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ADDRESS OF POPE JOHN PAUL II
TO THE
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF SCHÖNSTATT FAMILIES
Thursday, 20 January 2005
Dear Brothers and Sisters of the International Union of Schönstatt
Families,
1. On the occasion of the opening of your General Chapter you have come to
Rome to reflect in prayer at the tombs of the Apostles and to renew your
fidelity to the Church before the Successor of Peter. I am delighted with your
visit and warmly welcome you to the Pope's house. May these days spent in the
"Eternal City" be a time of grace in which you all experience the closeness of
God and of his saints!
2. "The future of humanity passes by way of the family" (Apostolic Exhortation
Familiaris Consortio, n. 86). I encourage you to have a profound
understanding of marriage and the family in the light of the faith. It is a
positive sign that families actually represent the charism of your Federation.
The family is a "school of love". May you transmit your enthusiasm for marriage
and the family to others! More than ever, society needs healthy families in
order to guarantee the common good. If we strengthen the sacred institution of
marriage and the family according to God's plan, then love and solidarity among
human beings will increase!
3. Dear brothers and dear sisters, the Year of the Eucharist is a
pressing invitation to you all to find "in the supreme sacrament of love the
wellspring of all communion" (Message
for the World Day of Peace 2005, n. 12). Rediscover the great gift of
the Eucharist! You will thus be able to "experience fully the beauty and the
mission of the family" (Apostolic Letter
Mane Nobiscum Domine, n. 30; L'Osservatore Romano English
edition, Special Insert, 13 October 2004).
Through the intercession of the Mater Ter Admirabilis, I impart to you
with all my heart the Apostolic Blessing.
Copyright © Libreria
Editrice Vaticana
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