Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "With their domestic, simple, and joyful life of sharing daily joys, hopes, and concerns lived at the light of the faith, Christian families are schools of obedience and environments of true freedom. This is evident to those who have lived their marriage according to God's plans for many years, come of some of those present, who have witnessed the Lord's goodness that supports and sustains us." This is what the Holy Father Benedict XVI said in his homily in the Mass he presided on April 23 in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Apostolic Palace. The Mass was concelebrated by Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, and Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop of Mexico City, as well as members of the organizational committee of the 6th World Meeting of Families that took place in January, in Mexico City.
Making reference to the day's readings from the Mass, the Pope focused on the theme of obedience: "The Word of God speaks to us of an obedience that is not mere subjection, nor simply an obeying of orders, rather it arises from an intimate communion with God and consists in an interior vision capable of discerning that which 'comes from on high' and 'is above everything'. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit which God grants without measure. Our contemporaries need to discover this obedience, which is not theoretical but essential. It means opting for specific forms of behavior which are based on obedience to God's will and which make us fully free." Benedict XVI then spoke of how "in the Eucharist, Christ is truly present; He is the bread come down from on high, to restore our strength in our efforts and fatigues along the way. He is at our side..." Lastly, the Pope invoked the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, so that "strengthened by the Eucharistic bread, we can be servers of authentic joy for the world."
(SL) (Agenzia Fides 24/4/2009)
