At 9:00am today in Rome, in the presence of the Holy Father, the third General Congregation of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family began in the Synod Hall at the Vatican with the chanting of the Liturgical Office of Terce (Mid-morning Prayer).
During this moment of prayer, His Eminence, Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes (Haiti) shared the following homily:
Most Holy Father,
Eminent and Excellent Synod Fathers,
Brother and sister participants,
On this day when we remember Our Lady of the Rosary, our work in the Synod assembly on the family continues with confidence in her maternal intercession. Thanks to her prayer, God will himself come to the help of our families, freeing them from a lack of love which holds them victim, just as in answer to the prayer of the rosary, the victory at Lépante was won. The Word of God which we have heard from the prophet Jeremiah is an invitation to seek that which is just for our societies as we seek to deal with the numerous challenges to the pastoral care of families in the context of Evangelization.
The prophet Jeremiah was sent by the Lord to remind the king and the people of Judah that the future of Judah was dependant on the practice of rights and justice. On one hand, this involves practicing justice, especially for the sake of the weak, the poor of society and those who have been too easily exploited: strangers, orphans, widows. On the other hand, the importance of respecting the life of innocents. This is a plight for the just social integration of all people, especially those who are weak and those who are poor. It is a call to work toward the construction of a more fraternal world where peace is prevalent.
This prophetic message, proclaimed many centuries before Jesus Christ, resonates even in our world today. Surely, our world has developed greatly in terms of technology, communication and means of production. It is still however marked by injustices of all kinds and victims in many populations. There are innumerable families who suffer because of poverty, exploitation, violence and war.
The synod on the family which gathers delegates from various nations is a privileged place where, with a united voice, we should say, in the name of all families on the earth, in the name of the great human family of which we are all part and of course in the name of our faith, that the glaring injustices present in the heart of nations, such as that which is taking place in Syria, Iraq and Africa as well as other parts of the world such as the situation in Haiti, do not do honour to human dignity.
A world worthy of our humanity, the image of God, is possible if, on our part as Church and through the pastoral care of families, we work in faith and in charity to make the Kingdom of God present in the world. To the extent that he reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity (EG, 180). This right should truly be understood in the name of our faith, authentic faith, as the Holy Father says:
An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values ... The earth is our common home and all of us are brothers and sisters. If indeed “the just ordering of society and of the state is a central responsibility of politics”, the Church “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. All Christians, their pastors included, are called to show concern for the building of a better world (EG, 183).
As the witness of the gospel indicates, for the good of families, we can also count on the active collaboration of faith witnessed in charity which Christ expects of his Church and of her families today, in a world where many of our pastoral challenges, including those facing the family result most often from a lack of faith and of love, from a lack of preparation to generously welcome the gift of the family as a gift from God.
We confide our efforts to the prayer of the Holy Virgin Mary, the Mother of Evangelization, who we invoke today under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary. Through her intercession, may God continue to guide us by the light of the Holy Spirit, that injustices, violence and war of all kinds may cease. May all men and women of this world become in Christ, one family with God as our Father.
During this moment of prayer, His Eminence, Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes (Haiti) shared the following homily:
Homily prepared by His Eminence, Chibly Langlois
Bishop of Les Cayes (Haiti)
for Mid-morning Prayer
Most Holy Father,
Eminent and Excellent Synod Fathers,
Brother and sister participants,
On this day when we remember Our Lady of the Rosary, our work in the Synod assembly on the family continues with confidence in her maternal intercession. Thanks to her prayer, God will himself come to the help of our families, freeing them from a lack of love which holds them victim, just as in answer to the prayer of the rosary, the victory at Lépante was won. The Word of God which we have heard from the prophet Jeremiah is an invitation to seek that which is just for our societies as we seek to deal with the numerous challenges to the pastoral care of families in the context of Evangelization.
The prophet Jeremiah was sent by the Lord to remind the king and the people of Judah that the future of Judah was dependant on the practice of rights and justice. On one hand, this involves practicing justice, especially for the sake of the weak, the poor of society and those who have been too easily exploited: strangers, orphans, widows. On the other hand, the importance of respecting the life of innocents. This is a plight for the just social integration of all people, especially those who are weak and those who are poor. It is a call to work toward the construction of a more fraternal world where peace is prevalent.
This prophetic message, proclaimed many centuries before Jesus Christ, resonates even in our world today. Surely, our world has developed greatly in terms of technology, communication and means of production. It is still however marked by injustices of all kinds and victims in many populations. There are innumerable families who suffer because of poverty, exploitation, violence and war.
The synod on the family which gathers delegates from various nations is a privileged place where, with a united voice, we should say, in the name of all families on the earth, in the name of the great human family of which we are all part and of course in the name of our faith, that the glaring injustices present in the heart of nations, such as that which is taking place in Syria, Iraq and Africa as well as other parts of the world such as the situation in Haiti, do not do honour to human dignity.
A world worthy of our humanity, the image of God, is possible if, on our part as Church and through the pastoral care of families, we work in faith and in charity to make the Kingdom of God present in the world. To the extent that he reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity (EG, 180). This right should truly be understood in the name of our faith, authentic faith, as the Holy Father says:
An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values ... The earth is our common home and all of us are brothers and sisters. If indeed “the just ordering of society and of the state is a central responsibility of politics”, the Church “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. All Christians, their pastors included, are called to show concern for the building of a better world (EG, 183).
As the witness of the gospel indicates, for the good of families, we can also count on the active collaboration of faith witnessed in charity which Christ expects of his Church and of her families today, in a world where many of our pastoral challenges, including those facing the family result most often from a lack of faith and of love, from a lack of preparation to generously welcome the gift of the family as a gift from God.
We confide our efforts to the prayer of the Holy Virgin Mary, the Mother of Evangelization, who we invoke today under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary. Through her intercession, may God continue to guide us by the light of the Holy Spirit, that injustices, violence and war of all kinds may cease. May all men and women of this world become in Christ, one family with God as our Father.
No comments:
Post a Comment