“Starting again from a new generation: creating many small domestic churches, where a Christian lifestyle is lived, where people know Jesus better”. This is the appeal of Pope Francis to the leaders of the Équipes Notre-Dame international movement received at the Vatican this afternoon (04).
Vatican news
This Saturday morning (04/05) the Pope welcomed those responsible for the international movement “Équipes Notre-Dame”. In his speech, Francisco highlighted two points of reflection of the movement dedicated to families so that they can enjoy the gift of Christian marriage. The first is dedicated to newlyweds and the second is about the importance of joint responsibility between spouses and priests in the movement.
After claiming to closely follow couples through life’s difficulties and marital relationship, the movement Revelation of the Church “on the way out”. “Couple with today’s couples,” he said, “is a real mission! To preserve a marriage is to preserve an entire family, that is, to preserve all the relationships formed by marriage. Then he continued:
Marriage with the presence of Christ
Explaining, “Nowadays, it is believed that the success of a marriage depends only on the will of the people. It is not like that.” Adding that marriage is a “three-way step” in which “the presence of Christ between the spouses makes the journey possible, and the yoke is turned into a game of visions: seeing between the spouses, seeing between the spouses and Christ. It is a lifelong game in which, if they take care of their relationship, If they treat it as a precious treasure, all will win together.
Newlyweds
Francisco said he wants to leave you with two brief reflections: the first is about the newlyweds. It is important for newlyweds to experience the mystery of marriage, which enables them to experience the beauty of their ritual and spirituality as a couple. He added, “Many people get married without understanding what faith has to do with their married life, perhaps because no one has witnessed it before marriage.” “He encouraged those present to help them in a ‘catechumenal’ journey of recovery of faith, both personally and as a couple, so that, from the beginning, they can learn to make room for Jesus, and to join him, with him. Take care of your marriage”.
Spouses and priests
The Pope’s second reflection concerns the importance of co-responsibility between wives and priests in the movement. “You understand and live firmly in the complementarity of the two vocations”, said Francisco, “I encourage you to take it to the parishes so that the laity and the priests discover its richness and need. This will help the parish to overcome an unfruitful clergy: beware of the clergy… through marriage they have a mission It will also help you find out who is being called.
Finally, the Pope concluded by reminding those present:
“In your dioceses, you can make families understand the importance of helping each other and working as a network; build communities where Christ can ‘live’ in homes and family relationships.”
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