Pope's Prayer Intention: Christian Marriage and Family

"That faithful to the sacrament of matrimony every Christian family may cultivate the values of love and communion in order to be a small evangelizing community, sensitive and open to the material and spiritual needs of others."

ROME (VISN) - The Pope's Missionary Intention for September 2008: "That faithful to the sacrament of matrimony every Christian family may cultivate the values of love and communion in order to be a small evangelizing community, sensitive and open to the material and spiritual needs of others."

Commentary

Marriage is undoubtedly one of the most attacked institutions in our society. In a culture that is marked by extreme relativism and a divorce from its Creator, man tries to establish himself as the center and the measure of all things. He no longer acknowledges his status as creature, and thus considers himself the absolute lord over his life and his body. He no longer finds an ultimate meaning in his existence, a goal that goes beyond what is imminent, tangible, and pleasing to the senses.

In Familiaris consortio, John Paul II indicated the signs of disturbing degradation of some fundamental values: "a mistaken theoretical and practical concept of the independence of the spouses in relation to each other; serious misconceptions regarding the relationship of authority between parents and children; the concrete difficulties that the family itself experiences in the transmission of values; the growing number of divorces; the scourge of abortion; the ever more frequent recourse to sterilization; the appearance of a truly contraceptive mentality" (FC, 6).

A false idea of freedom is being spread. It is one that seeks to present life-long commitments as something that, instead of being a fulfillment of true freedom in self-donation, becomes a bothersome and unwanted chore.
Every man has a vocation to love, simply by the mere fact of being a human being created in the image and likeness of God. This vocation to love, for the majority of men and women, finds its plenitude in marriage. Others are called to a plenitude of love in celibacy or virginity.

Spouses should live their mutual self-donation by giving their lives for one another, in imitation of Christ, who loved the Church and gave His life for her (cf. Eph. 5:25). Charity between spouses is meant to be a reflection of that same charity of Christ, who gave Himself up to death on the Cross.

True life can only flourish when there is love. From the mutual love of the spouses come children, who do not wished to be loved by their mother and father in an independent manner, but rather, seek to enter into this one love that makes them "one flesh," united. "The experience of being welcomed and loved by God and by our parents is always the firm foundation for authentic human growth and authentic development, helping us to mature on the way towards truth and love, and to move beyond ourselves in order to enter into communion with others and with God" (Benedict XVI, Homily given in Valencia (Spain) on July 9,2008)

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True love must be exclusive, undivided, and lifelong. Only this kind of love is befitting of the human person, in order to establish this unique relationship that was intended by the Creator: "male and female he created them" (Gen 1:27).Through the Sacrament of Marriage, God blesses and elevates human love, strengthening and healing the will of the spouses, so that they can love one another and overcome the threats of selfishness, of rupture, of lack of forgiveness. This true love, which is elevated by virtue of the sacramental grace, becomes a source of communion for the entire family and makes them more aware of others' needs.

A true communion is always open. It knows how to create bonds and widen hearts. Every family should be open to others, looking after the needs of those that God places on our path. Love is always active, dynamic and never idle. Every family should become a missionary community where the love of Christ is lived and communicated, as He is the foundation of all relationships.

"Animated in its own inner life by missionary zeal, the Church of the home is also called to be a luminous sign of the presence of Christ and of His love for those who are 'far away,' for families who do not yet believe, and for those Christian families who no longer live in accordance with the faith that they once received. The Christian family is called to enlighten 'by its example and its witness...those who seek the truth'" (FC, 54).