At this morning’s Mass in St. Peter’s Square, which opened the second session of the Synod, Pope Francis invited the faithful from around the world. On Sunday the 6th, the Rosary will be prayed in Santa Maria Maggiore to ask the Virgin for the gift of peace. Last night in San Pedro the penitential celebration took place: “Let us not ask ourselves: ‘where are you, Lord?’ but: ‘What responsibility do we have for not stopping evil?'”
Vatican City () – On Sunday, October 6, he will pray the rosary together with the members of the Synodal Assembly in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome “to ask the Most Holy Mary for the gift of peace.” And on Monday, October 7 – taking up the invitation made in recent days by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa – called for a day of fasting and prayer for peace in the world. These are the two gestures that, in light of the new and dramatic news arriving at this time from the Middle East, Pope Francis proposed this morning to the entire Church during the opening ceremony of the Second Session of the Synod, which brings together 368 bishops and representatives of the people of God coming from all over the world to continue the reflection that began three years ago on the theme “For a synodal Church: communion, participation, mission.”
“Let us resume this ecclesial path with our eyes focused on the world – said the pontiff when he announced the two gestures at the end of the homily of the mass, concelebrated in the atrium of the Vatican basilica – because the Christian community is always at the service of humanity , to announce to everyone the joy of the Gospel. “Today it is more necessary than ever, especially at this dramatic hour in our history, as the winds of war and the fires of violence continue to devastate entire towns and nations.”
In the homily, the pontiff – following the example of the guardian angels, whose liturgical feast is celebrated today – invited the Assembly to ask the Lord “to live the days that await us in the sign of listening, mutual custody and humility “. “Let us be careful not to turn our contributions into points to defend or agendas to impose – he explained – but let us offer them as gifts to share, even willing to sacrifice what is particular, if this can serve to make, together, something new emerge according to the plan. of God. Otherwise, we will end up locking ourselves in deaf conversations, where each person tries to “bring water to his mill” without listening to others and, above all, without hearing the voice of the Lord.”
“Let us remember – he added – that there is no joking in the desert; if one does not pay attention to the guide, presuming one’s self-sufficiency, one can die of hunger and thirst, dragging others with him. Let us listen, then, to the voice of God and his angel, if we really want to continue our path safely, beyond the limits and difficulties.”
But true listening also requires the ability to care for each other: in this regard the Pope cited the image of wings, capable of “lifting a body from the ground” with strong and ingenious intuitions, but also of “folding” to offer others a cozy refuge. “Everyone here – he commented – will feel free to express themselves all the more spontaneously and freely the more they perceive around them the presence of friends who love and respect them, appreciate them and want to hear what they have to say. And for us this is not just a technique to “facilitate” dialogue or a group communication dynamic, because hugging, protecting and caring, in fact, is part of the very nature of the Church.”
Finally, humility: “The Synod, given its importance, in a certain sense asks us to be “big” – in mind, in heart, in outlook – because the issues to be discussed are “big” and delicate, and the scenarios in that are located are broad, universal. But precisely for this reason we cannot allow ourselves to look away from the child, whom Jesus continues to place at the center of our meetings and work tables, to remind us that the only way to be “up to the task” that has been entrusted to us It is by lowering ourselves, making ourselves small and welcoming each other, with humility, as such.”
Yesterday afternoon the beginning of the Synod was preceded by a penitential vigil in the Vatican basilica during which some cardinals read the requests for forgiveness on behalf of the Church written by Pope Francis, after listening to three testimonies from as many victims of sins. serious problems that today involve the Christian community and society: the abuse of minors committed by members of the clergy, to which Laurence gave voice, a man from Cape Town who is today a lyrical singer and suffered this outrage when he was eleven years old; the suffering suffered by immigrant women, to whom Sara and Solange, a Migrants operator in Tuscany and a woman from the Ivory Coast who arrived in Italy a few months ago on a barge, gave voice; the wounds of the violence of wars, recounted by Sister Deema Fayyad, Syrian, member of the monastic community of Deir Mar Musa founded by the Jesuit priest Paolo Dall’Oglio, who was kidnapped and disappeared eleven years ago precisely because of the war.
“In the face of evil and innocent suffering – commented Francis – we ask: where are you, Lord? But we must ask ourselves the question, and ask ourselves about the responsibility we have when we are not able to stop evil with good. We cannot try to resolve conflicts by fueling increasingly brutal violence, nor redeem ourselves by causing pain, nor save ourselves with the death of others. How can we seek a happiness paid for at the price of the unhappiness of our brothers and sisters?” “This – he added – is for everyone: lay people, consecrated men and women, for everyone! On the eve of the beginning of the Synod Assembly, the Confession is an opportunity to restore trust in the Church and with respect to it, trust broken by our errors and sins, and to begin to heal the wounds that do not stop bleeding, breaking the chains of evil.”
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