"In the last catecheses we spoke about the family that lives
the frailties of the human condition: poverty, sickness, death. Today,
instead, we reflect on the wounds that are opened in fact within the
family’s coexistence. When, that is, harm is done in the family itself
-- a most awful thing!...
"We are well aware that no moments are lacking in any family
history in which the intimacy of dearest affections is offended by the
behavior of its members....
"The deprivation of conjugal love spreads resentment in relations, and often the break-up falls on the children.
"See, the children. I would like to reflect somewhat on this
point. Notwithstanding our seemingly evolved sensibility, and all our
refined psychological analyses, I wonder if we are not also anesthetized
in regard to the wounds of children’s soul....Do we feel the weight of the mountain that crushes the
soul of a child, in families in which there is bad treatment and harm is
done, to the point of breaking the bond of conjugal fidelity?....When adults lose their head, when each one
thinks only of him/herself, when father and mother harm one another, the
soul of the child suffers much, he experiences a sense of desperation.
And they are wounds that leave their mark for the whole of life....
"If we think of the harshness with
which Jesus admonishes adults not to scandalize the little ones -- we
heard the passage of the Gospel -- (cf. Matthew 18:6), we can
also understand better his word on the grave responsibility to protect
the conjugal bond that begins the human family (cf. Matthew 19:6-9).
When man and woman have become one flesh, all the wounds and all the
abandonments of the father and the mother affect the living flesh of the
children.
"On the other hand, it is true that there are cases in which
separation is inevitable. Sometimes it can even become morally
necessary....
"Let us ask the Lord for great faith, to look at reality
with God’s gaze; and a great charity, to approach persons with his
merciful heart" (Pope Francis, 6/24/15 General Audience)
No comments:
Post a Comment