Vatican City, Jan 19, 2005 / 22:00 pm
This morning, John Paul II called on participants of the General Chapter of the International Union of Families of Schoenstatt to deepen “their understanding of marriage and the family in the light of faith.”
The Pope reminded the group that, "the future of humanity passes by way of the family,” quoting what he wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation "Familiaris consortio.”
“It is good that the family represents the charism of your union. The family is a 'school of love.' Transmit your enthusiasm for marriage and the family to your people."
"Society currently needs more than ever healthy families who are capable of defending the common good," the Pope said. "If we strengthen the sacred institution of marriage and the family in keeping with the divine plan, love and solidarity between people will grow."
The Holy Father stressed that the year of the Eucharist represents "an urgent invitation to find 'the source of all communion in the supreme Sacrament of love'.”
He asked them to “discover anew the immense gift of the Eucharist 'in order to experience fully the beauty and the mission of the family'."