The path to a new humanism passes through the heart of Christ
Ecclesial conference of the Italian Church in Florence
by Andrea Fagioli
In Florence, Michelangelo's David is the recognized symbol of Beauty, even if now only of aesthetic beauty, placed as it is inside a museum, outside of any context. He's handsome, there's no doubt about it. But he doesn't "speak". And to think that he was born as a religious symbol. The David sculpted by Michelangelo is the biblical one, which defeats the giant Goliath because he has God with him. Indeed: in that young man who fells the enemy with a slingshot, his author saw Christ, defender of every people, fullness of every collective heroism, goal of every positive individual aspiration.
Every mourning must be supported by faith
Pope Francesco
In our catechesis on the family, today we take direct inspiration from the episode narrated by the evangelist Luke, which we have just listened to (see Luke 7,11:15-XNUMX). It is a very moving scene, which shows us Jesus' compassion for those who suffer – in this case a widow who has lost her only son – and also shows us Jesus' power over death. Death is an experience that affects all families, without exception. It's part of life; yet, when it touches family affections, death never manages to appear natural to us. For parents, surviving their children is something particularly heartbreaking, which contradicts the elementary nature of the relationships that give meaning to the family itself. The loss of a son or daughter is as if time stops: a chasm opens up that swallows up the past and also the future.
Starting again from the real situations of families
Instrumentum laboris for the XIV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
A "new step", for a "differentiated accompaniment" of families, particularly those who are wounded and fragile, through "prudent and merciful discernment" and "the ability to concretely grasp the diversity of individual situations". It is the Instrumentum laboris for the XIV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, recently made public. The text is the result of the "Relatio Synodi" - of which large parts are confirmed - integrated by the 99 responses to the "Lineamenta", in addition to the 359 observations "freely sent by dioceses and parishes, ecclesial associations and spontaneous groups of the faithful, movements and civil organizations , numerous families and individual believers", as explained by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, presenting the document to journalists. “For the Church it is a question of starting from the concrete situations of today's families, all in need of mercy, starting with those who suffer the most”, we read in the text, which is divided into three parts: listening to the challenges facing the family, discernment of his vocation, reflection on his mission.