The dramatic days and hours of war and violence in the Middle East, together with the other existing wars, such as in Russia and Ukraine, have prompted Pope Francis to turn to the intercession of Mary Most Holy to ask for the gift of peace.
Next Sunday he will go to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where he will recite the Holy Rosary, "and I will address to Our Lady a request," which he did not specify. "And if possible, I also ask you, members of the Synod, to join me on this occasion."
"And on the following day (October 7, feast of Our Lady of the Rosary), "I ask everyone to live a Day of Prayer and Fasting for peace in the world. Let us walk together, let us listen to the Lord, and let us allow ourselves to be led by the breeze of the Spirit," he said at the conclusion of a Mass in St. Peter's Square. Holy Mass opening of the Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
Synod: "Discerning together the voice of God".
At the beginning of his homily at Mass on October 2, the Pope referred to today's memorial and outlined some guidelines for the members of the Synod.
"We celebrate this Eucharist in the liturgical memory of the Holy Guardian Angels, at the reopening of the plenary session of the Synod of Bishops. Listening to what the Word of God suggests to us, we could take three images as a starting point for our reflection: the voice, the shelter and the child," the Pope said.
"First, the voice. On the way to the Promised Land, God advises the people to listen to the "voice of the angel" that He has sent (cf. Ex 23:20-22)."
"It is an image that touches us closely, because the Synod is also a journey in which the Lord places in our hands the history, dreams and hopes of a great People of sisters and brothers scattered throughout the world, animated by our same faith, driven by the same desire for holiness so that, with them and through them, we may try to understand what path to follow to get where He wants to lead us."
"It is not a parliamentary assembly."
"It is a matter, with the help of the Holy Spirit," the Successor of Peter stressed, of "listening to and understanding the voices, that is, the ideas, the expectations, the proposals, in order to discern together the voice of God speaking to the Church."
"As we have repeatedly reminded, Ours is not a parliamentary assembly, but a place of listening in communion, where, as St. Gregory the Great says, what someone has in himself partially, another possesses completely, and even if some have particular gifts, everything belongs to the brethren in the "charity of the Spirit" (cf. Homilies on the Gospels, XXXIV)".
No agendas to impose
The Pope disqualified "arrogance", and warned "not to turn our contributions into points to defend or agendas to impose, but let us offer them as gifts to be shared, ready even to sacrifice what is particular, if this can serve to bring forth, together, something new according to God's plan".
"Otherwise, we will end up locked in a dialogue among the deaf, where each one tries to "take water to his own mill" without listening to others and, above all, without listening to the voice of the Lord". "The solutions to the problems we face are not ours, but His. Let us listen, then, to the voice of God and of his angel", he stressed.
The Holy Spirit, master of harmony
As for the second image, the shelter, Francis pointed out that "wings are powerful instruments, capable of lifting a body off the ground with their vigorous movements. But, even though they are so strong, they can also fold and narrow, becoming a shield and a welcoming nest for the young, in need of warmth and protection.
This image is a symbol of what God does for us, but also a model to follow, especially in this time of assembly".
He also recalled that "the Holy Spirit is the master of harmony, who, with so many differences, is able to create a single voice".
Making us small
With regard to the third image, that of the child, the Pope recalled that "it is Jesus himself, in the Gospel, who "places him in the midst" of the disciples, showing him to them, inviting them to convert and become little like him. This paradox is fundamental for us.
The Synod, he said, "given its importance, in a certain sense asks us to be 'big' - in mind, heart and outlook - because the issues to be dealt with are 'big' and delicate, and the scenarios in which they are situated are broad and universal",
And quoting Benedict XVI, he said: "Let us remember that it is by making us small that God 'shows us what true greatness is, indeed, what it means to be God'" (Benedict XVI, Homily on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, January 11, 2009).
"It is not by chance that Jesus says that the children's angels "in heaven are constantly in the presence [of] the heavenly Father" (Mt 18:10); that is, that the angels are like a "telescope" of the Father's love.
In conclusion, he prayed that "we ask the Lord, in this Eucharist, to live the coming days under the sign of listening, of reciprocal custody and humility, to listen to the voice of the Spirit, to feel welcomed and welcomed with love, and to never lose sight of the trusting, innocent and simple eyes of the little ones, of whom we want to be a voice, and through whom the Lord continues to appeal to our freedom and our need for conversion".
Penitential vigil on the eve
Yesterday evening, on the eve of the Mass to begin the work of the Synodal Assembly, the Pontiff expressed his shame for the sins of the Church and asked for forgiveness from God and the victims....
The Pope stated that sin "is always a wound in relationships: the relationship with God and the relationship with the brothers", and added that "no one is saved alone, but it is equally true that the sin of one releases effects on many: just as everything is connected in good, so it is also connected in evil".
In the Penitential celebration The testimonies of a survivor of sexual abuse, of a volunteer engaged in the reception of migrants and of a nun from Syria were heard, narrating the drama of war.
Requests for pardon read by seven cardinals
At the same time, several cardinals read apologiesThe Pope himself wrote. It was necessary to call by name and surname our main sins, "and we hide them or say them with too polite words," Francis pointed out.
In fact, seven well-known cardinals asked forgiveness for the sins against peace (Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay); creation, indifference to the needy and migrants, indigenous peoples (Cardinal Michael Czerny); the sin of abuse (Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley); the sin against women, the family, the youth (Cardinal Kevin Farrell); the sin of doctrine used as a stone to be thrown (Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez); the sin against the poor, poverty (Cardinal Cristobal Lopez Romero, Archbishop of Rabat). Kevin Farrell); the sin of doctrine used as a stone to be thrown (Card. Victor Manuel Fernández); the sin against the poor, poverty (Card. Cristóbal López Romero, Archbishop of Rabat): the sin against synodality, understood as the lack of listening, communion and participation of all (Card. Christoph Schönborn).
"Today we are all like the publican."
Pope Francis acknowledged that the healing of the wound begins with the confession of the sin we have committed and reflected on the Gospel of St. Luke that narrates the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
The Pharisee "expects a reward for his merits, and thus deprives himself of the surprise of the gratuity of salvation, fabricating a god who could do nothing but sign a certificate of presumed perfection. A man closed to surprise, closed to all surprises. He is closed in on himself, closed to the great surprise of mercy. His ego makes no room for anything or anyone, not even God."
But "today we are all like the tax collector, with our eyes lowered and ashamed of our sins," the Successor of Peter said. "Like him, we stand back, clearing the space occupied by vanity, hypocrisy and pride - and also, let us say it, to us, bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, clearing the space occupied by presumption, hypocrisy and pride." Therefore, he added, "we could not invoke the name of God without asking forgiveness from our brothers and sisters, from the earth and from all creatures.
Restoring "broken trust" in the Church
"How could we pretend to walk together without receiving and giving the forgiveness that restores communion in Christ," the Pope concluded. Confession is "the opportunity to restore trust in the Church and in her, trust broken by our mistakes and sins, and to begin to heal the wounds that do not stop bleeding, breaking the unjust chains," he said, citing the book of Isaiah. In this sense, the Pope said: "We would not want this weight to slow down the path of the Kingdom of God in history", and admitted that "we have made our share, even of mistakes".
Pope's Prayer
The Pope finally encouraged the intercession of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, patroness of the missions, and said this prayer:
"O Father, we are gathered here conscious that we need your loving gaze. Our hands are empty, we can only receive as much as you can give us. We ask your forgiveness for all our sins, help us to restore your face which we have disfigured by our unfaithfulness. We ask forgiveness, feeling ashamed, of those who have been wounded by our sins. Give us the courage of sincere repentance for conversion. We ask this by invoking the Holy Spirit to fill with his grace the hearts you have created, in Christ Jesus our Lord. We all ask for forgiveness, we are all sinners, but we all have hope in your love, Lord. Amen.
At the end of the celebration, the Holy Father invited everyone to greet each other with the sign of peace, which symbolizes reconciliation and the desire to walk together in unity.
