During his Wednesday audience on this feast of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Francis said there are three phrases which, when said out of love and respect rather than mere courtesy, have great power to strengthen family life.
Vatican Radio is reporting on the very down-to-earth advice Francis gave to the world today on how to build a happy marriage and family life, all of which boils down to three very commonly used phrases – “May I?”, “Thank you,” and “Pardon me”.
They are simple words, he said, but not so simple to put into practice, especially with the right disposition of heart, which is one of deep love and respect for others rather than just common courtesy.
“May I?”
“When we concern ourselves with gently requesting even those things we might think we have a right too, we place a real defense for the spirit of harmony in the marriage and the family,” the pope said, pointing out that even Jesus asks permission to enter our lives.
“Thank you”
In today’s society, evil words and behaviors are applauded as expressions of freedom while kindness and courtesy are seen as signs of weakness. These attitudes must be rejected in family life, he said.
“Gratitude, for a believer, is at the heart of the faith: a Christian who does not know how to give thanks is one who has forgotten the language of God.”
A spirit of gratitude within the family is at the foundation of respect for the dignity of the human person and of social justice, he said.
“Pardon me”
To ask forgiveness can be difficult, but it’s absolutely necessary. He also linked the inability to ask for forgiveness to the inability to forgive others. “If we are not able to apologize, it means we are unable to forgive.”
A family must never finish the day “without making peace,” he said.
Although this advice may seem simple, it’s of vital importance.
“The three key-words for the family are simple words, and perhaps at first they may cause us to smile,” the Holy Father said. “But when we forget them, there’s nothing to laugh about, is there?”
He then turned to the youth, newly married and sick in the audience, and offered timely advice on this Feast of Our Lady of Fatima which can apply to all of the faithful:
“Dear young people, learn and cultivate devotion to the Mother of God, with the daily recitation of the Rosary; dear [brothers and sisters] who are ill, feel the presence of Mary in the hour of the Cross; and you dear newly-married husbands and wives, pray to her that love and mutual respect will never be lacking in your homes.”
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