Love Experienced in Families Empowers Us to Love Others

Pope Francis speaking to Festival of Families, 2015
Photo Credit: KCRA.com -- Getty Pool Image

Pope Francis in Philadelphia on September 26, 2015 Address to Festival of Families

Summary: One encounters God through love. One encounters God through beauty and one encounters God through truth.

Even before creation, God loved because God IS love. God loved and could not contain himself within himself; He overflowed with love. God loved so greatly that all of creation flowed out of this love. This is why it is so important not to misuse or abuse the environment: it is a gift of God's love.

But all was not perfect; through turning away from God Man learned how to divide himself and fratricide began. Mankind is pulled in two directions: Man is pulled in the direction of love, beauty and truth, on the one hand, and hatred, war and destruction on the other. We are pulled in two directions and we must choose. We cannot escape this choice; at every moment of our lives we must choose.

So great is God's love that when men and women turned away from Him, God did not abandon them. So great was God's love that He began to walk with humanity through His people. He walked with them through history, gradually revealing Himself -- revealing his nature. He did this until the moment came when He made the highest expression of His love and his highest self-revelation: He gave humanity His own son.

Where did God send His son? He sent him amid a family. He sent him to a family that had a truly open heart. The family had to be open and receptive to God, even when they did not understand what was happening.

Even now God knocks on the door of families to be open to love, beauty and truth. If the family opens itself then love, beauty and truth will grow within it.

None of this is to dismiss some of the tensions, frustrations and problems that come with being a family. Relationships are hard. Being a family is often difficult. But there is also the hope of "resurrection" from these difficulties. The difficulties of families are overcome by Love.

Hatred cannot overcome difficulties. Divided hearts cannot overcome difficulties. Only Love has the power to do this. Love is about celebration; Love is joy -- Love is moving forward.

I leave you with two points about the family: We have to take care of children; they are young, and are the future and strength that moves us forward. We place our hope in them.

We also have to take care of grandparents; they are the living memory of the family. They transmit the faith to us.

To look after the children and the grandparents is the expression of love. A people who do not take care of children or look after grandparents is a people who have no future because they lack the strength for it and they lack the memory and the faith to move forward.