From: kriz@skat.usc.edu (KRIZ)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Cath. Christianity 101 - JP II's letter "On the Family" - 13 (repost)
Date: 25 Jul 1992 20:02:29 -0700
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: skat.usc.edu


The following is a portion of Pope John Paul II's 1981 Apostolic
Exhortation "Familiaris Consortio" (On the Family).  The document
is organized in the following way:

     Introduction.
     Part 1. Bright Spots and Shadows for the Family Today.       
     Part 2. The Plan of God for Marriage and the Family.
     Part 3. The Role of the Christian Family.
          I. Forming a Community of Persons.
          II. Serving Life.
               A. The Transmission of Life.
               B. Education.
          III. Participating in the Development of Society.       
          IV. Sharing in the Life and Mission of the Church.      
     Part 4. Pastoral Care of the Family.
          I. Stages of Pastoral Care of the Family.
          II. Structures of Family Pastoral Care.
          III. Agents of the Pastoral Care of the Family.
          IV. Pastoral Care of the Family in Difficult Cases.     
---> Conclusion.


Note: (-->) denotes which portion of the document is presented
herein.

In Christ,

Dennis
kriz@skat.usc.edu

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John Paul II's 1981 Apostolic Exhortation "On the Family" - Concl.


86. CONCLUSION.
---------------

At the end of this apostolic exhortation my thoughts turn with
earnest solicitude:

  To you, married couples, to you fathers and mothers of families;

  To you, young men and women, the future and the hope of the
church and the world, destined to be the dynamic central nucleus of
the family in the approaching third millennium;

  To you, venerable and dear brothers in the episcopate and in the
priesthood, beloved sons and daughters in the religious life, souls
consecrated to the Lord, who bear witness before married couples to
the ultimate reality of the love of God;

  To you, upright men and women, who for any reason whatever give
thought to the fate of the family.

  The future of humanity passes by way of the family.

  It is therefore indispensable and urgent that every person of
good will should endeavor to save and foster the values and
requirements of the family.

  I feel that I must ask for a particular effort in this field from
the sons and daughters of the church.  Faith gives them full
knowledge of God's wonderful plan: They therefore have an extra
reason for caring for the reality that is the family in this time
of trial and of grace.

  They must show the family special love.  This is an injunction
that calls for concrete action.

  Loving the family means being able to appreciate its values and
capabilities, fostering them always.  Loving the family means
identifying the dangers and the evils that menace it in order to
overcome them.  Loving the family means endeavoring to create for
it an environment favorable for this development.  The modern
Christian family is often tempted to be discouraged and is
distressed at the growth of its difficulties; it is an eminent form
of love to give it back its reasons for confidence in itself, in
the riches that it possesses by nature and grace, and in the
mission that God has entrusted to it. "Yes, indeed, the families of
today must be called back to their original position.  They must
follow Christ" [182].

  Christians also have the mission of proclaiming with joy and
conviction the good news about the family, for the family
absolutely needs to hear ever anew and to understand ever more
deeply the authentic words that reveal its identity, its inner
resources and the importance of its mission in the city of God and
in that of man.

  The church knows the path by which the family can reach the heart
of the deepest truth about itself.  The church has learned this
path at the school of Christ and the school of history interpreted
in the light of the Spirit.  She does not impose it, but she feels
an urgent need to propose it to everyone without fear and indeed
with great confidence and hope, although she knows that the good
news includes the subject of the cross.  But it is through the
cross that the family can attain the fullness of its being and the
perfection of its love.

  Finally, I wish to call on all Christians to collaborate
cordially and courageously with all people of good will who are
serving the family in accordance with their responsibilities.  The
individuals and groups, movements and associations in the church
which devote themselves to the family's welfare, acting in the
Church's name and under her inspiration, often find themselves side
by side with other individuals and institutions working for the
same ideal.  With faithfulness to the values of the Gospel and of
the human person and with respect for lawful pluralism in
initiatives, this collaboration can favor a more rapid and integral
advancement of the family.

  And now, at the end of my pastoral message, which is intended to
draw everyone's attention to the demanding yet fascinating roles of
the Christian family, I wish to invoke the protection of the Holy
Family of Nazareth.

  Through God's mysterious design, it was in that family that the
Son of God spent long years of a hidden life.  It is therefore the
prototype and example for all Christian families.  It was unique in
the world.  Its life was passed in anonymity and silence in a
little town in Palestine.  It underwent trials of poverty,
persecution and exile.  It glorified God in an incomparably exalted
and pure way.  And it will not fail to help Christian families --
indeed all the families of the world -- to be faithful to their
day-to-day duties, to bear the cares and tribulations of life, to
be open and generous to the needs of others and to fulfill with joy
the plan of God in their regard.

  St. Joseph was "a just man", a tireless worker, the upright
guardian of those entrusted to his care.  May he always guard,
protect and enlighten families.

  May the Virgin Mary, who is the mother of the church, also be the
mother of "the church of the home."  Thanks to her motherly aid,
may each Christian family really become a "little church" in which
the mystery of the church of Christ is mirrored and given a new
life May she, the handmaid of the Lord, be an example of humble and
generous acceptance of the will of God.  May she, the sorrowful
mother at the foot of the cross, comfort the sufferings and dry the
tears of those in distress because of the difficulties of their
families.

  May Christ the Lord, the universal king, the king of families, be
present in every Christian home as he was at Cana, bestowing light,
joy, serenity and strength.  On the solemn day dedicated to his
kingship I beg of him that every family may generously make its own
contribution to the coming of his kingdom in the world -- "a
kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a
kingdom of justice, love and peace" [183], toward which history is
journeying.

  I entrust each family to him, to Mary and to Joseph.  To their
hands and their hearts I offer this exhortation: May it be they who
present it to you, venerable brothers and beloved sons and
daughters, and may it be they who open your hearts to the light
that the Gospel sheds on every family.

  I assure you all of my constant prayers and I cordially impart
the apostolic blessing to each and every one of you, in the name of
the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

  Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, Nov. 22, 1981, the solemnity of
our Lord Jesus Christ, universal king, the fourth of the
pontificate.

John Paul II.


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Footnotes: 

[182] John Paul II, Letter APPROPINQUAT IAM (Aug. 15, 1980), 1: AAS
72 (1980), 791.

[183] The Roman Missal, Preface of Christ the King.

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