Pope Francis Calls for a Merciful and Hospitable Church; at the Opening Mass for Synod
Pope Francis Calls for a Merciful and Hospitable Church; at the Opening Mass for Synod
By Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
At the opening of the 16th General Synod Assembly, Pope Francis underscored that the primary task of the Synod Assembly is to refocus their gaze on God and to be a Church that looks mercifully upon humanity.
“The primary task of the Synod: to refocus our gaze on God, to be a Church that looks mercifully upon humanity”. He continued, “A united and fraternal Church - or at least one that seeks to be united and fraternal - that listens and dialogues; a Church that blesses and encourages, that helps those seeking the Lord, that benevolently shakes the indifferent, that initiates paths to introduce people to the beauty of faith. A Church centered on God and, therefore, not divided within and never harsh outside”.
In his homily, he reminded the participants that “they are not there to hold a parliamentary meeting but to walk together with the gaze of Jesus, who blesses the Father and welcomes those who are weary and oppressed”.
The Holy Father noted that despite Jesus experiencing rejection and seeing so much hardness of heart around him, he did not become imprisoned by disappointment, he did not become bitter or silence His praise, therefore with this gaze “Lord also invites us to be a Church that, with a joyful spirit, contemplates God's action and discerns the present. And amid the sometimes turbulent waves of our time, we do not lose heart, do not seek ideological loopholes, do not barricade ourselves behind acquired convictions, do not yield to convenient solutions, and do not let the world dictate the agenda. This is the spiritual wisdom of the Church, summarized with serenity by Saint John XXIII: "It is necessary, before all else, that the Church should never depart from the sacred patrimony of truth received from the Fathers; but at the same time, she must ever look to the present, to the new conditions and new forms of life introduced into the modern world, which have opened new avenues to the Catholic apostolate”.
Reflecting on the welcoming gaze of Jesus, Pope Francis said that Jesus is inviting us to be a “Church that is hospitable, not with closed doors”, saying, “In a complex time like ours, new cultural and pastoral challenges emerge, requiring a warm and kind inner attitude to confront them without fear. In the synodal dialogue, in this beautiful "journey in the Holy Spirit" that we undertake together as the People of God, we can grow in unity and friendship with the Lord to face today's challenges with His gaze; to become, a Church that "becomes dialogue". A Church that has a "gentle yoke" (cf. Mt 11:30), which does not impose burdens and repeats to all: "Come, weary and burdened, come, you who have lost your way or feel far away, come, you who have closed the doors to hope: the Church is here for you!" The Church with doors opens to all, all, all”.
He called upon all the participants to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis, “Let us walk together: humble, fervent, and joyful. Let us walk in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Saint of poverty and peace, the "madman of God" who bore the stigmata of Jesus in his body and, to be clothed with Him, stripped himself of everything”.
Pope Francis further said that just like St. Bonaventure tells us that the Crucified once said “Go and repair my Church, so the Synod also serves as a reminder that “our Mother Church always needs purification, needs to be "repaired", because we are all a People of forgiven sinners - both things: forgiven sinners - always in need of returning to the source that is Jesus and placing ourselves on the paths of the Spirit to reach everyone with His Gospel”.
Admiring the life of St. Francis of Assis, the Holy Father said, “In a time of great struggles and divisions, between temporal power and religious power, between the institutional Church and heretical currents, between Christians and other believers, did not criticize and did not attack anyone, embracing only the weapons of the Gospel, namely humility and unity, prayer, and charity. Let us do the same! Humility and unity, prayer and charity”.
The Pope reminds that the Synod is a place of grace and communion, guided by the Holy Spirit, and encourages everyone to trust in God and be open to His action within the Church.
