The second aspect the Pope described regards the need for openness, day by day, to learn how to be a family, since every day presents new challenges and opportunities that require flexibility and creativity. He pointed out how even the Holy Family faced unexpected problems, anxiety and suffering, and that “the Holy Family on holy cards does not exist.” Today’s Gospel episode when Mary and Joseph finally find Jesus with the teachers in the Temple, and Jesus responds that he had to be about his Father’s business, was something not clear to them at the time, the Pope explained. And also with us, he noted, we need to learn how to listen, walk together, and manage the challenges we face, the Pope said, calling it a “daily challenge” that requires a good attitude, simple actions and loving care.
Before the “I”, comes “you”
Looking at how this walking together can be done in our own families, the Pope suggested that to protect harmony in the family we need to become aware of the “dictatorship of the ‘I’”, when instead of listening to each other we only hear ourselves and pass the blame for mistakes on others. He warned that we can have a tendency to fixate only on our own feelings and needs, even isolating ourselves with our mobile phones, whereas dialogue is needed.
The Pope repeated a bit of advice he has offered in the past, saying that in the evening, when the day is over, we should always “make peace”, never going to sleep without having made peace. Conflicts within the family can fester without this, he warned, even ending up in physical and moral violence that wounds harmony and can break up families. He recommended we focus less on the “I” and more on the “you”, not just on ourselves, and always to “pray a little bit together to ask God for the gift of peace.” He called on parents, children, Church, and society to renew their commitment “to sustain, defend and safeguard the family,.” asking the Blessed Mother, spouse of Joseph and mother of Jesus to “protect our families.”
Vatican News
