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Pope Francis celebrated Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica for the solemn opening of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place in three stages over the next two years.
By Christopher Wells
Pope Francis officially opened the Synod of Bishops on Sunday with a solemn mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The faithful from all over the world – including lay people and women, priests, seminarians, men and women religious, cardinals and bishops – took part in the liturgy, which marked the beginning of a synodal process of two years.
In his homily, Pope Francis took the Gospel reading of the day, recounting the meeting of Jesus with a rich young man, as a starting point for a reflection on synodality: “To celebrate a synod,” he said, is walk the same path together. “
Following Jesus’ example, he emphasized three verbs that characterize the Synod: meet, Listen, and discern.
Meet
In the Gospels, we often see Jesus on the way, open to meeting those he meets on the way, present to them and concerned about their questions. Like Jesus, said the Pope, “we too are called to become experts in the art of encounter”.
It involves openness to God, taking time for prayer and worship, and listening to what the Holy Spirit is telling us.
It also requires openness to others, as well as courage and “a willingness to be challenged by the presence and stories of others.”
Mass participants
Listen
Pope Francis that a real encounter only involves listening to others, noting that Jesus does not listen only with the ears, but with the heart. When we follow Jesus by listening with the heart, “people feel that they are being heard, not judged; they feel free to share their own experiences and their spiritual journey.
The Pope invited us to ask ourselves if we are good at listening, if we allow others to express themselves. He said the Holy Spirit asks us to listen to “the questions, concerns, and hopes of every church,” as well as the challenges and changes presented by the world around us.
“Let’s not soundproof our hearts; do not remain barricaded in our certainties, ”he pleaded. Instead, “let’s listen to each other”.
Pope Francis during the celebration of mass
Discern
Pope Francis insisted on the fact that “meeting and listening are not ends in themselves”, but must lead to discernment. “Every time we enter into a dialogue,” he explained, “we allow ourselves to be challenged, to move forward on the path.”
Like the rich young man, Jesus helps us to discern, “to look within” and to discover what God reveals to us, “to discern in this light” what our hearts “truly cherish”.
It is “a precious lesson for us”, declared Pope Francis, adding that “the Synod is a path of spiritual discernment which takes place in adoration, prayer and dialogue with the Word of God”.
Where God leads us
In these days of the Synod, the Pope said: “Jesus calls us, as he did the rich man of the Gospel, to empty us, to free us from all that is worldly, including our introverted pastoral models. and expired; and ask ourselves what God wants to tell us right now – and the direction in which he wants to lead us.
“Let’s have a good trip together,” concluded Pope Francis. He expressed the hope that we are “pilgrims in love with the Gospel and open to the surprises of the Spirit”. And he exhorted us not to miss “the opportunities full of grace born of meeting, listening and discernment”.
A moment of mass to mark the beginning of. the synodal process
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