On Sunday, an estimated one million people turned out in the cold weather for Mass in Madrid's Plaza Colon in honour of the Holy Family.The Mass was celebrated by the Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela who promoted the family and the loving upbringing of children by a mother and father married to each other. He also spoke of abortion as one of the terrible scars of our time. Before Mass, the Holy Father spoke to the crowds via a live video link from the Vatican during his Angelus address. Here is a part of what he said:
"Dear families, do not let love, openness to life, and the incomparable bonds that unite your home be corrupted. Ask this continually of the Lord, praying together, that your intentions be illuminated by faith and exalted by divine grace on the path toward holiness. In this way, with the joy of sharing everything in love, you will give the world a beautiful witness of how important the family is for the human being and for society. The Pope is by your side, asking especially of the Lord for those in each family who have the greatest needs of health, work, comfort, and companionship".The BBC, for whom Zapatero's government is presumably on the five smileys list of Jolly Good Things, captioned the photo in their story "The Church opposes some of the Socialists' liberalising reforms." They also reported that the Government had legalised gay marriage and made divorce easier "angering some clergy". In my experience the innocent party who has been unjustly abandoned by their spouse tends to get fairly angry about it too.
I'm working on a GPRS connection at the moment so it's not easy to post lots of photos. The photo above gives some idea of the crowds. You can see more photos of the event in this gallery at ABC.es
3 comments:
I was fortunate enough to attend with my wife and kids. There was a very good atmotsphere, very prayerful. In the end it was a Mass, not a rally. The emphasis this year was more on the people of God in Spain imploring God to save the family, rather than any show of strength. It was more an offering of our sacrifices as a people for our own infidelity than anything else; more supernaturally motivated and directed than ever. People were up at 5am, catching coaches from all corners of the country, praying the rosary, returning home late on Sunday night, back to work on Monday morning. For this reason I am sure it will bear fruit. One last word: there were over forty bishops present, heart and soul with the Pope. May God grant this same communion of love and fidelity to the Church in England.
While Spain lives and breathes she remains Catholic! Mr Zapatero should put that in his pipe and smoke it! Let's pray this sends out a strong message to all Spaniards who have had their Faith weakened in some way by the secular onslaught over many years on their once proud and devoutedly Catholic family centered way of life. Stay close to your Catholic roots, rekindle that fire and passion for Our Blessed Lord, let the Cathedral Bells of your hearts ring out to herald in a New Year and a return to the Church and its teachings. Be a beacon of light to the rest of Europe. St Teresa d'Avila and St JoseMaria Escriva pray for us.
Muchas gracias, Pater! I loved the post. It feels like a little help from our brothers abroad.
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