In Europe and in today's world,
where separations and divorces are so frequent, the family founded on
marriage witnesses God’s "faithful, patient, respectful and generous"
love; the same as the first education to the Faith is precisely this
witness of fidelity to the marriage covenant.
The promotion of the
family, central to Benedict XVI’s visit to Croatia last weekend, was
also at the heart of the Pope’s overview of that trip during the general
audience today.
Next to the family, the visit to Croatia, in the words of
Benedict XVI recalled the "most profound vocation of Europe, which is to
preserve and renew a humanism which has Christian roots."
"A humanism
that focuses on the conscience of man, his transcendent openness and at
the same time his historical reality, capable of inspiring political
projects that are diverse and yet converge on constructing a substantive
democracy, founded on ethical values rooted in human nature itself”.
Speaking to 30 thousand people gathered in St Peter’s Square Benedict XVI recalled the theme
of the visit, which took place last Saturday and Sunday, "Together in
Christ", "by expressing the experience of finding all united in Christ's
name, the experience Being Church, manifested by the coming together of
God's people around the successor of Peter. " B
ut the occasion had a
special reference to family, due to the celebration of the first
National Day of the Croatian Catholic families, to which Sunday morning Mass was dedicated.
"It was very important for me to confirm especially families in
the faith, termed “house churches" by the Second Vatican Council and to
whose role Blessed John Paul II “gave great emphasis".
"In the Europe
of today, Nations with a strong Christian tradition have a special
responsibility in safeguarding and promoting the value of the family
founded on marriage, which remains crucial in both the educational and
social fronts."
"In our day, and unfortunately it is noted the growing
number of separations and divorces, the fidelity of the spouses has
become in itself a significant sign of the love of Christ, which allows
people to experience marriage for what it is, namely 'union of a man and
a woman who, by the grace of Christ, love and help each other for all
of their lives, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health. "
"The first religious education consists in the witness of this
fidelity to the marriage covenant: from it children learn without need
for words that God is love, loyal, patient, respectful and generous.
Faith in the God who is love is transmitted primarily through the
testimony of a faithful conjugal love, which naturally translates into
love for children, the fruit of this union. But this loyalty is not
possible without the grace of God, without the support of faith and the
Holy Spirit. That's why the Virgin Mary does not cease to intercede with
her Son so that, like the wedding at Cana, he continually renew the
gift of 'good wine' to the spouses, that is, his grace, which allows
them to live in 'one flesh' in the various ages and life situations. "
Benedict XVI, retracing the steps of his visit, spoke of the
celebration of Vespers in the Cathedral of Zagreb, with the bishops,
priests, religious and seminarians. A moment that made it possible to
"experience our being 'family' as an ecclesial community."
In the
cathedral, he said, is the tomb of Blessed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac,
bishop and martyr.
"He, on behalf of Christ, opposed with courage the
abuses of Nazism and fascism and, later, to those of the communist
regime. He was imprisoned and confined in his native village. "
Created
cardinal by Pope Pius XII, he died in 1960 from an illness contracted in
prison.
"In light of his testimony, I encouraged bishops and priests in
their ministry, and encouraged them to communion and apostolic zeal, I
repeated the consecrated beauty and radical nature of their form of
life, I invited the seminarians and novices to follow Christ with joy
who has called them by name. "
A visit, in conclusion, which went "very well" and that "made
me feel once more the urgency of the challenges facing the peoples of
this continent today: that is, not to be afraid of God, the God of Jesus
Christ , who is love and truth, who takes nothing from freedom but
restores it to being itself and gifts it a horizon of hope that we can
trust in".