Like one of the family

The Pope, after returning from a visit to Milan, thanked the people of Milan for the extraordinary welcome with spontaneous and affectionate words: “Really, I truly felt at home! And this with everyone, believers and non-believers alike. Thank you so much, dear inhabitants of Milan. And I'll tell you something: I experienced the truth of what they say: ‘In Milan, people receive you with their heart in their hand!’ Thank you.”

During the day’s intense visit, Pope Francis he mentioned the family several times in his speeches (together with the warmth of his gestures during his visit to some families of the “White Houses,” in the Forlanini district). These are some of his words.

“It’s a great gift for me to come into the city and be met by the faces of the families, of a community.”

“The diaconate is a specific vocation, a family vocation that calls for service… A vocation that, like all vocations, is not only individual but lived within the family and with the family, within the People of God and with the people of God.”

“There is no ecclesial vocation that does not have a family character.”

 

EN: @franciscus meets families in #milan IT: #PapaFrancesco visita alcune famiglie a#Milano ES: #PapaFrancisco visita algunas familias en #Milàn #papaamilano #papaamilano2017 #PopeFrancis #popeinmilan #milan #milano🇮🇹

Un post condiviso da Laity, Family and Life (@laityfamilylife) in data: 25 Mar 2017 alle ore 03:25 PDT

“There is speculation about life, work, the family. There is speculation about the poor and migrants; people speculate about the young and their future. Everything seems to be reduced to figures, while, on the other hand, the daily life of many families is left tinged with uncertainty and insecurity ... It would do us good ask ourselves: How is it possible to live the joy of the Gospel today in our cities? Is Christian hope possible in this situation, here and now? These two questions point to our identity, the lives of our families, of our countries, and of our cities. They touch the lives of our children and of our young people, demanding that we place ourselves in history in a new way. If Christian joy and hope remain possible, we cannot, we do not want to just be mere spectators in the face of so many painful situations, watching the sky and waiting “until the rain stops.” Everything that happens urges us to look boldly at the present, with the boldness of those who know that the joy of salvation takes shape in the daily life in the home of a young woman of Nazareth.”

“The children are watching us, and you cannot imagine the anguish that children feel when their parents argue. They suffer! [Applause] And when their parents separate, they’re the ones who pay the bill. [Applause] When you bring a child to the world, you have to be aware of this: we take the responsibility to raise this child in the faith. It will help you a lot to read the Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, especially the first chapters, on love, on marriage, and the fourth chapter, which is really a key. But do not forget: When you fight, your children suffer and do not grow in faith. [Applause] Children know our joys, our sorrows, and our worries. They manage to grasp everything; they notice everything and, since they are very, very intuitive, they draw their conclusions and their teachings. They know when we set them traps and when we do not. They know. They are very clever. Therefore, one of the first things I would say is this: take care of them, take care of their hearts, their joy, their hope.”

“In different places, many families have a very beautiful tradition: they go to Mass together and then to a park, bringing their children along so that they can play together. In this way, faith becomes an exigence for the family with other families, with friends, with befriended families... This is beautiful, and it helps us to live the commandment to sanctify the feast days.”