The message of Spain’s Bishops for the Day of the Holy Family: "At the Heart of the Gospel of the Family: The Vocation to Love"
"How can we evangelize and proclaim the Gospel of the family in face of a wide-spread anthropological concept that follows the dominant culture and transforms the conception and the sentiment of love, sexuality and physicality?" This is the central question that the Spanish bishops, members of the episcopal sub-commission for the family and the defense of life, asked in the message dedicated to "The Joy of the Gospel of the Family," prepared for the Day of the Holy Family, which will be celebrated on December 28th.
The answer, say the Bishops, is found in the Gospel, which "announces that it is possible to know true love, the love that manifests itself as a vocation, as a journey towards a fullness that fills the human heart, and makes it free and happy." The "vocation to love", therefore, emphasizes the Spanish Church, is "at the heart of the Gospel of the family" and has it "source in the love of God." The mission of parents, according to the Bishops of Spain, "is irreplaceable" and, in communicating "the truth of the family‘s good" to their children, their "responsibility is enormous". At the same time, public institutions are encouraged to "shelter, help and protect the stability and security of families." It is essential, the text also says, to recall the family‘s centrality "in the transmission of the faith", and that it is "alive, joyful, and inspired by hope and charity." On the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Family, the Bishops invite the faithful to "experience and show the joy of the Gospel of the family home, in church, in society, especially where material, social or spiritual poverty need a convincing announcement of hope and salvation."