The first session of the XVI Assembly of the Pontifical Synod concludes in the Vatican
On Sunday, October 29, His Holiness Pope Francis presided over a closing Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City to mark the end of the first session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The second session will be held in October 2024. Along with Catholic bishops from across the world, delegates of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church concelebrated with the Pope: His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the UGCC, Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh, Apostolic Exarch in Germany and Scandinavia, and Bishop Teodor Martyniuk, Auxiliary Bishop of the Ternopil-Zboriv Archeparchy.
In his homily during the Holy Mass, the Holy Father emphasized that our lives, the path of the Church, and the meaning of history depend on God’s love.
Pope Francis called on us to be a Church that adores and a Church that serves, that washes the feet of wounded humanity, accompanies the path of the feeble, the weak and cast aside, and warmly reaches out to the poor. In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on the Gospel passage about the Greatest Commandment (cf. Matthew 22:34–40), focusing on two verbs that convey the impulse of love: to give and to serve.
God’s love delivers from idolatory
Addressing the participants of the Synod, the Pope pointed out that everything is based not on human calculations or world trends but on the commandment of love for God and neighbor. To convey this fervor of love, he emphasized, specifically, adoration, which means putting God first and rediscovering the miracle of being loved by Him.
Highlighting the aspect of freedom, he noted that in the Holy Scriptures, the love of God is often associated with the struggle against all forms of idolatry that enslaves. “The Holy Scriptures strongly condemn idolatry because idols are man-made and manipulated by man, while God is always alive, and transcendent, not created according to my imagination, not dependent on what I expect from him, and able to upset my expectations, precisely because he is alive,” Pope Francis said.
Adoration that puts God first
“We must always fight against idolatry: secular idolatry, which often stems from our vainglory, such as the lust for success, self-assertion at all costs, greed for money — the devil enters through the wallet, let us not forget! But also against the idolatry that disguises itself as spirituality: my spirituality, my religious ideas, my pastoral skills… Let us be vigilant not to put ourselves in the center instead of Him,” the Holy Father continued. He urged pastors to return to adoration, which is an expression of daily intimacy with Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
A church that serves a wounded humanity
According to the Holy Father, to love means to serve. “In the great commandment, Christ binds God and neighbor,” he said, “so that they are never separated. There is no religious experience that is deaf to the cry of the world, if it is a true religious experience. There is no love for God without participation in caring for our neighbor, otherwise we risk becoming pharisaic.” The Pope stated that adoring God and loving one’s brothers and sisters is a great and perennial reform of the Church with an eye to serving wounded humanity. “Brothers and sisters, I think of those who have fallen victim to the atrocities of war; of the suffering of migrants, of the hidden pain of those who find themselves alone and in poverty; of those who are crushed by the burden of life; of those who have no more tears, of those who have no voice. And I think about how often beautiful words and compelling promises encourage forms of exploitation or do nothing to prevent them. The exploitation of the most vulnerable is a grave sin that corrodes fraternity and devastates society,” the Holy Father said.
The Synod is a place of God’s presence and a sense of brotherhood
Speaking about this year’s Synod, the Pope said that in this “conversation of the Spirit” it was possible to feel the gentle presence of the Lord and to discover the beauty of brotherhood. “We listened to each other and, above all, in the rich diversity of our stories and responsiveness, we listened to the Holy Spirit. Today we do not see the full fruit of this process, but we can look with perspective at the horizon that is opening up before us: The Lord will guide us and help us to be a more synodal and missionary Church that adores God and serves the people of our time, going out to bring to all the consoling joy of the Gospel,” he said. In conclusion, the Holy Father said that we are called to dream of a Church that never demands a report card of “good behavior” but accepts and loves.
The UGCC Department for Informationbased on the materials of Vatican News
photo: Vatican Media
