Prot. No. 585/2006
PASTORAL LETTER
ON
FAMILY
VARKEY
CARDINAL VITHAYATHIL, the Major
Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, to
the Archbishops, Bishops, priests,
Men and Women Religious and Lay
Faithful of the Syro-Malabar Church,
blessings and peace in our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Dearly beloved in the Lord,
The year 2006 is being celebrated in
many of our eparchies as the year of
the family. As part of the
celebration, already there must have
been many awareness-building
programmes organised in some of
these eparchies. Nevertheless, we
still have to go a long way in this
regard in order to generate abundant
fruits of the Renewal Year in the
personal, family and societal levels
of our life. Family is the basic
unit of the Church and Society.
Family and its mission is always a
subject man ought to study deeply.
The changes affecting human life
today in its various spheres raise
new challenges regarding family
life. On the one hand we have
increasing un-employment,
job-environments that are not
conducive to good family life and
the migration of people to foreign
countries while on the other hand
there are ever-increasing anti-life
outlook, uncontrolled selfishness
and pleasure seeking. The evil
effects of the destruction of the
family arena which fosters the
formation of new individuals will be
far-reaching, resulting in a
situation endangering even the very
existence of humankind.
It is in the family that the
transmission of the ancestral values
and life-styles and the initiation
of good education ought to take
place. But the onslaught of the
communication media and
globalisation and the resulting
distorted outlook on life and the
culture of consumerism have affected
our families very negatively and
weaken family bonds. While social
evils like alcoholism and drug
addiction destroy the foundations of
family life, other evils like
abortion, suicide and family strife
erode its very essence like
cancer.
Today at least in 25 countries of
Europe sufficient number of children
to maintain the present level of
population are not born. They are
slowly becoming countries of old
people. In 2004, there was one
person out of five who could not
work. But by the year 2050, latest
calculations indicate that the
number of persons who would not be
able to work will be shockingly more
- one person out of two, i.e., half
the population. It is not the lack
of economic resources or good health
that has caused a lower birth rate
in these countries. The reason for
this appalling situation is the
culture of death severely criticised
by Pope John Paul II and the lack of
love pointed out by Pope Benedict
XVI.
These influences do find their way
into our society too. It is in this
context that the Synod of Bishops of
the Syro-Malabar Church requested
the Major Archbishop to issue a
pastoral letter for all our
eparchies concerning the sanctity of
marriage and family life. Marriage
is a holy sacrament instituted by
God. The world and every one of us
within it are created by God. God
made Man a collaborator in His work
of creation through sexuality which
is the power of sincere love.
The Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI
basing on the words from St. John’
epistle “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:10)
deals with the sanctification of
sexuality. The Pope likens
sexuality as an exodus of Man from
the prison of his selfishness to a
state of deliverance through
self-giving. It is in the
self-giving of love that sexuality
becomes divine. It is only through
the path of discipline and
self-control sexuality can be
sanctified. Otherwise sexuality
will degenerate into mere pleasures
of the flesh and an indefatigable
craving for such momentary
pleasures.
We can observe the tendency today of
making the other as our prey for
satisfying our desires and means for
our pleasures. Many do not even
recognise the grave problems this
tendency creates in families. The
Father and the Husband who cannot
provide better comforts to his
family become worthless. The wife
who cannot give pleasure loses her
worth. Children become hindrance to
a life of pleasure. Persons who are
driven by excessive desire end up in
the hell of selfishness. In pursuit
of their selfish joys, even those
who can afford to bring up children,
do not want them. Those who have
the means should come forward to
have more children and bring them
up. Responsible fatherhood and
motherhood demand this. The impact
of a market mentality that has eaten
into human relationships is visible
on all levels of society.
Relationships outside marriage, the
tendency to dissolve marriages even
on flimsy grounds, entering into
family life after having had
pre-marital relationships – all
these destroy the very foundations
of family life and its flavour.
Jesus taught: “Everyone who looks at
a woman with lust has already
committed adultery with her in his
heart. If your right eye causes you
to sin, tear it out and throw it
away” (Mt 5:28-29). Jesus did not
teach us to suppress our emotions.
They are like fire. If fire is not
controlled, it will destroy
everything. Just like a mother in
her kitchen controls the fire and
uses it as the heat to cook food, so
children should be trained to make
use of their emotions in a mature
manner. The primary responsibility
of forming children in this regard
lies on their parents.
The Church teaches about responsible
motherhood and fatherhood. God has
united love and procreation of
children in sexuality. There should
be a responsible correlation between
procreation of children and their
upbringing. But today the tendency
to avoid having children is on the
increase among the couples who are
motivated by selfishness to seek
their own enjoyment. There is sin
and injustice to society behind the
decision of not having children by
those parents who have the means and
normal health. Children who have
received life should become parents
by imparting life. The future of
the husband and wife is to be
realised through their children. It
is the love that is learnt in
families that will flow into one’s
neighbours and the society.
Today there is also the tendency to
spend extravagantly to obtain
prestige and positions in the
society. Often celebrations of
marriage, betrothal, wedding
anniversary, birthday celebrations,
baptism, first holy communion, etc.
become celebrations of
extravagance. This is an indication
of the wrong priorities of values.
The hopeless debt trap into which
many families have fallen after such
celebrations is also a problem to be
seriously considered. Even when it
is said that family life is faced
with many problems, it is not meant
that all families are victims of
such problems. It is to be noted
that there are many families which
lead lives of exemplary husband -
wife and parents – children
relationships.
In order to counter effectively the
challenges that affect families
adversely, there are very effective
means such as the Holy Eucharist,
family prayer, meditation of the
Word of God, and reception of
sacraments. It is by taking part in
the Eucharist that the couples can
renew their love and unity. It is
by remembering in the Eucharist the
great mysteries of the suffering,
death and resurrection of Jesus that
they are empowered to overcome the
sufferings, temptations,
disappointments and failures in
their lives. The sufferings and
sorrows in the families will provide
to them in the context of their
love, the true peace and joy of the
Resurrection. It is through the
participation in the Eucharist and
the reception of the sacraments that
the couples become capable of
self-sacrificing love. Let us not
forget the words of Jesus: “I am the
vine, you are the branches. Those
who abide in me and I in them bear
much fruit, because apart from me
you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
Family is the arena where heavenly
mysteries are lived out. Family
meals in our homes should become
similar to the commemoration of the
Last Supper of our Lord. Family
life is a life of sacrifice. I pray
that family life become a holy
celebration where one’s own body and
blood is shared with the others.
Praying for the blessing of God and
the true joy and peace of family
life upon every father and mother,
husband and wife, the youth and
children in our families, I bless
you in the name of + the Father and
+ the Son and + the Holy Spirit.
+Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil
Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar
Church
Given at Kakkanad from the Major
Archiepiscopal Curia of the Syro-Malabar
Church at Mount St.
Thomas on 10 July
2006.
_____________________________________________________________________
N.B:
:
This pastoral letter is to be read
out during the Holy Mass on Sunday,
13 August 2006 in all churches and
chapels of the Syro-Malabar Church
where there is Sunday Mass for the
public. |
