SYNOD ON SYNODALITY: Pope Opens Second Session of Synod, Calls for Friendly Church that Cares and Protects
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Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
At the opening of the Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops at St. Peter’s Square, Vatican on the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, Pope Francis reminded the delegates that a synodal Church needs to be friendly and open to embrace all.
“The Church, by its very vocation, is a welcoming place of gathering, where “collegial charity demands perfect harmony, which leads to moral strength, spiritual beauty, and ideal expression,” the Holy Father said in his homily Wednesday, October 2, stressing that, “Embracing, protecting and caring are part of the very nature of the Church.”
Expounding on the significance of harmony in the Church the Pope said, that harmony is not about majorities and minorities but “What is important and fundamental, is the harmony that only the Holy Spirit can achieve since the Holy Spirit is the master of harmony and is capable of creating one voice among so many different voices.”
Referencing the day of Pentecost in the scriptures, the pontiff asked congregants to consider how the Spirit created harmony among different people on that day and narrated, “The Church needs “peaceful and open places” to be created first of all in our hearts, where each person feels welcomed, like an infant in a mother’s arms and as a child lifted up to a father’s cheek (cf. Hos 11:4; Ps 103:13).”
As the Pope re-opened the Plenary Session of the Synod of Bishops. He pointed out three images as starting points for consideration: voice, refuge, and a child.
Reflecting on the first image of the voice the Holy Father narrated that as the people of God walk down the path of this Synod, “the Lord places in our hands the history, dreams and hopes of a great people. These are our sisters and brothers scattered throughout the world, inspired by the same faith and moved by the same desire for holiness.”
With them and for them he said, “Let us strive to understand the path we must follow in order to reach the destination the Lord desires for us which calls for listening to the “voice of the angel.”
For the second image of refuge, the Pope says can be symbolized by wings that protect us. According to him, “Wings are powerful instruments, able to lift a body off the ground through vigorous movement. Although they represent great strength, wings can also be lowered in order to gather, becoming a shield and a welcoming nest for young birds who need warmth and protection.”
“We must have open hearts, hearts in dialogue. A heart that is closed in personal convictions is not proper to the Spirit of the Lord. It is not of the Lord,” The Holy Father said in his homily explaining that,” It is a gift to open ourselves, and this gift must be combined, when necessary, with the ability to relax our muscles and bend down to offer each other a welcoming embrace and a place of refuge.”
Using an analogy of friendship, he highlighted that, “The more we realize that we are surrounded by friends who love, respect, and appreciate us, friends who want to listen to what we have to say, the more we will feel free to express ourselves spontaneously and openly.”
In the third image of a child, the Pope noted that by welcoming a child we welcome Jesus.
“This paradox is essential for us. Given the importance of a Synod, in a certain sense, we must try to be “great” in spirit, in heart, in outlook, because the issues that we must deal with are “great” and delicate, and the situations are broad and universal,” he narrated during the Wednesday Opening Mass homily.
He continued, “It is precisely for this reason that we must not lose sight of the child, whom Jesus continues to place at the centre of our meetings and work tables to remind us that the only way to be worthy of the task entrusted to us is to lower ourselves, to make ourselves small and to receive one another humbly. The greatest in the Church is the one who bends down the lowest.”
As the second session of the synod officially begins the Pope concludes saying, “We begin anew our synodal path with an eye toward the world, since the Christian community is always at the service of humanity to announce the joy of the Gospel. In such a dramatic time in our history, when the winds of war and the flames of violence continue to devastate entire peoples and nations, there is a need for this message.”
