The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, presided yesterday evening in Rome at the ecumenical meeting "Together", on the eve of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place from October 4 to 29, 2023 on the theme "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission".
The Pope's reflection focused on "the importance of silence in the life of the believer, in the life of the Church and in the journey of Christian unity," hours before the Synod participants began a three-day spiritual retreat until October 3.
This is how the Pope began his homily. "Together." "Together." Like the early Christian community on the day of Pentecost. As one flock, loved and gathered by one Shepherd, Jesus. Like the great crowd of the Apocalypse we are here, brothers and sisters "from every nation, tribe, people and language" (Rev 7:9), coming from different communities and countries, daughters and sons of the same Father, animated by the Spirit received in Baptism, called to the same hope (Eph 4:4-5)".
"In a world full of noise," the Holy Father noted, "we are no longer accustomed to silence, indeed, at times we find it difficult to bear it, because it confronts us with God and with ourselves. However, it is the basis of the word and of life".
"Silence is important."
Indeed, "like the great crowd of the Apocalypse, we pray in silence, listening to a "great silence" (cf. Rev 8:1). And the silence is important, it is powerful: it can express unspeakable pain in the face of misfortune, but also, in moments of joy, a joy that transcends words".
The Successor of Peter thanked everyone for their presence, "thank you to the Taizé Community for this initiative. I greet with great affection the heads of the churches, the leaders and delegations of the different Christian traditions, and I greet all of you, especially the young people: thank you!"
"Thank you for coming to pray for us and with us in Rome, before the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, on the eve of the Spiritual Exercises that precede it. that precedes it. "Syn-odos": let us walk together, not only Catholics, but all Christians, the whole People of the baptized, the whole People of God, because "only the whole can be the unity of all" (J.A. Möhler).
God speaks in the "whisper
Regarding silence in the life of the believer, the Pope pointed out, among other things, that "it is at the beginning and at the end of Christ's earthly existence. The Word, the Word of the Father, became "silence" in the manger and on the cross, on the night of the Nativity and on the night of Easter. Tonight we Christians remained silent before the crucifix of San Damiano, like disciples listening before the cross, which is the seat of the Master. Ours was not an empty silence, but a moment filled with expectation and availability".
"The truth," the Holy Father added, "does not need violent cries to reach the hearts of men. God does not like proclamations and clamor, chatter and din: God prefers rather, as God prefers, as he did with Elijah, to speak in the "whisper of a gentle breeze" (1 Kgs 19:12), in a "sonorous thread of silence". And so we too, like Abraham, like Elijah, like Mary, need to free ourselves from so much noise in order to hear his voice. For it is only in our silence that his Word resounds.
In the life of the Church, "listening to the Spirit".
Secondly, silence is essential in the life of the Church, the Roman Pontiff continued. "The Acts of the Apostles says that, after Peter's speech at the Council of Jerusalem, "the whole assembly fell silent" (Acts 15:12), preparing to accept the testimony of Paul and Barnabas concerning the signs and wonders that God had wrought among the nations."
"And this reminds us that silence, in the ecclesial community, makes fraternal communication possible, in which the Holy Spirit harmonizes points of view, because He is harmony," the Pope continued. "Being synodal means welcoming one another in this way, knowing that we all have something to witness and to learn, placing ourselves together attentive to the 'Spirit of truth' (Jn 14:17) in order to know what He 'says to the Churches' (Rev 2:7)."
Finally, "silence allows for discernment through attentive listening to the 'ineffable groanings' (Rom 8:26) of the Spirit that resound, often hidden, in the People of God. Let us therefore ask the Spirit for the gift of listening for the participants in the Synod" (Address on the occasion of the Prayer Vigil in preparation for the Synod on the Family, October 4, 2014).
For Christian unity
Thirdly, Francis stressed that "silence is essential on the path of Christian unity. It is in fact fundamental for prayer, from which ecumenism begins and without which it is sterile".
"Jesus, in fact, prayed that his disciples "may be one" (Jn 17:21). Silence made prayer allows us to accept the gift of unity "as Christ wills", "by the means he wills" (Fr. Couturier), not as an autonomous fruit of our own efforts and according to purely human criteria".
Christian unity "grows in silence before the cross, just like the cross, just like the seeds that we will receive and that represent the different gifts given by the Holy Spirit to the various traditions: it is up to us to sow them, in the certainty that only God makes them grow (cf. 1 Cor 3:6)," the Holy Father added.
"Worship in unity and in silence."
For this reason, Francis encouraged at the end of the address, "we ask, in the prayer to learn once again to be silent: to listen to the voice of the Father, the call of Jesus and the groaning of the Spirit. We ask that the Synod be a "kairos" of fraternity, a place where the Holy Spirit purifies the Church from chatter, ideologies and polarizations".
"As we move towards the important anniversary of the great Council of Nicaea," the Pope concluded, "let us pray that we may know how to adore united and in silence, like the Magi, the mystery of God made man, certain that the closer we are to Christ, the more united we will be with one another. And as the Magi of the East were led to Bethlehem by a star, may the heavenly light guide us to our one Lord and to the unity for which he prayed. Brothers and sisters, let us set out together, eager to meet, adore and proclaim him "so that the world may believe" (Jn 17:21).
Closing prayer by the church leaders present
(Ecumenical vigil "Together")
"God our Father, we thank you for all your gifts, especially for the
Let us be in awe of your creation. Allow us to take care of it and walk together
as brothers and sisters in peace!
Jesus, the Christ, we thank you for having given your life even to the cross. For your
Resurrection, you are the source of abundant life. May we welcome you and follow you in
service to others!
Holy Spirit, Breath of Pentecost, you send us to proclaim Christ and to
to welcome into our communities those who do not yet know him. Come down, come down
We pray, on the participants in the Synod and on all those present,
filling them with your wisdom and courage to be servants of the communion and
bold witnesses of your forgiveness in today's world.
Assembly: Amen!"
Before the Pope's words, several young people from different continents related their experience of the synodal journey: Emile, from Lebanon; Agata, from Indonesia; and Tilen, from Slovenia, among others.
