2023-09-30 18:11:23
Thousands of God’s people “walk together” in the Synod process and pray together for the opening of the Synod. The Pope invites everyone to listen to the “inexpressible groanings of the Holy Spirit” and to discern God’s will for us in the life of the believer, in the life of the Church and in the path of Christian unity.
(Vatican News Network) “A great crowd from every nation, tribe, people and language” (see: Revelation 7:9) gathered in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on the evening of September 30 to celebrate the universal celebration of the world’s bishops. The 16th regular session of the Conference was opened with united prayer. In this gathering of the People of God, the Pope reminded everyone to maintain silence in three situations: the life of the believer, the life of the Church and the path of Christian unity.
At about four o’clock in the afternoon that day, young participants who had marched from the Basilica of St. John Lateran began to enter the venue. In the singing of the Taizé community, families and youth representing the people of God welcomed the Bible and the icon of the Virgin with the Child from the obelisk in the center of St. Peter’s Square to the stone steps in front of the basilica, where they were placed St. Damian’s Cross on the left and right sides.
After the Pope entered the venue, leaders and believers of all Christian churches gathered together under the blue sky to express their unity through the personal testimonies of people of different generations, heartfelt songs of praise, and the drama of gospel parables. Give thanks to God for grace, peace, and creation.
At about six o’clock in the evening, the sun sets along the clock door of the main hall, and the vigil prayer officially begins. After listening to a prayer, a Pauline epistle and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the audience was silent and reflective, and the only sound left in the square was the gurgling water of Bernini’s fountain. Then, the leaders of each Christian church led prayers with different intentions in their own languages, and the people of God also recited the Our Father in their own mother tongue.
As the prayer vigil came to an end, the Pope pointed out in his homily that everyone present had experienced the silence described in the Book of Revelation (see: Revelation 8:1), and emphasized the role of silence in “the life of believers, the life of the church and the unity of believers in Christ.” “It’s very important on the road.”
The Pope first clarified that the Son of God was in silence on the night of his birth and death and resurrection, and the silence of our Christian believers “is not empty, but is full of faith and expectation, ready at any time.” “Silence guards the mystery, just as Abraham guarded the covenant, so the Virgin Mary guarded the life of her own Son Jesus in her womb, keeping His life silent in her heart” (cf. Luke 1:31, 2:19, 2:51). Furthermore, God’s truth does not require a loud cry to enter the human heart. As God did with Elijah, He speaks in the “still whisper” (cf. 1 Kings 19:12).
Second, silence is also crucial in the life of the church. At the Council of Jerusalem, the apostles “listened silently and listened” to Barnabas and Paul describing the wonders of God (cf. Acts 15:12). “This reminds us that in ecclesial communities, silence makes possible fraternal communication, in which the Holy Spirit mediates different viewpoints,” the Pope stressed. “Silence allows one to listen and discern the “ineffable groanings” of the Holy Spirit among the people of God (cf. Rom. 8:26).”
“Let us therefore implore the Holy Spirit to grant to the Synod participants the gift of hearing: ‘Listen to God until through Him you hear the cry of your people; listen to your people until you understand in them the holy purpose to which God calls us.’ “
Third, silence is vital in the Christian path to unity because silent prayer is crucial. Without prayer, the ecumenical movement is in vain. Jesus prayed that his disciples would “be united in one body” (cf. Jn 17:21), and that “silence allows us to receive the gift of unity in the way Christ wills”.
At the end of the prayer vigil, Christian church leaders received seeds as a sign of “unity and unity”.
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