English
EspañolPerfect families do not exist. What can be found in reality are families that, beyond defects and limitations, madly love each other and never give up.
Text
“I thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect, live in love, fulfil their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way. The Synod’s reflections show us that there is no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems.
The situations that concern us are challenges. We should not be trapped into wasting our energy in doleful laments, but rather seek new forms of missionary creativity. In every situation that presents itself, “the Church is conscious of the need to offer a word of truth and hope… The great values of marriage and the Christian family correspond to a yearning that is part and parcel of human existence”. If we see any number of problems, these should be, as the Bishops of Colombia have said, a summons to “revive our hope and to make it the source of prophetic visions, transformative actions and creative forms of charity”. (The Joy of Love, n.57)
Commentary
Families live out the paradox of having to make an effort not to drown in public policies supposedly designed to favor society. Today, the faithful, fruitful family founded upon matrimony navigates social and cultural seas that are contradictory. Some of these policies and cultures prefer and even encourage families to yield in the face of hardship. Amidst these times, my wife and I lived in our union as spouses and with our children as a family.
We have some years of seniority that allow us to discover how good the realism of true love is. What does this realism mean? Why does it console us and also provide us with wings and strength? Because we have the lived experienced that marriage is a voyage through every circumstance of life and specifically our life together. Prosperities and storms. Persevering. No surrender. There are no perfect marriages and families. But some families remain united because they love each other without giving up. Joyful marriages have known pain, need anguish for their loved ones, death. Marriage is refined in ordinary life, with the imperfection of those who love and give their beloved the best part of themselves while doing it.
Marriage is not denying a series of vital opportunities for future spouses. It is above all an affirmation of each other, a “yes” constantly renewed, a love story incarnated in imperfect people full of defects which, precisely because of love, can overcome them or not be drowned by them, thus building the union that gives life to the family. We are not perfect; nobody is. Therefore, we do not love each other because we are perfect, but because we give and embrace one another with honesty, sincerity, and fidelity, and above all, never give up.
