On March 25, 2015, continuing his catecheses on the family during his Wednesday general audience, Pope Francis paused for a time of prayer for the upcoming Synod on the Family in October 2015.

March 25^th is the celebration of the solemnity of the Annunciation, which is the “beginning of the Mystery of the Incarnation.” In this solemnity, we celebrate the coming of the Angel Gabriel to the Blessed Mother, in which he announces that she will conceive and give birth to Jesus. Gabriel also comes to reinforce the faith of St. Joseph, and with the faith of both Mary and Joseph, Jesus is born into a human family.

The pope emphasized that the Incarnation was not only possible because of Jesus’s conception in Mary’s womb, but also by his “reception into a true family.” Then, mediating on the beauty of the familial bond, Pope Francis led the congregation in praying a Hail Mary.

The Church recognizes spouses as the community of love and life that has been entrusted with procreation. Christian spouses, with the grace of Christ, honor this blessing in the raising of children. On the part of the Church, the pope said the following:

The Church commits herself solemnly to take care of the family that is born, as gift of God for its life itself, in good and bad times: the bond between the Church and the family is sacred and inviolable. The Church, as Mother, never abandons the family, even when it is humiliated, wounded and mortified in so many ways. Not even when it falls into sin, or distances itself from the Church; she will always do everything to try to take care of it and heal it, to invite it to conversion and to reconcile it with the Lord.

The Church’s mission in this regard requires much prayer, and the Holy Father invoked the faithful’s prayer that the Church might be able to fulfill her mission and responsibility to families.

In reflecting on the Church’s mission to families, Pope Francis choose this day to renew the prayer for the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. He asked all people – Cardinals, Bishops, priests, men and women religious, lay faithful – to pray for the Synod. Inspired by the Holy Family, the pope and the congregation joined together in saying a prayer for the Synod:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendor of true love,
to you we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again
experience violence, rejection and division:
may all who have been hurt or scandalized
find ready comfort and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
may the approaching Synod of Bishops
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God’s plan.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
graciously hear our prayer.

**

Please visit this webpage to order prayer cards with Pope Francis’s prayer for the Synod on the Family.

Source: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/general-audience-on-praying-for-the-synod-on-the-family?utm_campaign=dailyhtml&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dispatch