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"I know that my Redeemer lives." These words of Job have been immortalized in Handel's Messiah. They will always be for every Christian a great source of inspiration and strength. At the same time, against the background of Job's reflection on suffering and the mystery of evil, they stand as a challenge to the vitality and strength of our faith. In Job's mind, of course, the "Redeemer" or "Vindicator" is God. He is affirming his faith in the living God of Israel. Death threatens us through every suffering and every encounter with evil. Facing this threat of death, Job knows that, because God lives, death will never be entirely victorious. We, too, must know this truth and have the same confidence. Indeed, the grounds for our certainty and our confidence are even more firm than they could have been for Job. For our Redeemer is Jesus Christ, and we believe that the victory belongs to our God and to His Son Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. Jesus stood upon the earth after His death. As long as the Church, this community of Jesus' faithful disciples, continues to exist, Jesus our Risen Lord will stand forth upon the earth, the Redeemer who lives. Lord Jesus, strengthen our faith, that we may always know that You, our Redeemer, live in us. |
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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
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That young married couples may be sustained by the example and assistance of their parents and other families
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The testimony and help that parents and other families must offer to sustain young married couples finds its place in the ambit of post-matrimonial pastoral care. Parents and other families are the most suited to offer this assistance to young spouses because clearly they have lived personally the values which they must transmit. These parents show faithfulness through living in the best possible way the commitments assumed during their marriage. One could ask, but why is it necessary for young couples to be sustained by the testimony of their parents and other families? The answer is, because today there are many negative attitudes which scandalise and discourage young people. Being new to the condition of matrimonial life they need advice, encouragement, moral support, correction and prayer. They cannot be left alone or abandoned in this phase of their lives. Couples need to take advantage of the wealth of the experience and wisdom of their parents. "The pastoral action of the Church must be progressive, also in the sense that it must accompany the family, following it step by step in the various stages of its formation and development," (Familiaris Consortio n65, 69). | |
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