There are 325 paragraphs to read spread over nine chapters, each chapter situating or rooting the family in the understanding of scripture, in the everyday realities, and in the context of the pastoral challenges that face all of us who are supporting families in 2016. ‘Amoris Laetitia” is the fruit of a unique worldwide consultation of the faithful, feeding into the work of the two most recent Synods of Bishops. Here in the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin, once again I thank the many individuals and groups who responded to those initial questionnaires. I hope you feel your contribution will have been somehow reflected in this much awaited exhortation this day.
That splendid word “tenderness” is the key that opens the text of ‘Amoris Laetitia’ for me. In paragraph 27, Pope Francis suggests tenderness means “a closeness that is conscious and not simply biological”. What a beautiful description of family life. There is so much that is positive and encouraging in this exhortation; for those who love St. Paul and associate
1 Cor 13:4-7 “love is patient, love is kind …” with many a wedding ceremony, you will deeply value Chapter 4. I propose such a chapter will provide fruit for homilies and catechesis around Marriage and Family Life long into the future. This document, like ‘Evangelium Gaudium’ and ‘Laudato Si’, will speak as much to the heart as to the head.
Here in the Diocese, I look forward to soon establishing a Committee to support Marriage and Family Life. ‘Amoris Laetitia’ will form the backdrop for this new diocesan outreach. If you feel you have something to contribute to such a committee, kindly make contact with Bishop’s House over April. Our Committee as well as digesting and implementing the recommendations of ‘Amoris Laetitia’, will also be charged with our diocesan preparations for the Ninth World Meeting of Families in Dublin in 2018. In terms of ACCORD, our church organization which looks after marriage preparation and counselling, ‘Amoris Laetitia’ has much to say about how we currently present marriage preparation courses and indeed the content of what we present. The humour of Pope Francis isn’t lost when he reminds us in paragraph 207: “they (the couples) don’t need to be taught the entire Catechism or overwhelmed with too much information”, while in paragraph 212, he speaks directly to fiancés: “Have the courage to be different; don’t let yourself get swallowed up by a society of consumption and empty promises”.
In this Year of Mercy as I welcome warmly this exhortation from Pope Francis, I can’t but feel here is a Pope saying to us at diocesan level, at parish level, in our very homes, let us build up our family from below, from within. It is not for us to be looking over our shoulders, expecting solutions from the outside, we must work from within. I invite you as a Diocesan family to travel with me on this journey as we renew and strengthen marriage and family life and by extension society. I conclude with Pope Francis’s Prayer to the Holy Family, a prayer that accompanied all of us during the recent synodal journey and which will also help to frame the journey ahead as we savour the joys of ‘Amoris Laetitia’:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendour of true love;
to you we turn with trust.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again experience
violence, rejection and division;
may all who have been hurt or scandalized
find ready comfort and healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God’s plan.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
graciously hear our prayer.
St. Brigid, pray for us.
St. Conleth, pray for us.
St. Laserian, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
Amen.
ENDS
- Bishop Denis Nulty is Bishop of Kildare and President of Accord Catholic Marriage Care.