Every Christian marriage, "even the most miserable and wavering", may regain its forces and originate "a new phase of life". This morning, that message of hope was addressed by Pope Benedict XVI to lots of "families marked by marriage crisis". He sent his message while meeting the participants in the world meeting of the Retrouvaille movement, founded in 1977 in Quebec (Canada) by a Canadian couple to help the ever-growing number of couples meeting with serious difficulties. "Certainly said the Pope, in these days, separations and divorces are a real emergency". However, as the very experience of the Retrouvaille movement shows us, "the conjugal crisis", even the most "serious and acute" ones, is a "reality with two sides. On the one hand, especially at the most painful and acute phase, marriage looks like a failure, like the evidence that the dream is over or has changed into a nightmare, and unfortunately, ‘there is nothing else to do’. That is the negative side. However, there is another side, often unknown to us, which nevertheless God can see. Every crisis and nature teaches us this is actually the passing to a new phase of life". However, this transition may happen if "hope is greater than despair", and "in the darkest times, couples lost hope; therefore, others are necessary to cherish it". (To be continued) ” ” ” “
