Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale278

confiance à Dieu. De même, Joseph fait confiance à Dieu, quand il écoute son

messager, son Ange, lui dire: « Joseph, fils de David, ne crains pas de prendre

chez toi Marie, ton épouse: l'enfant qui est engendré en elle vient de l'Esprit

Saint ».5 Joseph est, dans l'histoire, l'homme qui a donné à Dieu la plus

grande preuve de confiance, même devant une annonce aussi stupéfiante.

Dear fathers and mothers here today, do you have trust in God who has

called you to be the fathers and mothers of his adopted children? Do you

accept that he is counting on you to pass on to your children the human and

spiritual values that you yourselves have received and which will prepare

them to live with love and respect for his holy name? At a time when so many

people have no qualms about trying to impose the tyranny of materialism,

with scant concern for the most deprived, you must be very careful. Africa in

general, and Cameroon in particular, place themselves at risk if they do not

recognize the True Author of Life! Brothers and sisters in Cameroon and

throughout Africa, you who have received from God so many human virtues,

take care of your souls! Do not let yourselves be captivated by selfish illu-

sions and false ideals! Believe - yes! - continue to believe in God - Father,

Son, and Holy Spirit - he alone truly loves you in the way you yearn to be

loved, he alone can satisfy you, can bring stability to your lives. Only Christ

is the way of Life.

God alone could grant Joseph the strength to trust the Angel. God alone

will give you, dear married couples, the strength to raise your family as he

wants. Ask it of him! God loves to be asked for what he wishes to give. Ask

him for the grace of a true and ever more faithful love patterned after his

own. As the Psalm magnificently puts it: his "love is established for ever, his

loyalty will stand as long as the heavens".6 Just as on other continents, the

family today - in your country and across Africa - is experiencing a diffi-

cult time; but fidelity to God will help see it through. Certain values of the

traditional life have been overturned. Relationships between different gene-

rations have evolved in a way that no longer favours the transmission of

accumulated knowledge and inherited wisdom. Too often we witness a rural

exodus not unlike that known in many other periods of human history. The

quality of family ties is deeply affected by this. Uprooted and fragile mem-

bers of the younger generation who often - sadly - are without gainful

3 0 O t t o b r e 2 0 0 9 - 0 9 : 3 6 p a g i n a 2 7 8 e : / 0 6 9 1 _ 9/L a v o r o/Ac t a _Ap r i l e _ 9 . 3 d GRECCO

5 Mt 1, 20. 6 Ps 88, 3.