At 6:00pm this evening, in Saint Peter's Square, there was a prayer vigil, organized by the Italian Episcopal Conference in anticipation of the beginning of the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which will begin tomorrow, and which will focus on the theme: The pastoral challenges facing the family in the context of Evangelization.
This evening's event, at which the Synod Fathers also participated, alternated between moments of prayer and reflections or testimonials presented on the subject of family life.
At 7:00pm, the Holy Father, Pope Francis joined the families in prayer. Upon his arrival, His Holiness was greeted by the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco.
During the prayer vigil, the Holy Father also shared a speech with those who were gathered.
Dear families, good evening!
Evening is now setting on our gathering; this is the hour when we usually return home to gather at a common table, surrounded by affection, reports of the good that has been accomplished and received, encounters which have warmed our hearts and have made them grow, good wine which anticipates the time when we will celebrate without any worry about sunset.
This is also the most difficult hour for those who find themselves face to face with their own loneliness, faced with the bitterness of the twilight of broken dreams and hopes: how many people spend their days in blind alleys of resignation, in the midst of abandonment, if not resentment; in how many houses has the wine of joy run out, and now the flavour - the same has happened to the wisdom - of life ... From one and from another, we make our voices heard tonight with our prayer, a prayer that is offered for all people.
It is significant that, even in this individualistic culture which distorts and creates ephemeral ties - in everyone born of a woman, there remains alive an essential need for stability, for an open door, for someone with whom we can develop and share the story of life, a story that we can call our own. The communion of life which is assumed by spouses, their openness to the gift of life, reciprocal care, the encounter and the memory of generations, educational support, the transmission of the Christian faith to children ... with this entire family which continues to be a school of humanity without equal, contributes in an indispensable way to a just and fraternal society (cf Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, 66-68). The more a family's roots are deeply embedded, the more it will be possible for such a family to live, to go out and to go far, without getting lost or feeling as though it is a stranger in any land. This horizon helps us to appreciate the importance of the Synodal Assembly that begins tomorrow.
Already, this gathering in unum around the Bishop of Rome is an event of grace, in which episcopal collegiality is manifested in the journey of spiritual and pastoral discernment. In order to seek out what the Lord is asking of His Church, we need to listen closely for the heartbeat of this time and capture the odour of the people today, in order to impregnated with their joys and their hopes, their griefs and their anxieties (cf Gaudium et spes, 1). At that point, we will credibly propose good news about the family.
We know, in fact, that the gospel is a source of strength and tenderness which is able to triumph over whatever creates misery and violence. Yes, in the gospel, there is the salvation which fulfills the deepest of man's needs! From this salvation - a work of mercy from God and of his grace - the Church is a sign and an instrument, a living and effective sacrament (EG, 112). If not, our structure would remain only a house of cards and shepherds would be reduced to state clerics, on whose lips the people would search in vain for freshness and the odour of the gospel (EG, 39).
Thus emerges, in this framework, the content of our prayer. From the Holy Spirit, the Synod Fathers ask first of all, for the gift of listening: listening to God, in order to hear with Him the cry of the people; listening to the people to the point of breathing in the will to which God calls us. In addition to listening, we invoke the availability of a sincere, open and fraternal encounter, which will lead us to care for others with the pastoral responsibility of self-questioning which the changes of this era may bring. Let us allow ourselves to look into our hearts, without every losing a sense of peace, but with confidence that in his time, the Lord will bring us to a full understanding of unity. The history of the Church - we know it - cannot be told solely through anecdotal evidence, which our fathers knew how to overcome with obstinate patience and creativity.
The secret lies in a look: and this is the third gift we implore with our prayer. Because, if we really want to verify the steps we tread on the ground of contemporary challenges, the decisive condition is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, sustained by contemplation and adoration of his holy face. If we assume his way of thinking, of living and of relating to others, we will not grow tired of translating the work of the synod into directions and pathways for the pastoral care of persons and of families. In fact, every time we return to the front of Christian hope, we open new paths and previously un-conceived possibilities. This is what we understand from the gospel: Do whatever he tells you (Jn 2:5). These are words which contain the spiritual testimony of Mary, a friend who is always attentive that we do not want for wine in our lives (EG, 286). Let us do this ourselves!
At that point, these three things: our listening and our attention to the family, loved with the look of Christ, will become a providential occasion for renewal - following the example of Saint Francis - for the Church and for society. With the joy of the gospel, we will rediscover the joy of a reconciled and merciful Church, poor and a friend of the poor; a Church capable of overcoming with patience and love the afflictions and the difficulties which she encounters either from within or from without (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, 8).
May the winds of Pentecost blow on the work of the synod, on the Church and on all of humanity. Untie the knots that prevent people from meeting one another, heal the wounds that are bleeding, so many wounds, re-illumine hope; there are so many people who have lost hope! Grant us the creative charity that will allow us to love as Jesus loved, and our proclamation will regain the vitality and the dynamism of the first missionaries of the gospel.
This evening's event, at which the Synod Fathers also participated, alternated between moments of prayer and reflections or testimonials presented on the subject of family life.
At 7:00pm, the Holy Father, Pope Francis joined the families in prayer. Upon his arrival, His Holiness was greeted by the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco.
During the prayer vigil, the Holy Father also shared a speech with those who were gathered.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Prayer Vigil in anticipation of the
beginning of the III Extraordinary General Assembly
of the Synod of Bishops
Dear families, good evening!
Evening is now setting on our gathering; this is the hour when we usually return home to gather at a common table, surrounded by affection, reports of the good that has been accomplished and received, encounters which have warmed our hearts and have made them grow, good wine which anticipates the time when we will celebrate without any worry about sunset.
This is also the most difficult hour for those who find themselves face to face with their own loneliness, faced with the bitterness of the twilight of broken dreams and hopes: how many people spend their days in blind alleys of resignation, in the midst of abandonment, if not resentment; in how many houses has the wine of joy run out, and now the flavour - the same has happened to the wisdom - of life ... From one and from another, we make our voices heard tonight with our prayer, a prayer that is offered for all people.
It is significant that, even in this individualistic culture which distorts and creates ephemeral ties - in everyone born of a woman, there remains alive an essential need for stability, for an open door, for someone with whom we can develop and share the story of life, a story that we can call our own. The communion of life which is assumed by spouses, their openness to the gift of life, reciprocal care, the encounter and the memory of generations, educational support, the transmission of the Christian faith to children ... with this entire family which continues to be a school of humanity without equal, contributes in an indispensable way to a just and fraternal society (cf Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, 66-68). The more a family's roots are deeply embedded, the more it will be possible for such a family to live, to go out and to go far, without getting lost or feeling as though it is a stranger in any land. This horizon helps us to appreciate the importance of the Synodal Assembly that begins tomorrow.
Already, this gathering in unum around the Bishop of Rome is an event of grace, in which episcopal collegiality is manifested in the journey of spiritual and pastoral discernment. In order to seek out what the Lord is asking of His Church, we need to listen closely for the heartbeat of this time and capture the odour of the people today, in order to impregnated with their joys and their hopes, their griefs and their anxieties (cf Gaudium et spes, 1). At that point, we will credibly propose good news about the family.
We know, in fact, that the gospel is a source of strength and tenderness which is able to triumph over whatever creates misery and violence. Yes, in the gospel, there is the salvation which fulfills the deepest of man's needs! From this salvation - a work of mercy from God and of his grace - the Church is a sign and an instrument, a living and effective sacrament (EG, 112). If not, our structure would remain only a house of cards and shepherds would be reduced to state clerics, on whose lips the people would search in vain for freshness and the odour of the gospel (EG, 39).
Thus emerges, in this framework, the content of our prayer. From the Holy Spirit, the Synod Fathers ask first of all, for the gift of listening: listening to God, in order to hear with Him the cry of the people; listening to the people to the point of breathing in the will to which God calls us. In addition to listening, we invoke the availability of a sincere, open and fraternal encounter, which will lead us to care for others with the pastoral responsibility of self-questioning which the changes of this era may bring. Let us allow ourselves to look into our hearts, without every losing a sense of peace, but with confidence that in his time, the Lord will bring us to a full understanding of unity. The history of the Church - we know it - cannot be told solely through anecdotal evidence, which our fathers knew how to overcome with obstinate patience and creativity.
The secret lies in a look: and this is the third gift we implore with our prayer. Because, if we really want to verify the steps we tread on the ground of contemporary challenges, the decisive condition is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, sustained by contemplation and adoration of his holy face. If we assume his way of thinking, of living and of relating to others, we will not grow tired of translating the work of the synod into directions and pathways for the pastoral care of persons and of families. In fact, every time we return to the front of Christian hope, we open new paths and previously un-conceived possibilities. This is what we understand from the gospel: Do whatever he tells you (Jn 2:5). These are words which contain the spiritual testimony of Mary, a friend who is always attentive that we do not want for wine in our lives (EG, 286). Let us do this ourselves!
At that point, these three things: our listening and our attention to the family, loved with the look of Christ, will become a providential occasion for renewal - following the example of Saint Francis - for the Church and for society. With the joy of the gospel, we will rediscover the joy of a reconciled and merciful Church, poor and a friend of the poor; a Church capable of overcoming with patience and love the afflictions and the difficulties which she encounters either from within or from without (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, 8).
May the winds of Pentecost blow on the work of the synod, on the Church and on all of humanity. Untie the knots that prevent people from meeting one another, heal the wounds that are bleeding, so many wounds, re-illumine hope; there are so many people who have lost hope! Grant us the creative charity that will allow us to love as Jesus loved, and our proclamation will regain the vitality and the dynamism of the first missionaries of the gospel.
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