Formation of groups

Work until 18:00, begin working at about 15.30. At 18.15 the buses pass and you are here
at 18.45. At 19 p.m., we begin to listen to the secretaries of the groups, who will sit in the
presbytery. Therefore, you must elect a secretary who will speak here, working from 15.30 to 18.

H 1,30pm – lunch

H 3,30 – 6pm – working in groups on the questionnaire

H 6,45pm – experience of some brothers on the questionnaire.

• Answer of some brothers (by chance)

The brothers delegated by their groups sit in presbytery. Kiko draws the group number,
and the chosen brother briefly gives his experience

Catechesis of Fr. Mario

8:30 pm – Catechesis “Love and Desire”

• Prayer
• Catechesis
Fr. Mario
o, dear brothers and sisters, I think we were happy to listen to the experiences of some
brothers and sisters on how the character on the theology of the body have helped several
families, especially in Africa, in Latin America, in India, in Asia. I finished this catechism 10
minutes before coming here therefore I ask you to be patient and understanding. I hope the Lord
will help me. I will begin by saying that last year after the convenience in which we have spoken
about Christian initiation, on how the Lord prepared humanity to welcome Jesus Christ through
the various stages of the history of salvation, and I have spoken to you about how the Church
wanted to restore Christian initiation... after the convenience I found amongst my books a little
booklet by Carol Wojtyla. I looked at the index, I read the first few pages and I felt, I think from
the Lord: next year I will speak about “love and desire”. It's a little book. I thought: since before
COVID we don't speak any more about the theology of the body and I felt indebted, especially
with the youth who have never received it. Also, because as we have seen yesterday and this
morning this virus which is sexual freedom Pope Francis says that it is like a new pandemic, more
terrible, especially because of pornography which after COVID penetrated and touched some
children and some families of the Way. To help the parents and the youth I thought this book is
from the mental. Why is it fundamental? It is fundamental because in the midst of all the new
pseudo-scientific neurological and psychological interpretations, in the midst of all these
approaches, Karol Wojtyla introduces - he held two conferences in the 70s: one for pastors in
charge of the youth pastoral work and the other for university students - basing himself mostly
and entirely on the revelation of God. For us revelation does not seem to be a novelty, it is not a
- 30 -
novelty for us, but even in the Catholic world, today revelation seems to have disappeared: send
no longer exists, conversion is no longer necessary, I am not exaggerating these ideologies have
entered also in the church, as we shall see. It is better if I follow the written text otherwise if I
start speaking, I get lost. Already in the past we have spoken several times about the theology of
the body and how this sexual liberalism was born especially in 1968. I will try to summarize this
book because it's a little long, later those who want can read it and deepen it. Once Tony
Spandri, who was a catechist with Bruna in Germany, told me: did you know that the German
priests read your writings and they go to check the books that you cite? Thank God somebody is
doing that. I will make it exposition first on “love and desire”; the second part if we don't manage
to finish tonight will be tomorrow. The first part is on “Love and desire” What the Pope says; the
second part is on the traps and deceits, pornography, etc.; the third part is on how to escape
these traps that the Lord has given us.
The word Love: today the word love is used for any type of relationship, and it has many
meanings. Pope Wojtyla spoke of distortions, which the Conciliar text Speaks about which are
very present in the mentality and in the life of contemporary men and pervade the entire
European culture. this explains the insistent contestation of the encyclical Humanae Vitae.
It was very strong in Europe. Several Episcopal conferences did not accept the Encyclical
Humanae Vitae of Paul VI because of the bomb of worldwide population growth for which it was
needed to limit births and they did not manage to do it. Speaking to the pastors of youth he said:
In preparation for marriage for the young people, it is important to teach the truth about
love, a truth which is part of our faith which we have to proclaim and preach in our pastoral
work.
The philosophical implications are of great value and can help us in the formulation of
the theology of love (for example the capital formulations of Eros and Agape which have a great
meaning for the explanation of the evangelical science on love), but do not arrive at the level
and depth of evangelical regulation. It is absolutely specific, absolutely original.
Evangelical teaching on love is summarized first of all in Revelation, of which it is part.
this summary is found in these two texts:

• The first is Saint John which affirms: “God is love” (1Jn. 4,8).
• The second is taken from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, which affirms:
“The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been
given to us” (Rm. 5,5).
We cannot speak of love, sexuality, and desire without beginning from this gift of God
through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. All real human love is the real participation in the love of
God. I liked this so much that I thought to do this this catechesis this year to help you, your
family, the parents, the youth, and the unmarried.
Marital love is a real participation in the love of God. But also the love of a man and a
woman in all stages of life, from teenagers, to the anniversary's we define as the “golden
anniversary”, cannot be born outside of this participation in the love of God.
So, to understand this love of God, as usual we have to begin from the start, from the
human beginning, it is necessary to look always at the beginning of history, through the Economy
of Salvation.

- 31 -
 Adam and Eve were created by God as persons and in a certain way from the beginning
they were reciprocally dependent. Dependent in the perspective of a particular community, of a
communio (communion).
For this he created man and woman in the image of God, able to know and love the
creator, Lord of all creatures on earth (cf. Gen. 1,26; Wis. 2,23).
But God did not create a solitary man, he created him man and woman. They're being
together constitutes the first form of community.
This is the desire the Jesus expresses before his passion when he prays to the father so
that “they may be one, as I and you are one” (Jn. 17,21), opening for us inaccessible prospectives
to the human reason.
for this I say to those who hold conferences on sexuality not to limit themselves to the
scientific aspect, not to separate science from revelation, otherwise sexuality lived as Christians
cannot be understood. We are called to fulfill and transmit faith to our children. Jesus says: “may
they all be one; as you, Father, are in me and I in you, may they be one in us so that the world
maybe believe that you have sent me” (Jn. 17,21).
elsewhere he says that men cannot fulfill himself completely except through a total giving
of himself. This is for everyone, also for the unmarried, for the single, for the widows, for all, also
for the sick. We are all called to give our life, to transmit the love of God.
The quintessence of Christian anthropology is a fundamental and inevitable premise for
the entire truth on love which we have to recognize and announce.

Original sin

It then says what sin has done.

Before sin: communion
the book of Genesis underlines something very significant: these two people, man and
woman, before sin where naked, not feeling what we called today shame, not feeling any anxiety
in the mutual relationship, or even in trusting each other. That is how the Lord had created us in
paradise.
After sin: the breaking of unity
From sin, nakedness has become an anxiety and has provoked shame. The breaking of
unity takes place. We could say the loss of that communio in the diversity of their bodies and
their sex. This fact has enormous importance for the theological vision of today. The breaking of
this love is a consequence of original sin. It is useless for many priests to affirm that sin no longer
exists. We have seen that it exists and we have seen how the Lord saved us and our families.
Speaking to the youth about love, we have to be conscious that man is in this state, that
we are born contemporaneously as a fruit of nature, the love of God through parents that give
us earthly life, but we know well that human nature was not destroyed, devastated, it was only
wounded, disturbed.
No to Manichaeism: nature only wounded, not destroyed.
But we cannot interpret this reality As Manichaeism does, which sees the evil in the body
and in sexuality.

- 32 -
 As I have explained before, Manichaeism penetrated also Christianity and the entire work
of Redemption is thus put into discussion, in the sense that it is badly interpreted. The teaching
based on the order of redemption is united strictly to creation. Therefore, common humanity it
does not find itself only wounded in the status naturae lapsae, at in a state of redeemed nature.
Concretely, in human life, people are object of this gratuitous love, and we are called to
welcome it in forgiveness and in the new life of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, with baptism there is a
new beginning. The fathers say that we have a second birth through water and through the
spirit. This second birth implies fatiguing to come to know and pursue a way.

The capacity to love: gift and duty

The capacity to love is a gift. But it is not only a donated reality, it is also given as a duty.
It takes shape like an interpersonal relationship, Like engagement, like marriage, like family, this
gift, this talent in an evangelical way: knowing what Jesus has told us about it, is that this talent
can be used well, but can also be wasted, as we have heard, if we oppose ourselves to this gift.
All society today is dominated by a consumer type attitude, which threatens human love.
Contemporary men, is vulnerable as never before he is easy to wound, is easily wounded by his
own doing. It is for this reason that there is an ever-growing necessity of a profound and
responsible approach based on the Mystery of this salvific work, within the problem of
interpersonal love, of sexual love, of marital love.
. This is what the Song of Songs sings, and the whole Old Testament until the Gospel,
where love is given as a command. At the end of the itinerary: love one another, love one
another!
Love is placed as a challenge, it is demanding. I read from the book: this is the love of
God, this is the love of neighbor, this is the love for society, this is even the love for the enemies.
The best way to summarize this truth on love, which we need to keep in mind and preach and
give as a duty, used to remember the famous passage from the First Letter to the Corinthians: “If
I give to the poor all my goods, if I offer my body to the flames, but I have no love, it serves me
nothing. He who loves his patient and generous. He who loves is not envious, is not vain, is not
proud. He who loves his respectful, does not look for his own interest, does not get angry,
forgets all offenses, he who loves does not rejoice in injustice, truth is his joy. He who loves is
always compassionate, always full of trust, always patient, always open 2 hope. Love never
ceases…. Science is imperfect, prophecy is limited, but when what is perfect arrives, they will
vanish. Now then there are three things that shall not vanish: faith, hope, love. But the greatest
of all these is love” (cf. 13,3-13), this is what Saint Paul says.
We already have the gift of pre tasting this word in this life.
It is therefore necessary that we proclaim this truth, so that we interpret always correctly
the gospel. We teach that love he's not only a fact between those who love each other, but it is a
fact between them and God.
Is God is not there at the center between a husband and wife marriage is broken.
And this will happen if the youth nourish themselves with this trust not only toward us
men (parents, presbyters, and catechists) but if they will nourish the trust that He is the only
guarantor of their love. This is transcendence. This is a way to get out from the tight courtyard of

- 33 -
my “ego”, which affirms that love ends with him. Rather it is partecipatio, participation to the
love of God.
We are called to pour out the love of God within our hearts to the brothers, to all,
whatever color or race. It is necessary to start looking for this confirmation from the beginning,
this guarantee of one’s source of love: God.
It is about the introduction of human love in this great love that is God himself, revealed
and active in Christ.
In our catechetical and pastoral mission, we always have to be conscious of the entire
economy of salvation, which is realized in every sacrament, in particular in the sacrament of
marriage.
But even this love between a boy and a girl is called to be purified. John Paul the 2nd says
that there were three stages of love.

3 stages of this way: purifying, illuminating and unifying

These stages correspond more or less to the stages of the Way: the time of purification,
of simplicity and of praise, this is the Way, also the love and attraction towards a girl must be
purified before making love with her, before marriage. This love has to mature, to pass through
purification, this is what the Church says. Why? If you go to sleep with a girl, or two or three,
then it is difficult to break this tie. How many couples do we see that because of envy and
jealousy, betrayed love, kill the girlfriend or the boyfriend. How many? You read this every day
on the newspaper. Because they are not mature for love, for true Christian love. Therefore, a
time of purification is necessary, of sensibilization; to see better these values, that day follow,
which constitute the matter of their vocation to the truth. This is valid for any kind of human
love. For this we need to be able to show, and explain, and speak about this way to anyone.
The truth about Redemption, meditated in its depths, brings within itself the way in
which two related parts complete each other and explain each other reciprocally. on one side
redemption speaks to us about purification. But this is not enough, therefore the other side
speaks how about the necessity of an ever-clearer vision, and about the value of a more and
more complete realization. If we reflect well and enter into this, we need to discover in the
mystery of redemption and its reality 3 stages of the Way: purifying, illuminating, and unifying.
This is a model, the way of development for all human affections. The human love that
girls and boys and men and women live in statu naturae redemptae, (In the state of redeemed
nature) Not be developed in a different way from this way: through purification, through
sensibilization; To see better these values which they follow and which constitute the argument
of their vocation to the truth. this is valid for every kind of human love. This is why we have to be
able to show and explain and speak about this way to everyone.
So, it is a matter of inserting the love of a boy towards a girl, our husband for his wife,
within the creative and redemptive cycle.
Bringing human love within this creative and dynamic cycle
We cannot speak about these themes from a superficial point of view. it's important to
go in depth, to arrive at a deep level. This deep level is love, that is the teaching on love in its
evangelical sense, and its Christian authentic truth.

- 34 -
 We now speak about redemption and then chastity. In this way we will finish the first
part. I have taken away many things not to make this too heavy. Are you interested in these
things? Thanks Rita God, as we have heard, the Lord is fulfilling them. This is to strengthen.
When we speak also about the parents, and the grandparents - It is very important.
Some theological elements about the interpretation of human maturity:
fundamental reference of God towards man
The fundamental reference of God towards men and therefore towards the world, is an
important issue of the mystery of Creation and Redemption.
On Creation
“Let us make man into our image, like us” (cf. Gen. 1,26)
On Redemption
Contemporaneously mature on the basis of what it has drawn (and continuously draws)
from the mystery of redemption, which president poses human sin and the damage of human
primitive inheritance. Every man inherits this damage caused by sin. He comes into the world,
carrying within himself, besides human nature, contemporaneously, the “embryo” of being a
sinner.
This embryo also called “uterus of sin” is characterized by Saint John in a better way as
the triple concupiscence: “because everything that is in the world, the concupiscence of flesh,
the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, does not come from the Father but from the
world” (1 J. 2,16).
These are elements to fight.
The mystery of redemption is based on the mystery of sin, and it refers to it in a direct
way. Redemption consists in the victory over human sin from the part of God who has made
himself man in Jesus Christ. This victory over sin in some way has occurred at its roots thanks to
the obedience to the father to the point of death, who with overabundance has cancelled the
greatest and fundamental disobedience (therefore all disobedience) of man towards God
contained inhuman sin, which has occurred in the passion death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
son of God become men to snatch you from the devil.
Every man matures in some way also on the basis of the mystery of Redemption. What
does this mystery bring in the spiritual structure of maturation and the maturation of man?
When we ask the question: “what does it bring?”, We think about the believer because only
when man believes that he has been redeemed by God can he consciously give shape to his own
maturation and his own maturity.
This is away, which through stages, progressively and gradually arrives to Christian
maturity. Then it says that in Gaudium at Spes there are many beautiful affirmations about this.
Here there are things to underline which the Pope does before arriving two chastity. He starts to
speak about the sacraments.

Dimension of Grace

First of all, through the dimension of Grace, because the eternal sanctifying force in man
passes (after original sin) exactly through Redemption. This Grace is communicated through the
sacraments (visible signs).

- 35 -
 As we said yesterday for the penitentiall, we confessed to Jesus Christ himself who has
taken upon himself our sins through the ministry of the presbyters - beyond there being good or
bad - grace is transmitted to us.
This grace is really given to man. In this way they spiritually regenerate him and fortify
him. The maturation of man as Christian is tied to the Sacramental life through which maturation
both as a Christian and as a person constantly grows from the mystery of Redemption.
Besides this real grace, of which we made an experience, we need to unite the cross of
Christ.

Dimension of the Cross of Christ

Besides this dimension we need to show another. The Cross of Christ conquers sin at its
roots, opposing the disobedience of the first Adam, an obedience until death.
That is what happens to us, little by little, through old age and then on our deathbed. The
Lord undresses us of many things. It's important that we adhere to this undressing done by the
Lord, on the wake and footprints of Jesus Christ, sustained by Him, through the ailments and
sicknesses until we abandon ourselves to him in the moment of death as we have seen many of
our brothers die, or confront with faith the sickness is sustained buy one’s community.
This does not mean a simple cancellation of the wave of sin. Redemption gives Grace to
the man who converts to God. This ethical sense of Redemption has a fundamental meaning for
the maturation and maturity of man. Man realizes that the true good is difficult, that it has to be
redeemed with effort, with offering (especially of the cross), and that the price man pays is its
value. In this way especially the Son of God has paid the price of the cross to give back to man
the fullness of his value in front of God, for the conversion of man to his full value, in front of
God any front of mankind itself.
to bring us to this total abandonment to the will of God. What makes us suffer the most
is resistance, non-obedience to the Father, total. In any situation. Here we arrive at chastity.

Premarital and a vocational chastity

Man matures on the basis of the mystery of creation and redemption in its integral and
eschatological sense.
Karol Wojtyla always puts eschatology forward, that is where we are headed. Time passes
come everything falls, eternal life remains. This is why Jesus says: “he who does not take up his
cross…”, “he who does not hate his own life…”: that is the only way. Saint John of the cross says:
nobody knows the depths of the love of God unless he passes through the thickness of the cross.
Saint Peter says: the man who accepts to suffer in the body has broken with sin. The Lord calls us
to participate not only spiritually but also with the body. Saint Paul says: offer your body as a
victim of love for the Lord. Spiritual sacrifices but also with the body.
To enter into marriage thinking not to suffer… like that confessor said when two young
people came to him ready to marry – Kiko said this many times - are you disposed to forgive
each other always? If you are not willing do not get married. Do you remember Kiko?
Kiko:

- 36 -
 he asked them: how many times are you disposed to forgive her? Seven? Eight? Ten?
One hundred? if they did not answer: “Always” he did not marry them.
Fr. Mario:
Well let us continue. Men matures in an integral and it's got a logical sense through
premarital chastity. We heard the experiences earlier. He who falls always has the possibility to
be rehabilitated through the sacrament of reconciliation and starts again.
In this milieu, we find also the meaning of maturation and maturity which is revealed in
premarital chastity. It, in fact, has in this context a double meaning.
-first of all it is an expression of that spiritual maturity which all people should possess
before deciding to enter into marriage. It is like a test for a boy and a girl 2 arrive chase to
marriage, it is a sign of proof of the weight of maturity for the marriage or also, taking this to a
wider sense, for any other vocation. We know that priestly and religious vocation requires also
chastity, which will have to be manifested as continence on the path towards which it leads.
the man who is considered mature to marry has learned to dominate little by little his
sexual impulses, to dominate sexuality. I will read some short notes about this from the
catechism of the Catholic Church:
2342. Self-dominion is a long-term undertaking.1 it can never be considered attained
once for all. It presupposes an effort to begin again at every stage of life (Tt 2, 1-6). the effort
required can be greater at certain times, those for example in which personality is formed, in
infancy and adolescence.
2343. Chastity has its laws of growth, which pass through the stages marked by
imperfection and often by sin. Virtuous chaste man “is formed day by day through his numerous
free choices: This is why he knows,
As Kiko says, he falls and he gets up again, he confesses and takes up the battle until the
Lord, when he wants come takes it away. Saint John of Avila, in his book “Audi, filia”, wrote four
or five chapters in which he speaks of the scenes of lust, of masturbation and says that the Lord
allows them to cure us from a greater sin which is pride, because this urge that we do not
manage to dominate, humiliates us and through this humiliation he forms us. If we are humble
and confess, we move on. there is a saying: “manifest lust, hidden pride”. Encourage -
presbyters, catechists, parents - your children not to give up. Chastity is a path, a gift of God, a
grace.
Saint Augustine fought, key had married, had a child, and says:
2520 “I thought that continence was obtained through one's own strength, but I was not
sure of my own strength. In that sense I was a fool to ignore that… no one can be continent if
you do not allow it. And You would have allowed it if I had knocked at your ears with moaning
from my heart and cast on you my suffering with firm faith” (St. Augustine, “Confessiones”, 6,
11, 20: CCL 27, 87) (n. 2520). 2

1
in the conference for university students in 1973, Karol Wojtyla, speaks about the stages of human and
Christian maturation, if you want to consult it you can find it in the book “Love and Desire”.
2
Cf. catechesis of the beginning of the year convenience “love and sexuality” (1997)

- 37 -
 Chastity, manifestation of maturity of a mature person, does not succumb to the lust he
has learned to dominate, both in view of marriage, as also in view of a life totally given to the
Lord, in the evangelization, like our “Itinerants who participate in the Primitive Charism”, who
leaving everything they put their talent at the service of the brothers, they offer themselves in
different teams, willing to go anywhere. “No longer living for themselves but for Him who died
and has risen for us”.
in the last years we have noticed with a certain worry, the decrease of vocations to the
presbyterate, especially from Italy and Spain and in Europe in general. We do not know if it was
COVID or the world which assails us but we have noticed that the regions from which used to
come many vocations today there are less. For this we entrust to your care the pilgrimages, the
vocational meetings, etc.
Now we speak about virginity which I have spoken about before, I will give a brief
summary. in 2011 we spoke about this.

Virginity

On Virginity, I will cite some texts from the catechesis of the beginning of the year
“Marriage and virginity” in 2011. We see how St. John Paul II speaks about virginity in the book
“Love and responsibility”.
This little book “Love and desire” comes after “Love and responsibility” (1960). it says:
“Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, inaugurates with his Virginity a new stage in the
history of salvation.
While in the Old Testament the command of God “grow and multiply” was considered
‘sacred’ so much so that sterility was considered a curse, like a homicide, because it was not
blessed by fertility, Jesus Christ Virgin inaugurates the time of fulfillment of the promises which I
realized in him through the Incarnation, the Passion Death and Resurrection, pushing our gaze
towards the new humanity which he inaugurates no longer towards the past, towards the
‘beginning’, but towards the future, towards the fulfillment of the Kingdom of Heaven and which
He inaugurates in his Person which will bring to plentitude through his second coming at the end
of time.
Through the fact of his virginity, which includes the virginity of Mary his Mother, through
the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ shows that He has been sent by the Father becoming
man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, not coming with the mission of procreating children, but of
saving all children and all of humanity from the slavery of the devil, of sin and death, to make of
us a saved people from slavery, a people are children of God through the gift of the Holy Spirit:
to make us his Bride, the Church “without wrinkle or stain”.
“In the relationship between man and God, understood as a relationship of love, the
attitude of abandonment towards God can and must take place, and it is comprehensible,
because the religious man is conscious that God gives him all of himself in a divine way (it's a
calling, a gift, a fertile vocation). in this way the possibility of reciprocal love appears: the human
person loved by God, donates him/herself to Him alone. this exclusive and total abandonment is
the fruit of a spiritual process which takes place in the ‘interior’ of a person, under the influence

- 38 -
of grace. It constitutes the essence of the virtue of virginity. This represents the spousal love
oriented towards God”.
In front of the phenomenon of the sexual revolution and of its disastrous consequences
for marriage and the family, the Church has always taken care of defending the virginity
consecrated to God. Normally lived in the monasteries by monks and nuns in the convent. Since
the Second Vatican Council a new and particular attention to virginity has been born.
The presence of monasteries and convents, and also various secular institutions, radiate
the spousal love of God, until the a wedding of the Lamb in heaven.
The gift of Virginity, since it is based on the grace of baptism, is participated by all our
communities as well, once they finished the Neocatechumenal itinerary, with the Convivence of
the “Spiritual Marriage” to which all, married and non-married are called.
In the Neo Catechumenal Way, since the first years, the Lord has raised sisters whoever
offered their life, offering themselves as Itinerant sisters in the itinerary teams, or even in the
service of Families in mission or of the new “Missio ad gentes”, or in the service seminaries
“Redemptoris Mater” where we welcome also Sisters who are Widows.
They are a witness for me: when I see some of them coming from a well-off life, to wash
floors and serve, who had servants themselves, they are eschatological witnesses.
The gift of Virginity for women goes as well for the Presbyters and Monks called to live in
union with Christ in celibacy in their own Ministry or Charism. Blessed and happy are they or
those called to the wedding feast of the Lamb starting from this earth: they pre-taste the
sweetness of His love already in this life.
I would like to conclude this first part with two texts and then we will go to dinner. The
second part on the traps and the way out from the traps we will speak about tomorrow with
more tranquility.

CONCLUSION

The main goal of this character is to help all the young brothers and sisters, adults and
elderly, to fall in love with the love of God, for all eternity already on this earth.
On the other hand, it is an invitation especially to adolescents and young people not to
throw away their life in the garbage of the world, and in the case that the devil makes you fall, to
be conscious that the doors of the way and the arms of God the father always remain open for
the return of the prodigal son.
Finally, I cite two texts from the prophet Isaiah and Hosea, And a text of St Aelred on the
Beauty of the Bride.
From the prophet Isaiah: because he has robed me with the garment of salvation, like a
bridegroom who adorns himself with the diadem and like a bride who is adorned with jewels (Is.
61,10). Yes, as a young man marries a virgin, so will your Builder marry you: like

For as a young man marries a young woman,

so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you. (Is 62:5)

- 39 -
 From the prophet Hosea
But look, I am going to seduce her and lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.
When that day comes- declares Yahweh- you will call me, 'My husband', no more will you call
me, 'My Baal'. I shall banish the names of the Baals from her lips and their name will be
mentioned no more. I shall betroth you to myself for ever, I shall betroth you in uprightness and
justice, and faithful love and tenderness. Yes, I shall betroth you to myself in loyalty and in the
knowledge of Yahweh. (Hos 2:16.18-19.21)
To conclude, a brief reading of St. Aelred, who was born in 1109 or 1110, to a noble
family. He spent his youth as a page at the court of King David I of Scotland; in 1935, he left
everything and entered a Cistercian monastery, founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. He wrote
the book “De Amicitia” (“On Friendship”). It’s interesting, let's see what happens when a guy
prepares to marry a girl he likes. He says:

Beauty of the bride of Saint Aelred

This bride, the holy people prepared by the Lord, is us.

Let us see what order is followed for the wedding celebration. One wants to take for a
wife a woman who is right up his alley. He chooses one from among many, he sends
intermediaries to prepare the ground for the marriage, to praise her beauty, magnify her riches,
speak of her wisdom. So the bride becomes inflamed with love for the bridegroom.
Love arouses desire, desire leads to personal knowledge and this to consent, and so the
wedding feast is celebrated. Let us now lift up our eyes and from material things let us move on
to spiritual things. The Son of God, God himself in the bosom of the Father and king of all
kingdoms, from his abode turned his gaze upon all the inhabitants of the earth, and among them
all he saw "one." And immediately, "the king desired her beauty." (Psalm 45:12). Who is she? I
will say it clearly and in such a way that you will understand. I am talking about that holy society,
chosen before the creation of the world, predestined and called to justification, to glorification.
In what way does he see it? Not as we do, because the past is hidden to us, the future unknown,
the realities before our eyes are hardly clear to us. He sees clearly that holy society from the first
to the last elect. He does not see one elect after another, but simultaneously, at every moment
and forever.
She is exposed to the demons because of her beauty. He chose and loved her not for his
own interest, but to wash her sins (Ez 16), heal her infirmity, free her from slavery, make her
happy in her poverty by uniting her to himself.
And because the beloved must freely love back the one who loves her, the bridegroom
sent messengers to speak of him, praise his beauty, magnify his wisdom, exalt his power and
riches. He had messengers to whom he revealed his secrets, showing them the mystery of his
incarnation in ineffable light, the depth of his election, the breadth of his calling, the height of his
promise and the length of his longing. And so having been able to comprehend "the breadth and
length and height and depth" (Eph 3:18), they taught others these things. (These are the
catechists, for us Kiko and Carmen. Let's give them a round of applause)

- 40 -
 For although the blessed society of the elect is one ("My dove, my perfect one, is the only
one” (Song of Songs 6:9)), they nevertheless were called messengers of the Savior because
inspired by him, they preached his coming.
Now let us see how these messengers inflamed his chosen bride with love for the Lord.
The holy Moses speaking of her says, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me.
You shall listen to him." (Deut 18:15)
He says, "Like me." For those times this is an enormous praise. For what believer then
would not have been kindled with love for Christ, knowing that he would be like Moses? Even
Jeremiah was not silent in his praise when he said, "There is none like you, O Lord; you are great,
and your name is great in might." (Jer 10:6-7)
As we have seen from Scriptures, the bride's spirit can be kindled with love for the
bridegroom. (The kerygma)
Love provokes desire, spiritual desire deserves its coming, and so, through faith, mutual
consent is fulfilled: and behold, the wedding feast is prepared (From the discourses of Saint
Aelred, abbot).
Kiko:
Very good, let’s have dinner. Tomorrow we’ll see the second part. We are meeting at
10:30 here. Have a good dinner.

10pm - Dinner

Sunday October 2nd

11 am Introduction (by Padre Mario)

• Initial prayer
• Catechesis continues “Love and desire”
After the first part, which is fondamental, let us now see the snares and traps that the
devil invented in our time.

TODAY’S DECEPTIONS AND TRAPS

INTRODUCTION

“Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. 44
You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a
murderer from the beginning…
Today I was given an article that came out in a newspaper with a statistic: there are 4,000
young people between the ages of 12 and 17 who commit suicide every year in Italy. Worldwide,
suicide is the fifth most common cause of death among young people between 10 to 19 years
old, the fourth in the 15 to 19 age group. Social mediaS are amplifying this trend.
…and he does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he
speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the
- 41 -
truth, you do not believe me.Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not
believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is
that you are not from God.” (John 8: 43-47)
I thought of opening this part of the traps and snares with the text in which the Lord
Jesus Christ warns us against the devil who tries to allure us with false attractions and prevent us
from listening to the voice of God in our hearts.
In the light of the Word of God and the Magisterium of the Church, I invite everyone to
get closer to the wounds of which our children are victims, not to judge or condemn them, but
with understanding and love to meet their sufferings and to be able to offer them a way out and
healing.
There are many these wounds, sometimes fatal, that afflict our young people fascinated
by the father of lies who, as always, disguises himself as an Angel of light, to attract his victims to
hell, who are already beginning to live hell in this life.
These pitfalls and seductions of the father of lies do not belong only to our time. It is
enough to read the books of the Pentateuch (especially the book of Leviticus, and many other
books of wisdom), to find the constant call of the Lord to mutual respect for man and woman.
The ninth commandment - the commandments are indications of life - says: "You shall not covet
your neighbor’s wife"
Characteristic of our generation has been the amplification by the media of what in the
past they tried to hide, and which today has acquired the right of citizenship, according to civil
law.
I add this prayer from the book of Sirach, to show how ancient is the pleading against lust
for all of us:
O Lord, Father and God of my life do not give me haughty eyes, and remove evil desire
from me. Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me, and do not give me over to shameless
passion. O Lord, Father and Master of my life, do not abandon me to their designs, and do not
let me fall because of them! (Ecclesiasticus 23:4.5.6.1)
I say this to you parents, grandparents, family members, friends to speak to young people
so that these words may reach young people. I know that some will transmit what we say, others
will transmit what they want: everyone will respond before God as I must respond before the
Lord. It would be regrettable if all this did not reach young people: to save young people, they
must be informed.
Because of shortness of time, I only name SOME of the most common SEDUCTIONS AND
TRAPS that lead to disastrous consequences. I will then finally speak of ways of salvation for
those who have become addicted, given to us by the Church, Mother and Teacher, and by the
Neocatechumenal Way.
First of all, let us take a general look at the historical context in which there has been a
very rapid development of these modern forms of addiction.
The first aspect of which we have already been talking in other conveniences is the
Sexual Revolution.

THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION

- 42 -
 In his “Latest Observations”, the Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, says that the Sexual
Revolution that exploded in 1968, which we have addressed in many catecheses in these
Beginning of the Year Convivences, quickly gave birth to new, more advanced and sophisticated
forms of slavery.
Already in 2011, the Spanish Episcopal Conference, in a Pastoral Instruction explained:
“The banal vision of sexuality is the result of the so-called sexual revolution that began in the 60s
and has sought sexual freedom. It is born as a result of a series of sequential ruptures: first, the
break between sexuality and marriage (erroneously called “free love”); second, the break
between sexuality and procreation (first as sexuality without procreation and then as
procreation without sexuality); third, the break between sexuality and love (sexuality like
pleasure, as in play or pleasuring oneself, as a couple, or as a group); and finally, the break
between sexuality and person (with gender ideology, sexuality is not something that pertains to
a person’s nature, but is a free choice).
In his 2012 Christmas Address to the Roman Curia, Pope Benedict XVI said: “what has
caused these ruptures was not freedom, but an even more profound breakup – the
fragmentation and destruction of the human person.
In the Catechesis on the Beginning of the Year Convivence in 2007 on the Christian
Family, I gave a more detailed account of the historical context in which were born the first
attacks against Christian marriage and family. I recall some of these points for the younger
people:
Other forms of destruction of the Christian family in modern times
Birth Control and the question of “genders”
Everyone knows about Nelson Rockefeller’s “family planning” campaign – promoted in
the 1970s and supported by various United Nations Organisations – to contain demographic
growth, above all in the poorest or developing countries, which would threaten the well-being
and progress of the richer, industrialized countries. A fruit of this action of “sterilisation,
sometimes en masse, and the campaign for limiting the number of births (among which the
increase in erotic publications, magazines, television, the internet; sexual tourism; paedophilia,
etc.) was the questioning of “the sexes”, which until then were considered to be two: male and
female.
In the last World Conferences on Women in Cairo (1994) and Beijing (1995), the
traditional distinction of the gender of man and woman was questioned. They wanted to legally
recognise five genders: man, woman, homosexual, lesbian, heterosexual.
Family and Families: a new type of family
For some time, different types of family have been spoken of: it is a sign of modernity.
The traditional, monogamous, patriarchal family is more and more presented as one on its way
to extinction, and it is not favoured over other modern forms of family: cohabitation, de facto
couples (including homosexual ones), and homosexual marriage. Those who support this vision
do not consider the deep suffering of children divided between their father and mother as a
serious problem. In television programmes dealing solely with educating children, with the help
of psychologists and psychoanalysts, in such a way as to make the children accept a new
adoptive parent (the father’s or mother’s friend, etc.) in addition to their biological mother and

- 43 -
father … there appears the extended family: the spouse, the ex-spouse/lover, or vice-versa,
children from first, second, third relationships, etc.

The feminist movement

The feminist movement was born in the 19th century and revived in the 60s. The
proposal of radical feminism is to break the sexual servitude of women with different tools
ranging from increasing the use of means of contraception to the legalization of assisted
abortion, to the rejection of heterosexuality as the only form of normal, non-deviant sexual
intercourse.
The Gay movement
Regarding the Gay movement, I would like to point out the fundamental difference
between those who feel attraction for the same sex and Gays, between those who bear a
discomfort and those who instead make it a "flag" to claim rights. Born on June 28, 1969, in the
event called outing or coming-out - “coming out” in order to be recognized as such in front of
society – (Saturday, June 28, 1969, in New York). On February 8, 1994, the European Parliament
by majority vote passes a resolution calling upon individual states to cancel every form of
discrimination against gays and lesbians. In some European countries, homosexual union is
equated with marriage and family, in some cases even with the right to adopt children.
Few days ago, the Belgian church approved a ritual for the blessing of gay couples. In
these days I learned that the blessing of homosexual couples was born in Canada in 2001, in the
Anglican church, in the diocese of New Westminister. This has caused a rift in the Canadian
Anglican church. Now it’s coming to the Catholic Church.

“GENDER” Ideology

In the catechesis at the beginning of the year 2014: “Pope Francis and the Synod on the
Family”, we showed the historical and philosophical roots that are the basis of the ideology of
“Gender”.
I only mention a brief summary of this ideology that has spread and developed in our
society, causing, from the Catholic point of view, multiple damages to the Family.
Pope Benedict XVI in a historic speech to the Roman Curia on the occasion of his
Christmas greetings, on December 21, 2012, underlined the tragic nature of this ideology which
is being imposed above all in the Western world. This is an excerpt from his speech:
“It is now becoming clear that the vision of being is itself at stake here, of what it really
means to be human”. (He quotes Simone de Beauvoir's famous statement: “One is not born a
woman but becomes one” [“On ne naît pas femme, on le devient”]). These words give the
foundation of what today, under the term "gender", is presented as a new philosophy of
sexuality.
According to this philosophy, sex is no longer an original datum of nature that man must
accept and personally fill with meaning, rather it is a social role which one decides
autonomously, whereas until now it was society that decided it.

- 44 -
 The profound mistake of this theory and of the anthropological revolution underlying it is
evident. Man denies having a nature that is pre-constituted by his corporeality, which
characterizes the human being. He denies his own nature and decides that it is not given to him
as a pre-established fact, but that he himself creates it.
The Grand Rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim show how the family from a legal entity in its
own right, it now necessarily becomes an object, to which one has a right. Where the freedom of
doing becomes the freedom to make oneself, one necessarily arrives at denying the Creator
himself and with this, finally, even man as a creature of God, as an image of God, is weakened in
the essence of his being. In the fight for the family man himself is at stake. And it becomes
evident that where God is denied, the dignity of man also dissolves. Whoever defends God
defends man” (Friday, 21 December 2012).
And Pope Francis, interviewed by Don Luigi M. Epicoco, in the book “San Giovanni Paolo
Magno” [St John Paul the Great] (February 2020), with regard to “gender” ideology, says that
what it "implicitly proposes [is] to want to destroy at the very root that creatural project that
God has willed for each of us: diversity, distinction. To make everything homogeneous, neutral. It
is an attack on difference, on the creativity of God, on man and woman. If I say this clearly, it is
not to discriminate against anyone, but simply to warn everyone against the temptation to fall
into what was the crazy project of the inhabitants of Babel: to cancel diversity in order to seek, in
this cancellation, a single language, a single form, a single people.”
Now we’ll mention the LGBT movement.

THE LGBTQ + MOVEMENT

LGBTQ + is an acronym used to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer people
and, more generally, to all those people who do not feel fully represented under the label of
heterosexual woman or man, while LGBT+ (or "rainbow") families are those in which at least one
parent identifies as such.
Many do not know or often confuse the meaning of some terms and concepts that are at
the basis of the understanding of the QUEER ideology, that is, of all those who do not feel
heterosexual and cisgender and are looking for their own identity outside of any framework.
The acronym LGBTQ+ has become a conventional self-designation and has been adopted
by most social centers and media-based media based on sexuality and gender identity.

PORNOGRAPHY

This hedonistic and materialistic mentality and the way of acting it embodies are
propagated and imposed through various social media and educational and cultural institutions,
regardless of the right of parents to educate their children themselves. It is an indoctrination, a
bombardment through news, images, shows, films, etc., which constitute a real aggression,
especially for children and young people. This mentality has taken shape in the legislation
developed by various government agencies and institutions.
We already spoke about Pornography in the convivence of 2019, where we gave an
alarm signal for parents, presbyters and catechists, because of the addiction it can create and

- 45 -
the negative effects on those who see it. As everyone knows, during the years of confinement or
lockdown, young people who watch pornography for several hours a day have increased in
exorbitant numbers, consequently creating discomfort and confusion in the brain, anxiety,
phobias and even suicides.
In that convivence, we invited the children and youth and, also adults, of the
Neocatechumenal Way, who become addicted to pornography, to humbly recognize this form of
addiction, and in addition to fidelity to the celebrations and passages of their own community, to
let themselves be helped, anonymously, by some brothers specialized in this subject, in order to
get out of this slavery, since it is not possible to get out of it alone.
Teaching of the Catholic Church, Teacher and Mother
Since the 1970’s the Church has addressed the emerging problem of the faithful
attracted by the same sex, offering some indications for pastors regarding the Catholic faithful
with this tendency. I indicate only a few taken from two Documents of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith:
9. Also within the Church a tendency has been formed, made up of pressure groups with
different names and different reaches, which seeks to accredit itself as the representative of all
homosexual persons who are Catholic. One of the tactics used is to assert, in a tone of protest,
that any criticism or reservation of homosexual people, their activities and lifestyles, is simply a
form of unjust discrimination.
There is therefore a real attempt in some countries to manipulate the Church by gaining
the support, often in good faith, of her pastors, in an effort to change the norms of civil
legislation.
It is to be strongly deplored that homosexual persons are the object of malicious
expressions and violent actions.
11. In reality, even in persons with homosexual tendencies, the fundamental freedom
which characterizes the human person and confers on him or her particular dignity must be
recognized. As in every conversion from evil, thanks to this freedom, human effort, enlightened
and sustained by the grace of God, will be able to allow them to avoid homosexual activity.
What, then, must a homosexual person who seeks to follow the Lord do?
12. Essentially, these people are called to carry out God's will in their lives, uniting every
suffering and difficulty they may experience because of their condition, to the sacrifice of the
Lord's Cross. For the believer, the cross is a fruitful sacrifice, for from that death comes life and
redemption. Even if any invitation to carry the cross or to understand in this way the suffering of
the Christian predictably will be mocked by some, it should be remembered that this is the way
of salvation for all who are followers of Christ.
The Apostle Paul to the Galatians says that the Spirit produces in the life of the faithful:
“love, joy, peace, patience, benevolence, goodness, fidelity, meekness and self-control" and
further: “You cannot belong to Christ without crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires”
(Gal 5:22, 24).
Homosexual persons are called like other Christians to live chastity. If they dedicate
themselves assiduously to understand the nature of God's personal call to them, they will be
able to celebrate the sacrament of Penance more faithfully, and to receive the Lord's grace, so

- 46 -
generously offered in it, in order to be able to convert more fully to following him. The Lord can
lead them, little by little, to live a chaste life.
17. In particular, the bishops will take care to support with the means at their disposal
the development of specialized forms of pastoral care for homosexual persons. This could
include the collaboration of the psychological, sociological and medical sciences, always
remaining fully faithful to the doctrine of the Church.
For his part, Pope Francis, in the Apostolic Exhortation "Amoris Laetitia" in reference to
parents with homosexual children.
“With the Synod Fathers I took into consideration the situation of families who live the
experience of having within them people with homosexual tendencies, an experience that is not
easy either for parents or for children. With regard to families, it is a question of ensuring
respectful accompaniment, so that those who manifest the homosexual tendency can have the
necessary help to fully understand and realize the will of God in their lives.”
The first thing to do for parents who realize this reality in their children is not to
dramatize, not to be frightened, not to go into crisis. Rather, parents need to help their children,
to dialogue with them. Parents need to help their children to fully realize the will of God in their
lives.
“It is unacceptable ‘that the local Churches should be subjected to pressure in this matter
and that international organizations should make financial aid to poor countries conditional on
the introduction of laws instituting 'marriage' between persons of the same sex.” (Amoris
Laetitia, nn. 250-251).
What can we say about the pressure from gay lobbies who want the Church to recognize
Catholic homosexuals to live as gay? First of all, we are called to speak about the faithfulness to
the Neocatechumenal Way.

OME WAYS OF SALVATION

We point out some ways to help our young people to conquer these TRAPS. above all
fidelity to and perseverance in the Way with their own community.

THE NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY

We give thanks to the Lord and the Virgin Mary who, through Kiko and Carmen, have
given us the Neocatechumenal Way, as an itinerary to rediscover the strength and power of the
seed of baptism, through a gradual itinerary in stages, within a community of those who have
listened to the initial Kerygma, a community founded on the Tripod: Word, Eucharist
Community.
In the time we are living more important than ever before is our adherence to the action
of God, participating as much as possible physically present in the weekly celebrations of the
liturgies of the Word of God and of the Eucharist and at the monthly convivence of one’s own
community; also participating in the progressive steps of Initiation, in a true spirit of the
obedience of faith to the Catechists and the Presbyters of the team, in order to bring to maturity

- 47 -
in us the full stature of Christ; and in the time of Ongoing Formation that follows, participating in
the Mystery of Redemption of Jesus Christ for all the world.
All of this, respecting what we have received from the initiators of the way, Kiko and
Carmen, passing it on in its authenticity, not as laws but as sharing the same spirit that inspired
them.

THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Within the Way many a time I have underlined the importance of frequenting the
Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some years ago I remember that in a convivence, after I had heard
the confession of some brothers and sisters, when I asked “how long since your last confession”
and their answer was “4 or 5 months”, I suggested at the end of that convivence the importance
of recourse to this sacrament, not just waiting for the penitential celebrations in the community
at the strong liturgical times, but in times of strong interior struggles against the devil
(judgments, divisions) or when one falls seriously, going as soon as possible to confession so that
the devil does not find a space because he uses these empty spaces to act, and to act with ever
greater strength in our hearts. We are all called to be faithful to periodical confession. The devil
is more cunning than us. I have already told you that in Northern Europe confession has
disappeared and now we experience the consequences.
At the end of the same convivence I praised the importance of turning to this sacrament,
not only waiting for the penitential celebrations of the stronger liturgical seasons in the
community; in the case of strong interior battles against the devil (judgements and divisions), or
of grave falls, we should run as soon as possible to confession in order not to leave room for the
devil, who takes advantage of empty times to act, and to act with still greater strength within our
hearts and in our exterior behavior.
I wanted to cite two testimonies concerning the power of this sacrament: On the
occasion of the centennial of Chesterton’s conversion to Catholicism, an article was published on
the importance of Confession and forgiveness in the Catholic Church.
Years after his conversion, discussing it in his autobiography, this is how he explained the
reasons for his decision: “When people ask me or anyone else: ‘Why did you enter the Church of
Rome?’, the first essential answer, even if it is somewhat incomplete, is ‘To free me from my
sins.’ Because there is no other religious system that truly claims to free people from their sins.
This finds its confirmation in the logic, frightening for many, with which the Church draws the
conclusion that a confessed sin, if adequately repented, becomes abolished, that the sinner truly
begins anew, as if he had never sinned…
This is how the Sacrament of Penance gives new life, and reconciles man with everything
that lives: but it doesn’t do it like the optimists and the pagan preachers of happiness. This gift
comes at a price and is contingent on confession. I have said that the crude and primitive religion
of gratitude did not save me from the ingratitude of sin, which to me is horrible in the highest
degree, perhaps because it is ingratitude. I found only one religion that dared to descend with
me into the abyss of myself.’
This deserves an applause. Now, a text from a bishop:

- 48 -
 Recently, the bishop of Trondheim (Norway), Monsignor Erik Varden, in front of the
wounds of the Church, shows the way out: “(Today) we are faced with a heritage of sin. Sin, we
know, can be forgiven and God is quick to forgive. But the fact that a sin has been forgiven still
does not remove the damage done.”
I don’t know if you remember when we spoke in the Jubilee of 2000, we did a catechesis
on indulgences and on sin; that even though sins are absolved, they still cause wounds that have
to be healed, which are called punishments. One can be absolved, and the Lord regenerates the
person, but the wound still ahs to be healed. It does not remove the harm caused to the sinner
or to the others that he has hurt. It would be necessary to make reparations, purification.
Theology speaks seriously about “the temporal punishment of sins that have been
forgiven.” Personally, I have found it useful to think in terms of the “wage of sin.” We know from
experience that when a sin is committed it leaves a wound in our soul, a wound on which we
have to continue to apply the balsam of the mercy of God. The more grave the sin, the more
infectious the wound is and the slower the healing. To be a Catholic today is, I would say, to live
inside an enormous, infected, cankerous wound that needs healing.
Before the sin is “removed,” it must be acknowledged and enlightened.
Now a word for the presbyters, spiritual directors and confessors that is very important.

PRESBYTERS-SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS-CONFESSORS

I just want to underline the fundamental importance of presbyters, spiritual directors and
confessors in the Way, particularly in caring for the youth, in communion with the catechists.
One of the problems that Saint Teresa of Jesus noticed was finding a trustworthy
confessor for her nuns who would have the same spirit of reform and could hear their
confessions.
It is important that the presbyter, the pastor or vicar, who presides the celebrations of
the community, in his preaching, shares the same spirit of the Way. And this can only be
guaranteed if he himself participates as much as possible in his community of origin.
In this way the pastors or the vicars, sustain, together with the Catechists, the brothers at
various steps in the neocatechumenal itinerary; and then, over time, the ongoing formation: the
zeal of the minister becomes contagious, also creating the possibility that new vocations arise.
Particular attention should be paid that the spiritual director or confessor be in
communion with the spirit of the Way. Sometimes it can happen that a confessor, faced with
grave sins, limit themselves to some advice, give a light penance and absolution, and encourage
the brother to do the Way well.

PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS AND RELATIVES

The transmission of the faith to our children depends fundamentally on the parents and
their relatives. We have already spoken about the importance of the parents in the education
and transmission of faith to their children. We also recall the catechesis of Kiko and Carmen in
the step of the Traditio about the “Three Altars.”

- 49 -
 In Christian marriage as in the Christian family, there are three altars. The first altar is the
altar of the Eucharist, where Christ offers himself so that we can pass from death to life. The
altar is the place upon which a sacrifice is made. It is the place of blessing, the place in which,
united to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, we give thanks to God for the salvation that he
offers us.
The second altar is the dining table of the Christian family. At the table, we Christians—it
is mandatory and cannot be neglected—bless the Lord; we give him thanks for the bread, for the
wine, for the food that he has given us. It is God who makes the tomatoes grows; it is God who
created fish; it is God who made the entire beautiful natural world for us.
The third altar is the marriage bed, the nuptial bed: “You also, each one of you, must love
his wife as he loves himself ; and let every wife respect her husband” (Eph 5:22-23).
One thing that we have seen is that many couples don’t live their marriage well because
they do not do the sexual act in conformity with the will of God.
It is evident that the first transmission of faith to the children happens through the
witness of love between the father and the mother.
One thing that we have seen is that many couples do not live their marriage well because
they do not live the sexual act in conformity with the will of God. This is what I wanted to say
when I spoke about Tobias. This is the source of a lot of suffering and dissatisfaction of all kinds:
sexual, affections that turn towards the children who immediately realize if their parents are in
communion or divided. The specialists say that the child can already perceive, even in the womb
of the mother, if he is loved and accepted or not.
Special attention must be given to sons and daughters at the age of puberty and
adolescence, during which their sexuality develops: they go from being children to being adults.
In our society, in which gender ideology has penetrated the first years of nursery school
and into elementary a well as high school, it is necessary that the parents be vigilant over what
their children are learning at day care or in school about sexuality, nudity, sex change, or other
things.
In some Nursery Schools they are already teaching gender ideology, introducing nudity,
having them touch each other, and giving the children tests to determine if a boy is a girl or a girl
is a boy. This is already happening.
This is why the Lord has inspired Kiko and Carmen to introduce the domestic liturgy,
solemnly celebrating Morning Prayer on Sunday with the participation of the whole family. With
the singing of the psalms and the proclamation of the Word, around a well prepared table, with
a candle, the Cross, the Bible and a dialogue between the father and mother and their children,
inviting them to give an echo in light of the Word of God on the situations that they are living at
school or with their friends, creating and intimate family environment.
Besides the domestic liturgy on Sunday morning, in order to help the youth in the combat
of faith, contrary to the mentality of the world, the Lord has inspired Kiko and Carmen regarding
the “Scrutatio of the Word of God” on Sunday afternoons in a parish according to the directions
of the Initiators, and also the Post-Confirmation that is been spreading in many parishes, with
clear fruits of helping not only our children but also many of their friends from school who get to
know a Christian family for the first time.

- 50 -
 The children can find an enormous help, besides just attending, when they experience
falls or serious temptations, in confession where the Lord makes himself available to forgive
seventy times seven times a day. If there is a little humility, they confess and are raised up.
Another opportunity is offering the Rosary Groups to sustain the evangelization of the Missio ad
Gentes and the seminaries, praying the rosary each day in front of the Blessed Sacrament in a
Church. Experience has shown that the Virgin Mary grants many gifts for a change of life,
sustaining and strengthening the participation in one’s own community.
Particular attention and vigilance is necessary over the use of smartphones, tablets and
laptops. We know that normally, at the First Communion or Confirmation, parents in the world
give a smartphone as a gift, thinking that it’s the best gift. In reality, it is a danger to their
spiritual lives to offer them the possibility to see, at such an early age, so much concerning
relationships and sexuality.
They are not yet adults. The smartphone puts them in an occasion to sin, with
pornography and other things like lesbian and homosexual advertisements. This exposure
wounds their emotional maturity and sexuality.
This is why we advise parents, who don’t have as much experience with these modern
tools of the Media, to ask for help from a brother of the community with some expertise, so that
he can put on the phone some filter to prevents access to applications that can cause damage,
which we have already spoken about concerning Facebook, Chat, Instagram and other programs
that can harm their growth.
Look for help. Be intelligent! In some cases—distinguishing between simple falls and
more serious problems—the catechists can go and speak to the organizations that we will speak
about shortly. I forgot to speak about the importance of pilgrimages as a preventative measure.
What is a preventative measure? We have seen that some itinerant brothers who specialize in
these things have conferences in seminaries and in the parishes to make us aware why ignorance
is a problem for us and our children. Many fall into these traps because they lack awareness. We
have seen that in the pilgrimages, summer camps, conferences at the seminaries and parishes,
the young people are thirsty not for pornographic videos, but for videos that explain what
growth is, what the dangers are and, seeing these, they are informed and they see the dangers
in which they could fall.
This is why we have decided with Kiko, Ascension and other brothers to give some
instructions in the hope that they can be useful.

- 51 -