Jesus said: “Where two or three are gathered in my name (= in my love), I am there among them” (Mt 18:20). Families are being offered an incredible opportunity: to be the dwelling place of God’s presence.
 
For families that live in this way, nothing that happens around them is alien to them. Just by being themselves, they have the potential to witness, announce and restore the surrounding social fabric, since life speaks and acts for itself. I have seen firsthand that a family is capable of opening heart and home to the pressing needs and dramas affecting society, to the lonely and marginalized. [. . .] 
 
I have seen such families; they are wonderful and they draw many to themselves. On the outside they appear to be families like any other. But they possess  a secret, a secret rooted in love. Having embraced suffering, they are united to Christ. Christ lives in their homes, drawn there by their bond of mutual love. And with these families, the world is changing. [. . . ]
 
I would like to ask that we all commit ourselves to practical action with all the means at our disposal for the true well-being of the family. The health of this first cell of society is crucial for the future of all humanity.
 
“In saving the family,” writes the renowned Catholic writer Igino Giordani, “we are saving civilization. Our country is made up of families. If they perish society too will falter.” 1 And he adds: “Married couples become co-workers with God; they give humanity life and love.… Love emanates from the family spreading to the workplace, the city, the nation, and to all humanity like an infinite wave of concentric circles. A revolutionary restlessness has been burning for the past twenty centuries. It was lit by the gospel and calls out for love.” 

 

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1 C. Lubich, Essential Writings, New City Press (Hyde Park, New York), pg. 185. https://www.newcitypress.com