“In an era marked by many closures and too many walls, it is essential to recover the experience of the typical coexistence.” With this phrase, Pope Francis once again highlights the vital role of the family as a social motor of peace and prosperity. And in an increasingly individualistic and materialistic society, “conviviality”, that is, the attitude of sharing with joy the goods of life, becomes indispensable for the development of the person.
THE BEAUTY AND IMPORTANCE OF CONVIVIALITY
Sharing is a precious virtue! And its manifestation is as beautiful as the image of a family gathered around the domestic table sharing their food, their concerns and frustrations, their joys and their sorrows.
When there is a party, a birthday, an anniversary or some other important celebration for us we usually gather around the table to share the joy with our loved ones. The “conviviality” is also a perfect thermometer to measure the health of relationships within a family. If there is something in the family that is not right, or some hidden wound, at the table it is immediately perceived.
A family that almost never eats together, or at whose table it is not spoken, but the television is seen or the cell phone is consulted all the time, it could be said that it is a “weak family”. It is important not to waste these unique moments to grow together in love.
JESUS STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARING IN FAMILY
Jesus taught us the importance of meeting as a family. In the Bible you can find episodes in which it is taught at the table and in those that symbolize the Kingdom of God with a joyful banquet. Jesus chose a dinner to give his disciples his spiritual testament, condensed in the memorial gesture of his Sacrifice: donation of his Body and Blood as Food and Drink of salvation, which nurture true and lasting love.
In this perspective, we can say that the family is from home to Mass, proper because it brings to the Eucharist its own experience of coexistence and opens it to the grace of a universal “conviviality”, of God’s love for the world.
THE EUCHARIST, THE GLUE WHICH RAISES “WELCOME BRIDGES”
By participating in the Eucharist, the family is purified of the temptation to close in on itself, strengthened in love and fidelity, and extends the confines of its own fraternity according to the heart of Christ.
In our time, marked by so many closures and so many walls, the “conviviality”, generated by the family and extended in the Eucharist, becomes an indispensable tool to be a person and build welcome and charity bridges .