Vatican City, 5 October 2014 (VIS) –
At 6 p.m. yesterday, Saturday, in St. Peter's Square, a prayer vigil
was held for the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops, organised by the Presidency of the Italian Episcopal
Conference. The Synod Fathers participated in the event, which
alternated moments of prayer with reflection and testimonies of
family life. At 7 p.m., the Holy Father joined the families and the
faithful to say, “This is the time at which we willingly return
home to find ourselves at the same table, surrounded by affection,
the good we have done and received, the encounters that have warmed
the heart or helped it grow, the good wine that offers us a glimpse
in our days of the feast without end. It is also the most difficult
time for those who find themselves face to face with their own
solitude, in the bitter twilight of shattered dreams and unfulfilled
plans: how many people pass their days in the blind alley of
resignation, neglect, even rancour; in how many homes is there a lack
of the good wine of joy and thus of the flavour, the very knowledge,
of life. This evening let us become the voice of prayer for all; a
prayer for all”.
Francis went on to speak about “the
communion of life assumed by married couples, their openness to the
gift of life, mutual care, the encounter and the memory of
generations, educational accompaniment, the transmission of Christian
faith to children … in all this, the family continues to be an
unequalled school in humanity, an indispensable contribution to a
just and caring society. And the deeper its roots are, the further it
is possible to go in life without becoming lost or feeling like a
stranger in any land. This horizon helps us to grasp the importance
of the Synod Assembly that opens tomorrow”.
“To seek what the Lord asks of His
Church now, we must listen to the heartbeat of our times and perceive
the spirit of humanity today, remaining impressed by their joys and
hopes, their sadness and anguish. At that point we will know how to
propose credibly the good news on the family”. Before concluding
the Pope asked the Holy Spirit to offer the Synod Fathers the gift of
listening to God and His people, invoking a sincere, open and
fraternal encounter enabling them to face with pastoral
responsibility the questions that come with changing times, yet
always looking to Jesus Christ. He added, “With the joy of the
Gospel we will recover the traces of a reconciled and merciful
Church, poor and a friend to the poor; a Church able, 'in patience
and in love, to overcome its sorrows and its challenges, both within
itself and from without'”.
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