To the Faithful of the Diocese of Brownsville:
My dear Brothers and Sisters, beloved by God and the Blessed Virgen,
The Holy Father, Pope Francis, recently published an
Apostolic Exhortation directed to the whole Church entitled, “The Joy of Love.”
We give thanks to God for the ministry of the Successor of Peter in the Church.
In the exhortation, the Holy Father speaks to us about the mystery of love in
the family. He clearly reaffirms the doctrine of the Church about the nature
and mission of the Christian family in the world, and at the same time, he provides
us with pastoral guidance on how to face without fear the difficulties we presently
encounter as Christian families participating in the great unfolding of the
human family.
At the outset, I would like to emphasize that the pope’s
exhortation offers a profound and poetic teaching about the beauty and joy
present in the love that is lived daily in the family. “The Joy of Love” is a
document filled with the biblical teaching about the grand project of God for
families. For my part, I would like to encourage you, families in our Dioceses
of Brownsville, to search for moments to discover personally the richness and
beauty of what Pope Francis, our father and pastor, is saying to us. The pope’s
encouraging words move me deeply; when I read them, I sense that the pope has
given us direct access to his fatherly heart.
The communications media frequently focus on one
aspect or another of the papal teaching, controversial points we could say, and
are often unable to offer a contextual orientation to help us understand the voice
of Peter within the Church. First, I would like to make clear that the pope has
not modified the doctrine of the faith, nor has he wanted to modify the
canonical norms of the Church. What he has wanted to do is motivate the whole
Church to reorient her priorities and pastoral perspectives. A great many
families are living under circumstances of crisis, and it is urgent that we
look for creative ways to better accompany (acompañar
mejor) all families, especially vulnerable families hurt by the “throwaway
culture”.
To accompany means to open pathways of participation
and integration for any person who searches for a relationship with Christ
inside his living body, the Church. It is a truth of human experience that a
suffering turns into a kind of hell when it is lived in isolation; and it is a
truth of grace that the wounds of life begin to heal when we are accompanied by
persons who love us in the manner of Jesus. The Lord shows his love for us by
relating himself to us, and he asks that his Church seek how to initiate
healing relationships with those who find themselves isolated and wounded.
The relationship is a beginning, it opens a door. Many
times entering through the Holy Door that is the Lord Jesus, is a gradual
process and requires patience. What is certainly true is that there is no accompaniment
and gradual process if first there is no openness to a relationship with other people.
I hear the clear voice of the pope asking all of us to make every possible
effort to accompany one another, with patience and tenderness, in the process
of letting unfold what it means to have a mature relationship with Christ.
Peter, as a pastor, always seeks to do all that is
possible to attend to the injured sheep, but he never denies the truth that the
Lord himself left us as the announcement that heals and saves. On the contrary,
that announcement, tenderly shared and applied, is what heals. If someone tells
us that he or she cannot follow the way of Christ in the Church, let it not be
because we were the ones who closed the doors to that benevolent grace which leads
to conversion and reconciliation.
I will have more to say about this topic in the
future, nevertheless, for now it is helpful to remember what the pope himself
says at the beginning of the letter: “I
do not recommend a rushed reading of the text. The greatest benefit, for
families themselves and for those engaged in the family apostolate, will come
if each part is read patiently and carefully, or if attention is paid to the
parts dealing with their specific needs. (AL 7)”
When I was a small child, my mother would read Bible
stories aloud to us, as well as stories from other books. Perhaps parents could
choose parts of the pope’s letter to share with their children, especially those
who are of adolescent age. A well-selected paragraph, shared aloud, directing
attention to mystery of the family, could inspire dialogue and a family culture
of “good counsel”.
I feel obliged, for indeed a bishop is also a father,
to help families accomplish what I am asking of them. For this reason, I will
try in the following weeks to highlight some of the pope’s teachings, so that families
can share them peacefully within the family environment. I will offer some
comments regarding what the pope tells us with the purpose of guiding your
reading.
***
To begin, then, the pope says in the first chapter
(AL14):
“Significantly,
the word which appears most frequently in the Old Testament after the name of
God (YHWH, “the Lord”), is “child” (ben, “son”), which is itself related to the
verb “to build” (banah). Hence, Psalm 127, in speaking of the gift of children,
uses imagery drawn from the building of a house and the social life of cities:
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain... Lo,
sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Like arrows
in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has
his quiver full of them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his
enemies in the gate” (Ps 127:1, 3-5). These images reflect the culture of an
ancient society, yet the presence of children is a sign of the continuity of
the family throughout salvation history, from generation to generation.”
In the entire course of “The Joy of Love” the pope reiterates
that the foundation of a Christian family is the grace that God offers us. If
we are preoccupied and worry about the future, without taking notice of God’s
grace today, without praying to the Lord so that today and every day he may
give us strength and light for our journey, then in vain do we build our
projects and plans (in vain do the builders
labor). The Christian family has confidence and hopes for the future
because the Lord walks with us, and his presence has its effect when we are in
contact with him through family prayer.
I would like to mention another point about the text
of Psalm 127, cited by the pope. He speaks about children, as constructors (builders)
of the city. Not all of us have children, but we are all sons and daughters,
and this implies that we all have family ties and form part of God’s plan for
the family. Further, all of us, as adults, have responsibilities towards future
generations. As sons and daughters, and as people responsible for the formation
of our youth, we are all builders of the city.
The Psalm tells us that family life cannot be isolated
from the great theme indicated by the use of the word “city.” The city, in the biblical
context, means the wider society, the complex of family and social relations, interwoven
to form the great human family. As the pope stated, “The welfare of the family is decisive for the future of the world”
(AL 31). Certainly, taking care and promoting the wellbeing of our families is
decisive for the future of the world. We assiduously ask the Lord to help us
with his grace for such a challenge and mission so urgent and so noble.
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