At 11:30am this morning local time (5:30am EDT), in the Consistory Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the Bishops of the Synod from the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church who began their meetings in Rome this morning on the theme: Communion in life and in the witness of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.
Wow! You emphasized something we must not lose: synod and synodality, and the Holy Spirit. I don't mean to advertise, but in the last Osservatore Romano, the one with the date on Sunday, released on Saturday, there is a beautiful article on the presence of the Holy Spirit on the synod path. Because there is a danger: believing, today, that undertaking a synodal journey or having an attitude of synodality means making an inquiry of opinions, what this, this person, this person thinks, and then making a meeting, agreeing ... No, the Synod is not a Parliament! Things must be said, we must discuss how they are normally done, but it is not a Parliament. Synod is not an agreement as in politics: I give you this, you give me that. No. Synod is not making sociological inquiries, as some believe: Let's see, we ask a group of lay people to make an inquiry, if we have to change this, this, this ... You certainly need to know what your lay people think, but it's not an inquiry, it's something else. If there is no Holy Spirit, there is no Synod. If the Holy Spirit is not present, there is no synodality. Indeed, if there is no Church, the identity of the Church. And what is the identity of the Church? Saint Paul VI said it clearly: the vocation of the Church is to evangelize, indeed: its identity is to evangelize. Enter this Synod of yours with this spirit, with the Holy Spirit. Pray to the Spirit. Quarrel among yourselves, all you want ... Think of Ephesus, how they fought! But they were good ... And in the end it was the Spirit that led them to say: Mary, Mother of God. This is the way. It is the Spirit. Because we do not want to become a Congregational Church, but a Synodal Church. And keep going on this road.
Now I invite you to pray to Our Lady, all together, in order to receive the blessing.
Hail Mary ...
Ave o Maria,…
(Blessing)
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
offered to the Bishops of the Synod
of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church
Wow! You emphasized something we must not lose: synod and synodality, and the Holy Spirit. I don't mean to advertise, but in the last Osservatore Romano, the one with the date on Sunday, released on Saturday, there is a beautiful article on the presence of the Holy Spirit on the synod path. Because there is a danger: believing, today, that undertaking a synodal journey or having an attitude of synodality means making an inquiry of opinions, what this, this person, this person thinks, and then making a meeting, agreeing ... No, the Synod is not a Parliament! Things must be said, we must discuss how they are normally done, but it is not a Parliament. Synod is not an agreement as in politics: I give you this, you give me that. No. Synod is not making sociological inquiries, as some believe: Let's see, we ask a group of lay people to make an inquiry, if we have to change this, this, this ... You certainly need to know what your lay people think, but it's not an inquiry, it's something else. If there is no Holy Spirit, there is no Synod. If the Holy Spirit is not present, there is no synodality. Indeed, if there is no Church, the identity of the Church. And what is the identity of the Church? Saint Paul VI said it clearly: the vocation of the Church is to evangelize, indeed: its identity is to evangelize. Enter this Synod of yours with this spirit, with the Holy Spirit. Pray to the Spirit. Quarrel among yourselves, all you want ... Think of Ephesus, how they fought! But they were good ... And in the end it was the Spirit that led them to say: Mary, Mother of God. This is the way. It is the Spirit. Because we do not want to become a Congregational Church, but a Synodal Church. And keep going on this road.
Now I invite you to pray to Our Lady, all together, in order to receive the blessing.
Hail Mary ...
Ave o Maria,…
(Blessing)
No comments:
Post a Comment