“Starting again from the new generations: generating many small domestic Churches where a Christian lifestyle is lived, where people feel familiar with Jesus”. This is Pope Francis’ request to those responsible for the Équipes Notre-Dame International Movement who were received this Saturday (04) at the Vatican
Vatican News
This Saturday morning (04/05) the Pope received those responsible for the International Movement “Équipes Notre-Dame”. In his speech, Francisco highlighted two points of reflection with the Movement that is dedicated to families so that they experience Christian marriage as a gift. The first dedicated to newlywed couples and the second about the importance of co-responsibility between spouses and priests within the movement.
After stating that he follows couples closely in the difficulties of life and in their marital relationship, he said that the movement is the expression of the Church “on the way out”. “Accompanying couples today”, said the Pope “is a true mission! Protecting marriage, in fact, means protecting an entire family, it means saving all the relationships generated by marriage.” Then he continued:
“I see a great urgency today: to help young people discover that Christian marriage is a vocation, a specific calling that God directs to a man and a woman so that they can fully realize themselves by being generators, becoming father and mother and bringing to the world the Grace of his Sacrament”
Marriage with the presence of Christ
Explaining that “nowadays, it is believed that the success of a marriage depends only on people’s willpower. It’s not like that” he said. 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 transformed into a game of gazes: looking between the spouses, looking between the spouses and Christ . It is a game that lasts a lifetime, in which everyone wins together if they take care of their relationship, if they value it as a precious treasure.”
Newlywed couples
Francisco said he would like to leave you with two brief reflections: the first concerns newlywed couples. It is important that newlyweds can experience bridal mystagogy, which helps them experience the beauty of their Sacrament and spirituality as a couple. He added that “many get married without understanding what faith has to do with their married life, perhaps because no one witnessed it to them before marriage.” He encouraged those present to help them “on a ‘catechumenal’ journey of rediscovery of faith, both personally and as a couple, so that, from the beginning, they can learn to make space for Jesus and, with Him, be able to take care of Your marriage”.
“We must start over from new generations so that the Church can bear new fruit: generating many small domestic Churches where we live a Christian lifestyle, where we feel familiar with Jesus, where we learn to listen to the people around us as Jesus listens to us. ”
Spouses and priests
The Pope’s second reflection was on the importance of co-responsibility between spouses and priests within the Movement. “You have understood and concretely live the complementarity of the two vocations”, stated Francisco, “I encourage you to take it to the parishes, so that lay people and priests discover its richness and need. This will help overcome the clericalism that makes the Church less fruitful: beware of clericalism… It will also help spouses discover that, through marriage, they are called to a mission.”
Finally, the Pope concluded by reminding those present:
“Without Christian communities, families feel alone and loneliness hurts a lot! With your charisma, you can be attentive helpers to those in need, to those who are alone, to those who have problems in their families and don’t know who to talk to because they are ashamed or have lost hope.”
“In your dioceses,” he said, “you can make families understand the importance of helping each other and working as a network; build communities where Christ can ‘dwell’ in homes and family relationships.”
