To be witnesses of the Lord in the world.
by Rosanna Tabasso
Our Rule has a page dedicated to Families, which are the historical core of Sermig and a fundamental part of our present: “The love that unites those of us who are married, the love that makes us fathers and mothers, pushes us to embrace the life of the Fraternity, to say a total yes, without conditions, to live the beatitudes. It commits us to make the gifts that the Lord has given us fruit and to take on the responsibilities that he has entrusted to us ". These few lines recognize that every family is a beating heart that no one - people and society - can do without: the love that binds its components is the same that binds God to its creatures and is the very source of life. The life of each of us is the fruit of this love, which unites us even if with the imperfections and limitations of our humanity. We can discuss the crisis of the family as an institution, but there is no denying that a nucleus capable of loving is necessary for life to be protected and develop in a harmonious way. Families have the right to have the dignity of this irreplaceable role recognized. Within and around each family, a universe of relationships develops that give quality to every area in which it moves. The more authentic, profound the love relationship within, the more fathers are fathers and mothers, the more that nucleus also affects social reality. The Rule recognizes the families who are inspired by the possibility of living an evangelical lifestyle in the world, measuring themselves with work, with school, participating in the life of the territory and the parish. He recognizes the possibility of living the beatitudes in the world, as the Christians described in the Letter to Diognetus (2nd century): “Christians do not live in their own cities, nor do they use a different jargon, nor do they lead a special kind of life. (...)
They testify to an admirable method of social life (…) they participate in everything as citizens and are detached from everything as foreigners. (...) They marry like everyone and generate children ". Not people out of this world, but fathers and mothers of families, children, people of all ages and social class determined to put Jesus Christ and the Gospel at the center, together with those values that, lived with effort and commitment, give fullness and joy to who lives them. There are no rules and regulations on this page; every family is already weighed down by the rules imposed by the world: expenses, schedules, commitments ... There are instead open lines which everyone can inspire, to make the Gospel practicable today. Two in particular, capable of giving everyone a wide breath: the spirituality of presence and restitution. In a busy life, between husband and wife work (how to make it with a single salary?), He ran for the school of the children (who brings it? Who goes to take it?) And then swimming, dentist, family commitments, meetings at school, services… there is no set time to stop and pray. Going to mass every day for many is a luxury and in the evening you no longer have the strength ... Then prayer comes to meet us, not as an extra commitment, but as a Presence, a memory that can accompany us in the car, at work while cooking or shopping. It is the constant reminder that God is there with us, he is not extraneous to our life and no commitment can deprive us of him. And then the restitution. Recognize that everything comes to us from God, has been given to us and can be returned to him, giving time, skills, energies for the common good. Restitution opens vast horizons, because that being in the world can become praise to God in every sphere reached. Often, when asked about these issues, families ask themselves: "How do we do it?". But how it is left to the creativity of each family, capable of reinventing itself day after day, throughout its life span.