Pope Francis – Holy Family

[simpleazon-image align=”right” asin=”0770435068″ locale=”us” height=”500″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415mWq0ILVL.jpg” width=”333″]Below is the English translation of the Holy Father’s address before and after the recitation of the Angelus today at St. Peter’s Square.

Dear brothers and sisters, hello!

On this first Sunday after Christmas, the liturgy invites us to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth. In fact, every creche scene reveals us Jesus together with Our Lady and St. Joseph in the grotto of Bethlehem. God wanted to be born in a human family, he wanted to have a mother and a dad like us.

And today the Gospel presents the Holy Family traveling the sorrowful roadway of expatriation, trying to find sanctuary in Egypt. Joseph, Mary and Jesus experience the remarkable fate of refugees, with the fear, uncertainty and uneasiness it brings (Matthew 2:13 -15, 19-23). Sadly, in our time, millions of families can encounter this unfortunate reality. Practically every day the tv and the newspapers carry news about refugees who run away from cravings, from battle, from various other severe dangers, trying to find security and a dignified life for themselves and their families.

In far-off lands, even when they discover work, refugees and immigrants do not constantly meet with true welcome, regard, recognition of the values which they bring with them. Their legit expectations conflict with complex scenarios and troubles that in some cases appear insuperable. So, when we repair our look upon the Holy Family of Nazareth in the moment that they end up being refugees, we think of the drama of those grants and refugees who are victims of rejection and exploitation, who are victims of human trafficking and slave labor. Let us likewise think about the other “exiles”: I would call them “concealed expatriations,” those expatriations that can be within our own family: the elderly, for example, who are occasionally dealt with as a hassle. I frequently think that a sign of exactly how a family is doing is exactly how the children and old individuals in the family are dealt with.

Jesus wanted to belong to a family that experienced these difficulties, so that nobody would feel omitted from the enjoying presence of God. The air travel into Egypt triggered by Herod’s hazards reveals us that God is present where man is in risk, there where man suffers, there where he flees, where he experiences rejection and abandonment; however God is also there where man dreams, where he wants to return to freedom in his homeland, plans and decides about his life and self-respect and those of his family.

Today our reflection of the Holy Family lets itself be drawn likewise by the simplicity of the life they lead at Nazareth. It is an example that is excellent for our households, it helps them further to end up being communities of love and settlement where inflammation, shared assistance and mutual forgiveness are experienced. Let us remember the 3 key phrases for a life of peace and delight in the family: excuse me, thank you, I’m sorry. In a family when you are not intrusive however say “excuse me,” when you are not self-centered however say “thank you,” and when you understand that you have done glitch and you state “I’m sorry,” in that family there is peace and pleasure. Let us remember these 3 phrases. But we can say them entirely: excuse me, thank you, I’m sorry. (The individuals gathered in St. Peter’s Square then duplicated the words after the Holy Father.) I would also such as households to be knowledgeable about their significance in the Church and in society. The proclamation of the Gospel, in fact, passes firstly through families to then reach the different spheres of daily life.

Let us fervently evoke Mary Most Holy, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, and St. Joseph her husband. Let us ask to enlighten, to comfort, to lead every family on the planet so that they could perform the objective that God has actually handed over to them with self-respect and tranquility.

After the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Francis continued . . .

Dear brothers and sisters,.

The upcoming consistory and Synod of Bishops will deal with the topic of the family, and the primary stage began a long time back. Because of this, today, the feast of the Holy Family, I would such as to entrust the synod work to Jesus, Mary and Joseph, praying for the households of the whole word. I welcome you to join spiritually with me in the prayer that I now recite:.

Prayer to the Holy Family.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we consider the natural beauty of true love, we rely on you in trust. Holy Family of Nazareth, make our households too locations of communion and centers of prayer, real schools of the Gospel and little domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth, might violence, closure and department never once more be experienced in families; may whoever has been wounded or scandalized quickly be consoled and healed.

Holy Family of Nazareth, may the coming Synod of Bishops reawaken in everybody the consciousness of the sacred and inviolable character of the family, its appeal in God’s plan. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, hear and provide our supplication. Amen!

I offer a special greeting to the faithful with whom we are connected by video: in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, where the general secretary of the Synod of Bishops exists; in the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, where the head of state of the Pontifical Council for the Family is present; in the Basilica Shrine of the Holy House in Loreto. And I extend this greeting to those gathered in different parts of the world for various other events of the family, such as the one in Madrid.

I greet with love all of the pilgrims present right here, particularly the households! I understand that there are members of the Romanian community of Rome present. I greet the young people of the Focolari movement who have originated from various countries, amongst whom are the groups from the Dioceses of Milan, Como, Lodi, Padua, Vicenza and Concordia-Pordenone. I greet the yooueople from Curno and Calcinate with their catechists; the faithful from Salcedo, Carzago Riviera, San Giovanni in Persiceto and Modica.

I wish you all a gorgeous feast of the Holy Family, a gorgeous and good Sunday and a great lunch. Excellent bye!