“We made a living experience of the Church that was very important for us, a unique experience in life that we will always carry in our hearts.”

This is how the Colombian family described their experience at the Synod. María Angélica, a dentist, and Luis, Director of the Ethics Department at the University of Gran Colombia, with their two sons ages 18 and 20 years old were invited to participate in the Ordinary Synod on the Family “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.”

They have worked with and for families for over 20 years as part of the Focolare Movement, accompanying couples in the process of preparing for marriage, and in those successive years where the inevitable marital crises threaten to undermine the sacrament and their love.

You had an active role in the work of the small groups. Which moments seemed important to you for making a contribution to the Synod? 
“Our experience in the small groups was quite meaningful, because we were able to share our experience and that of other families, expressing our desire to experience as a family that dynamic of love lived in the Trinity, where each of the Three Divine Persons is Love for the others. This is one thing we were able to contribute. Then, emphasizing the importance of the Eucharist, we highlighted the need for the presence of Jesus among families through mutual love; so we talked about the times we have asked forgiveness from one another when we did not have full unity.

“Another point concerned divorced and remarried couples. It is important to feel a particular love for these families, accompanying them so that their faith begins to grow to the point that they feel then that Jesus is also in their neighbor, in the Word of the Gospel that is meant to be lived, and in the community that practices mutual love – thus their closeness to Jesus will grow.

“We also felt that another important reality to present to the Synod fathers was that of Jesus crucified and forsaken, since He took upon Himself the sufferings of humanity. In Him we see the one who was betrayed and humiliated, he who felt alone, abandoned and guilty, left without an answer to His question. We are all linked to Him because He lived through all that, and in Him we can have this unique communion wherein we are all contained in our yes to Him.

“This was our proposal: that there is no difference between the family that has not suffered failure and the family that has, because we have all been accepted by Him. We described the experience of many families, also those in the Movement, where they have pronounced this yes with the pain of not being able to receive the Eucharist, yet knowing that they were called to holiness. Therefore, they are not excluded from the invitation to holiness. As Pope Benedict once remarked, they highlight the beauty of the indissolubility of marriage; they are also builders of this indissolubility, so they make a huge contribution as they grow in this yes.

“At times, it’s a matter of people’s understanding the deep meaning of the sacrament. For many today the sacrament of matrimony doesn’t mean much, because couple have not received adequate formation, neither from their parish nor from an ecclesial movement; whereas, it becomes a part of the journey of every human being to understand how to be human and discover the transcendent dimension within themselves. They have to discover how this sacrament can help in forming a family and why, through the family, they are responsible for our children.”

One day, coming out of the small group session, you felt a desire for the bishops to comprehend your deep love for the Church. . .
“The relationship and the dialogue with these bishops has been drawing us all closer and closer over the past few weeks, closer in knowing one another, in listening to each another, and also in trying to be ‘mothers’ for them. For example, if they had a cough, a cold . .. we wanted them to feel that we, families, also love the Church as they do; that we suffer for the Church as they do; that we also give our life for the Church. We’re on the same journey. As Chiara Lubich expressed it, each one of us is like a piece of a mosaic, so our value lies in helping to create that beautiful reality which is the Church. It was very important that this was shared – and heard.”

One of your own offerings was included in the final document.
“Yes, in the final small group meeting the relator asked if we could describe our experience as a family. Then, what was proposed for the final document also contained what each one of us had said. You can’t even tell really, what came from a family and what was proposed by a Synod father: it was everyone’s proposal, unanimously agreed upon.”

What would your wish for the conclusion of the Synod? 
“Many best wishes! And we hope that, gradually, all families will discover the richness they possess, regardless of their particular situation – ‘regular’ or ‘irregular,’ when they live as a real family, the potential to make society better: for the growth of humanity.”

focolare.org