Pope Francis presided over the closing mass of the first session of the Synod of Bishops in St. Peter’s Basilica, stating that “today we cannot yet see the full results of this process,” but “the Lord will lead us and help us become more evangelical.” and missionary mission of the Church”.
(Vatican News Network) At 10 a.m. on October 29, Pope Francis presided over the closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the first session of the 16th Ordinary Session of the Synod of Bishops. About 5,000 people attended the service. The conference started on October 4 and lasted for four weeks. Cardinals, bishops, priests, male and female laity, male and female religious, experts and representatives of other Christian churches discussed around the theme of walking together.
A more collegial and missionary Church
In his homily at Mass, the Pope said that during this period we are able to “discover the beauty of brotherhood” and that we “listen to one another.” What’s more, “with the richness of our experience and sensitivity, we listen to the Holy Spirit”.
“Today we cannot yet see the full results of this process, but with foresight we can look forward to the horizons that are opening before us: the Lord will lead us and help us to become a Church that is more fraternal and missionary. She worships God , serve the men and women of today, and go out to bring the consoling joy of the gospel to all.”
God is first
In addition to preaching, we also need to accept, worship and love God and people. In his reflections, the Pope quoted the thoughts of Cardinal Martini and St. John Chrysostom, pointing out that “love” is the first commandment and “the source of inspiration.” “It is not our strategy, it is not the calculation of human nature, it is not the fashion of the world”, and it is not idolatry. They seem to provide life, but they require life as a trade. The Pope stated that “loving God with your whole life and loving your neighbor as yourself” is “the root and foundation of all beginnings and restarts.”
Idol worship makes people slaves
So, how to turn love into action? The first is adoration, the first response to God’s “free and unexpected” love. Adoration means acknowledging God as our “meaning to live.” In worshiping God, we discover that we are free people. This is why in the Bible, falling in love with the Lord is linked to fighting idolatry of all kinds. “The worshiper of God rejects idols,” said the Pope, “because God makes him free and idols make him a slave. Idols deceive us and never deliver what they promise, because they are the work of human hands.” (See: Psalm 115, 4)
The Pope warned, “We must always fight against idolatry; those worldly idolatries often come from personal vanity, such as greed for achievement, self-affirmation at all costs, greed for money. Let us not forget that the devil comes from the money bag. There was also the temptation of promotion; but there was also idolatry disguised as spirituality: my religious ideas, my pastoral talents…”
“We must be alert,” the pope said, “to put not ourselves but God at the center.” This requires returning to the tabernacle to “worship” God. “The Church should be a worshiping community: worshiping the Lord in every diocese, in every parish, in every community! For only in this way can we pray to Jesus and not to ourselves.”
To be deaf to the cries of the world is not a true experience of faith
The Pope pointed out that another act of practicing love is “service”, which means loving God and loving neighbor. “If you turn a deaf ear to the cries of the world, you will not have a true experience of faith. If you do not care about your neighbor, you will not love God, and you may become a Pharisee.” “We may indeed have many good ideas for reforming the Church,” the Pope said, “but we must remember that worshiping God and loving our brothers and sisters with His love are the major and lasting reforms.”
Serve the humble
The Pope hopes that the Church will serve everyone, especially victims of war, immigrants, the poor and vulnerable. “As disciples of Jesus, we would like to bring another leaven to the world, the leaven of the Gospel: God is first, and with him are those whom he loves, the poor and the disadvantaged”.
A Church that serves all, the least of them: this is the Church we should dream of. The Pope stressed that this Church “accepts, serves, loves and forgives”. In short, this is a church with a more collaborative spirit and missionary mission. The Pope thanked all members of the Synod and encouraged them to continue “walking, listening and dialogue together”. He finally wished everyone “to grow together in worshiping God and serving our neighbors.”
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2023-10-28 03:55:00
