Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has praised families as “gifts” from God that must be embraced even with the struggles that come with it, reported CBCP News.
Speaking at the “Family is a Gift Conference” in Pasig City, Philippines, over the weekend, he lamented how some people view the family as “burden” and so they despise marriage.
According to him, there will always be challenges, “but these are also gifts— openings for renewal and rediscovery of God’s action in us and His beautiful plan for our families”.
“Even with the heaviest of challenges, you bear them; you face them as opportunities to affirm the beauty and the gift of the family,” Tagle said.
The cardinal added that to recognize the family as a gift is to accept it fully, even the imperfect parts of it.
According to him, the family has also the most significant influence in the life of the young people “that’s why we have a special mission to them”.
“This mission is not just an obligation, but a gift that we are all invited to share,” he said.
“Family is a Gift” is a campaign of the Couples for Christ as a response to the need of protecting and supporting the family.
Organized in cooperation with the Manila archdiocese’s Commission on Family and Life, the event is also in celebration of the Year of the Youth.
