AMECEA: Remembering the Synod on New Evangelization
The Thirteen Ordinary General
Assembly for the New Evangelization, which begun on 8th October,
ended on 28th October with Holy Mass by the Holy Father, Pope
Benedict XVI. The Holy Father offered a reflection on the Gospel reading of the
day (John 9:39-41), which spoke about the healing of Bartimaeus, the last
miracle Jesus performed before his passion.
Assembly for the New Evangelization, which begun on 8th October,
ended on 28th October with Holy Mass by the Holy Father, Pope
Benedict XVI. The Holy Father offered a reflection on the Gospel reading of the
day (John 9:39-41), which spoke about the healing of Bartimaeus, the last
miracle Jesus performed before his passion.
The theme of the homily by theHoly Father was: “The New Evangelization Applies to the whole of the Church’s
Life”. He stressed that the healing of Bartimaeus “represents man who needs
God’s light, the light of faith, if he is to know reality truly and to walk the
path of life. It is essential to acknowledge one’s blindness, one’s need for
this light, otherwise one could remain blind forever. Bartimaeus represents man
who has lost the light and knows it, but has not lost hope: he knows how to
seize the opportunity to encounter Jesus and he entrusts himself to him for
healing. In this encounter with Christ, lived with faith, the Blind Man regains
the light he had lost, and with it the fullness of his dignity: he gets back
onto his feet and resumes the journey, which from that moment he has a guide,
Jesus, and a path, the same that Jesus is travelling.”
The Pope in his reflection
presented the Gospel reading as an inspiration to the spirit of the Synod on
the New Evangelization. He says that the healing of Bartimaeus, a blind man,
invites us to proclaim Christ anew in places where the light of faith has been
weakened; to stir the flame of faith in the human heart; to engage in
proclaiming Christ in places where he is not known; to allow the fire of the
Spirit of Christ to animate life as Christians; to be nourished by the
Sacraments and to speak the language that is intelligible to all and can lead
them to true conversion of heart.
presented the Gospel reading as an inspiration to the spirit of the Synod on
the New Evangelization. He says that the healing of Bartimaeus, a blind man,
invites us to proclaim Christ anew in places where the light of faith has been
weakened; to stir the flame of faith in the human heart; to engage in
proclaiming Christ in places where he is not known; to allow the fire of the
Spirit of Christ to animate life as Christians; to be nourished by the
Sacraments and to speak the language that is intelligible to all and can lead
them to true conversion of heart.
The Synod has ended, what is
next? I think it is now time to vigorously reflect on ways of translating the
contents of the Synod proceedings into practical pastoral resolutions. In order
to assist in this, the AMECEA Pastoral Department has, on its blog on AMECEA
Web-site (: www.amacea.org, then go to pastoral department
link), posted a full text of the Message of the Synod, the Synod Propositions
and also the thirteen interventions by the Archbishops and Bishops who were
delegates at the Synod from AMECEA Countries. The Synod on New Evangelization
has raised a lot of challenging issues and ways of reawakening the flame of the
work of evangelization. The universal Church is inviting us, at all levels of
pastoral ministry, to lead one another to the similar encounter that Bartimaeus
had when he encountered Jesus.
next? I think it is now time to vigorously reflect on ways of translating the
contents of the Synod proceedings into practical pastoral resolutions. In order
to assist in this, the AMECEA Pastoral Department has, on its blog on AMECEA
Web-site (: www.amacea.org, then go to pastoral department
link), posted a full text of the Message of the Synod, the Synod Propositions
and also the thirteen interventions by the Archbishops and Bishops who were
delegates at the Synod from AMECEA Countries. The Synod on New Evangelization
has raised a lot of challenging issues and ways of reawakening the flame of the
work of evangelization. The universal Church is inviting us, at all levels of
pastoral ministry, to lead one another to the similar encounter that Bartimaeus
had when he encountered Jesus.
Source: AMECEA Pastoral
Department
Department
