In Nazareth, "on the periphery of the Roman Empire, is where the holiest story, the best one, began, that of Jesus among men! And there was this family" composed of "great saints: Mary, the holiest, the immaculate woman, and Joseph, the most righteous man... The family." Pope Francis highlighted this at last Wednesday's General Audience, as he continued his catechesis on the family in preparation for the Ordinary Synod of 2015.
Then, Francis focused on the family of Nazareth: "Jesus was born in a family. He could have come in spectacular way, as a warrior or an emperor ... But no, no: he came as a child of a family, in a family. It’s important to contemplate this very beautiful scene in the manger. "God—the Pope continued—chose to be born in a human family that he himself formed." The family of Nazareth "was not a fake family, an unreal family," and that is why "it calls us to rediscover the vocation and the mission of the family, of every family."
What happened during those thirty years in Nazareth, "can also happen to us: love can become normal, rather than hatred; mutual help ordinary, rather than indifference or hostility. Since that time, whenever a family keeps this mystery, even on the outskirts of the world, the mystery of the Son of God, the mystery of Jesus who comes to save us, is at work. Then, he comes to save the world. Now, this—Francis indicated—is the great mission of the family: making room for Jesus, accepting Jesus in the family, in the person of the children, the husband, the wife, the grandparents... Jesus is there. Welcome him there, so that—he concluded—he may grow spiritually in that family."
