesan Caritas, episcopal delegate for the Order of
Consecrated Virgins, spiritual director of the seminary of Parana,
chancellor, episcopal vicar, moderator of the Curia and, since 2008,
vicar general of the diocese of Rafaela.
TO
CZECH BISHOPS: SYNERGY BETWEEN THE CLERGY, RELIGIOUS AND LAY FAITHFUL
Vatican
City, 14 February 2014 (VIS) – Today, on the feast of Sts. Cyril
and Methodius, Pope Francis received in audience the prelates of the
Czech Bishops' Conference at the end of their “ad limina” visit.
In the text of the address he handed to them, he writes that to
enable the faithful to know Jesus Christ well, it is necessary “to
increase appropriate pastoral initiatives dedicated towards a solid
preparation for the Sacraments and active participation in the
liturgy. Commitment to religious education for a qualified presence
in the world of schools and culture is also necessary. On your part,
there must be a vigilant and courageous openness to new impulses from
the Holy Spirit, Whose charisms are widespread and render the lay
faithful available to assume responsibilities and ministries, useful
for the renewal and growth of the Church”.
The
Pope goes on to state that, to face contemporary challenges and new
matters of pastoral urgency, there is a need for synergy between
clergy, religious and lay faithful. He also repeats that “while for
a long period the Church in your country was oppressed by regimes
based on ideologies contrary to human dignity and freedom, today you
must face other more insidious difficulties, such as secularism and
relativism. It is therefore necessary, alongside the tireless
proclamation of Gospel values, to engage in constructive dialogue
with all, even with those who are far from any religious feeling”.
The
Holy Father emphasises that the bishops must “persevere in prayer,
generous in serving your people, full of zeal in the proclamation of
the Word. It is your task to follow your priests with paternal
affection: they are your principal collaborators, and their parochial
mission requires stability to favour a climate of truth and serenity
in the people”. He urges them to “promote the pastoral vocation
in an increasingly organic and capillary fashion, and in particular
to encourage the young in the search for meaning and in giving to God
and to their brothers. May you turn your attention also to the
pastoral of the family”, he added, “as the family is the
cornerstone of social life and only by working in favour of families
may we renew the fabric of the ecclesial community and of civil
society itself”.
The
Pope mentions the importance of unity and solidarity between bishops,
as well as their communion with Peter's Successor. “This fraternal
union is equally indispensable for the effectiveness of the work of
your Episcopal Conference, and can give you ever greater authority in
your relations with the civil authorities of the country, both in
ordinary life and in facing the most delicate problems”. In
relation to economic matters, the Pope mentions that “material
goods are destined exclusively to the spiritual mission of the
Church, to ensure that every ecclesial situation there are the
necessary means and freedom for pastoral activity. It is necessary to
pay close attention to guarantee that ecclesiastical assets are
administered with caution and transparency, so that they are
protected and preserved, also with the help of trusted and competent
lay faithful”.
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