Havana, Cuba, Sep 12, 2004 / 22:00 pm
During his traditional radio address on the feast of Our Lady of Charity, Patroness of Cuba, Bishop Emilio Aranguren of Cienfuegos asked Cubans to live out the virtue of charity beginning with their own families.
In one of the few opportunities the Church has to access the media, Bishop Aranguren recalled that this year the Cuban bishops have proposed “reinvigorating family life through the values of the Gospel, declaring 2004 as the ‘Year of the Family’.”
“Our Lady of Charity, as Mother not only of the family at Nazareth, but also of the disciples of her Son and therefore of our families, as any good mother, would want to see her children united in harmony, helping each other in their needs, respecting each other’s differences, living in peace in order to benefit from a world and a society that are ever more fraternal and enhanced,” he said.
According to the bishop, the homage the “Mother of all Cubans” expects from her children goes beyond the flowers and the candles. “Surely she would be more pleased if, together with that exterior homage of our love, we were to take more seriously the attention we give to our families, which is the best investment in life,” he added.