Pope Francis addresses Families in view of October Synod

Vatican City, 25 February 2014: Pope Francis has written a letter addressed to Families around the world, reminding them of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops scheduled for October this year. The Synod is being convened to discuss the theme of “pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization”. The Pontiff in his letter dated 2^nd February and published on Tuesday wrote: ‘in our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family’.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, while presenting the Pope’s letter to the media said that in recent months ‘the family is in the mind and heart of the Church’. He cited the the recommendations of Pope Francis, the pilgrimage of families in the Year of Faith, the meeting of Pope Francis with young couples on the feast of St. Valentine, the study of family and marriage in the Consistory; the forthcoming Extraordinary General Meeting of the Synod of Bishops of 2014 on the theme: " the pastoral challenges on the family in the context of evangelization", the World Day of Families in Philadelphia in September 2015, the Ordinary Synod of October 2015.

According to the Archbishop, Pope Francis wants to involve families of the world in the synodal process. The families are not simply the object of attention, but they are also the subject of this pilgrimage, he said.

The Pope says that the 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.

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, says the Holy Father, asking them ‘to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task’.

Pope Francis also reminds the families that the 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. Pope asks all to ‘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’.

The Pontiff tells the families that he writes the letter on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. 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!

Pope Francis concludes his letter saying that their ‘prayer for the Synod of Bishops will be a precious treasure which enriches the Church’.

Please find below the full text of Pope's letter

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

Source: VR Sedoc