2) The Family - The Mother
Catechesis by Pope Francis on the Family
General Audience, Wednesday 7 January 2015 - in Arabic, Croatian, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese & Spanish
"Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning.
Today we continue with catecheses on the Church and we will reflect on Mother Church. The Church is mother. Our Holy Mother Church.
In these days the Church’s liturgy sets before our eyes the icon of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God. The first day of the year is the Feast of the Mother of God, followed by the Epiphany, commemorating the visit of the Magi. The Evangelist Matthew writes: “going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him” (Mt 2:11). It is the Mother who, after giving birth to him, presents the Son to the world. She gives us Jesus, she shows us Jesus, she lets us see Jesus.
Let us continue with the catecheses on the family, and in the family there is the mother. Every human person owes his or her life to a mother, and almost always owes much of what follows in life, both human and spiritual formation, to her. Yet, despite being highly lauded from a symbolic point of view — many poems, many beautiful things said poetically of her — the mother is rarely listened to or helped in daily life, rarely considered central to society in her role. Rather, often the readiness of mothers to make sacrifices for their children is taken advantage of so as to “save” on social spending.
It also happens that in Christian communities the mother is not always held in the right regard, she is barely heard. Yet the centre of the life of the Church is the Mother of Jesus. Perhaps mothers, ready to sacrifice so much for their children and often for others as well, ought to be listened to more. We should understand more about their daily struggle to be efficient at work and attentive and affectionate in the family; we should better grasp what they aspire to in order to express the best and most authentic fruits of their emancipation. A mother with her children always has problems, always work. I remember there were five of us children at home, and while one was doing one thing, the other wanted to do another, and our poor mama went back and forth from one’s side to another, but she was happy. She gave us so much.
Mothers are the strongest antidote to the spread of self-centred individualism. “Individual” means “what cannot be divided”. Mothers, instead, “divide” themselves, from the moment they bear a child to give him to the world and help him grow. It is they, mothers, who most hate war, which kills their children. Many times I have thought of those mothers who receive the letter: “I inform you that your son has fallen in defense of his homeland...”. The poor women! How a mother suffers! It is they who testify to the beauty of life. Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero said that mothers experience a “martyrdom of motherhood”. In the homily for the funeral of a priest assassinated by death squads, he said, recalling the Second Vatican Council: “We must be ready to die for our faith, even if the Lord does not grant us this honour.... Giving one’s life does not only mean being killed; giving one’s life, having the spirit of a martyr, it is in giving in duty, in silence, in prayer, in honest fulfilment of his duty; in that silence of daily life; giving one’s life little by little. Yes, like it is given by a mother, who without fear and with the simplicity of the martyrdom of motherhood, conceives a child in her womb, gives birth to him, nurses him, helps them grow and cares for them with affection. She gives her life. That’s martyrdom”. End quote. Yes, being a mother doesn’t only mean bringing a child to the world, but it is also a life choice. What does a mother choose, what is the life choice of a mother? The life choice of a mother is the choice to give life. And this is great, this is beautiful.
A society without mothers would be a dehumanized society, for mothers are always, even in the worst moments, witnesses of tenderness, dedication and moral strength. Mothers often pass on the deepest sense of religious practice: in a human being’s life, the value of faith is inscribed in the first prayers, the first acts of devotion that a child learns. It is a message that believing mothers are able to pass on without much explanation: these come later, but the seed of faith is those early precious moments. Without mothers, not only would there be no new faithful, but the faith would lose a good part of its simple and profound warmth. And the Church is mother, with all of this, she is our mother! We are not orphans, we have a mother! Our Lady, mother Church, is our mom. We are not orphans, we are children of the Church, we are children of Our Lady, and we are children of our mothers.
Dearest mothers, thank you, thank you for what you are in your family and for what you give to the Church and the world. And to you, beloved Church, thank you, thank you for being mother. And to you, Mary, Mother of God, thank you for letting us see Jesus. And thank you for all the mammas present here: let us salute them with a round of applause!"
Greetings:
"Je salue cordialement les pèlerins francophones, en particulier la délégation d’imams français engagés dans les relations islamo-chrétiennes, ainsi que le groupe venant de divers médias français. En ce temps de Noël, je souhaite à tous de poursuivre avec courage votre engagement au service de la paix, de la fraternité et de la vérité. Que Dieu vous bénisse.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including the various groups from Ireland, Finland, Indonesia, Australia and the United States of America. In the joy of this Christmas season, I invoke upon you and your families grace and peace in the Lord Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary, our Mother. God bless you all!
Mit Freude heiße ich die Gläubigen deutscher Sprache willkommen, die zu dieser Audienz gekommen sind. Besonders grüße ich die Gruppe des Internationalen Auschwitz-Komitees und die Jugendmannschaften des FC Südtirol. Danken wir den Müttern für alles, was sie in der Familie tun und was sie der Kirche und der Welt schenken. Ich wünsche euch allen einen guten Aufenthalt in Rom. Gott segne euch.
Saludo cordialmente a los peregrinos de lengua española, en particular a los grupos provenientes de España, México, Argentina y otros países. Encomendamos a la Santísima Virgen María a todas las madres, agradeciéndoles lo que son y lo que ofrecen a la familia y la Iglesia. Dios os bendiga.
Amados peregrinos de língua portuguesa, agradecido pelos votos e preces dirigidas a Deus por mim durante as festividades do Natal, de todo o coração desejo a todos um feliz Ano Novo, pedindo a Nossa Senhora, Mãe de Deus e da Igreja, que seja a estrela que protege a vida das vossas famílias. Que Deus vos abençoe!
أُرحّبُ بالحجّاجِ الناطقينَ باللغةِ العربية، وخاصةً بالقادمينَ منالشرق الأوسط. أيُّها الإخوةُ والأخواتُ الأعزّاءُ، لنُصغِ إلى أمّهاتِنا! فالأمُّ تعرفُ على الدوامِ ما هو الضروريُّ والمهمُّ لكي يسيرَ ابنَها في الدربِ الصحيحِ وهي مستعدّةٌ دائمًا لبذلِ حياتِها في سبيلِ أبنائها! ليبارككُم الربُّ ويحفظُ أمهاتِكُم!
Pozdrawiam serdecznie polskich pielgrzymów, a zwłaszcza delegację ocalonych przed 70 laty więźniów obozu koncentracyjnego Auschwitz. Drodzy pielgrzymi, w tym bożonarodzeniowym okresie, wpatrując się w postać Maryi, Bożej Rodzicielki, chcę zwrócić się do wszystkich matek: Kochane mamy, dziękuję, dziękuję za to, czym jesteście w rodzinie i za to, co dajecie Kościołowi i światu. Boże błogosławieństwo niech wam zawsze towarzyszy. Niech będzie pochwalony Jezus Chrystus!
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Prima di tutto vorrei ringraziare le persone del circo che sono venute qui. Uno pensa: “Andiamo al circo, ci divertiamo un po’...”. Sì, quello è vero, il circo è uno spettacolo e passiamo un buon tempo lì. Vediamo anche uomini e donne che fanno cose strane, che sono bravi nell’equilibrio: sì, questo è vero, lo abbiamo visto. Eccoli lì, salutiamoli tutti! Ma ci insegna anche una cosa in più. La gente che fa lo spettacolo nel circo crea bellezza, sono creatori di bellezza. E questo fa bene all’anima. Quanto bisogno noi abbiamo di bellezza! E’ vero, la nostra vita è molto pratica, fare le cose, portare avanti il lavoro, questo si deve fare: il fare, il linguaggio delle mani, il fare. Ma la nostra vita è anche il pensare, la ragione. E quello è importante perché noi siamo animali che pensano; no che pensano come animali! Noi siamo animali che pensano. Il pensare, il linguaggio della mente, è importante. Siamo anche persone che amano, che hanno questa capacità di amare: il linguaggio del cuore. C’è il linguaggio della mente, pensare; il linguaggio del cuore, amare; il linguaggio delle mani, fare. E tutti questi tre linguaggi si uniscono per fare l’armonia della persona. E lì è la bellezza; e queste persone che oggi hanno fatto questo spettacolo, sono creatori di armonia, creatori di bellezza, che insegnano la strada superiore della bellezza. Dio certamente è vero, Dio certamente è buono, Dio è certamente sa fare le cose, ha creato il mondo, ma soprattutto Dio è bello! La bellezza di Dio. Tante volte noi ci dimentichiamo della bellezza! L’umanità pensa, sente, fa, ma oggi ha tanto bisogno di bellezza. Non dimentichiamo questo e ringraziamo questa gente brava nel fare, brava nell’equilibrio, nello spettacolo, ma soprattutto brava nel fare bellezza. Grazie tante a tutti voi.
A tutti i pellegrini di lingua italiana presenti a questa prima Udienza Generale del 2015 porgo un cordiale augurio di speranza e di pace per il nuovo anno. Saluto le Sorelle Misericordiose e le Orsoline della Sacra Famiglia, qui convenute in occasione dei rispettivi Capitoli Generali, e le esorto a trasmettere con la testimonianza della loro vita la gioia della corrispondenza fedele alla divina chiamata. Saluto voi componenti del Golden Circus di Liana Orfei e vi incoraggio non solo ad essere portatori del sorriso e messaggeri di solidarietà fra i popoli e le nazioni, ma soprattutto creatori di bellezza, ne abbiamo bisogno!
Un pensiero speciale rivolgo ai giovani, ai malati e agli sposi novelli. Gli sposi novelli io li chiamo i coraggiosi perché oggi ci vuole coraggio per sposarsi! Sono bravi. Dopo la Solennità dell’Epifania, continuiamo anche noi a guardare quella stella che i Magi inseguirono. Cari giovani, siate testimoni entusiasti della luce di Cristo tra i vostri coetanei; cari malati, attingete a questa luce il coraggio nel dolore; e voi, cari sposi novelli, siate segno della presenza luminosa di Dio col vostro amore fedele."
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