The Church “interrogates herself with regard to her fidelity to the deposit of faith, which does not represent for the Church a museum to view, nor even something merely to safeguard, but is a living source from which the Church shall drink, to satisfy the thirst of, and illuminate, the deposit of life.”

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis addressed the General Assembly of the Synod on the Family. For the pontiff, the latter “is not a parliament in which to reach a consensus or a common accord there is recourse to negotiation, to deal-making, or to compromise.”

Instead, it is “an Ecclesial expression, i.e., the Church that journeys together to read reality with the eyes of faith and with the heart of God”. Hence, “the only method of the Synod is to open up to the Holy Spirit with apostolic courage, with evangelical humility and confident, trusting prayer.”

In light of this, the Church “interrogates herself with regard to her fidelity to the deposit of faith, which does not represent for the Church a museum to view, nor even something merely to safeguard, but is a living source from which the Church shall drink, to satisfy the thirst of, and illuminate, the deposit of life.”

“The Synod moves necessarily within the bosom of the Church and of the holy people of God, to which we belong in the quality of shepherds – which is to say, as servants. The Synod also is a protected space in which the Church experiences the action of the Holy Spirit.”

“In the Synod, the Spirit speaks by means of every person’s tongue, who let themselves be guided by the God who always surprises, the God who reveals himself to little ones, who hides from the knowing and intelligent; [. . .] the God who created the law and the Sabbath for man and not vice versa; by the God, who leaves the 99 sheep to look for the one lost sheep; the God who is always greater than our logic and our calculations.”

The first plenary meeting of 270 bishops and 89 experts, auditors and fraternal delegates from around the world began with a meditation by Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, who expressed the hope that the synod "will produce a journey of joy and hope for every family", and that " dialogue" take place within the Church in lieu of “ideas defended to the bitter end.”

Card André Vingt-Trois of Paris, the current delegate president of the Synod, said that the synod should "look with conviction and humility to boost the communion," rather than engage in a "show of force".

“The Synod,” the pope said, “moves necessarily within the bosom of the Church and of the holy people of God, to which we belong in the quality of shepherds – which is to say, as servants. The Synod also is a protected space in which the Church experiences the action of the Holy Spirit. In the Synod, the Spirit speaks by means of every person’s tongue, who let themselves be guided by the God who always surprises, the God who reveals himself to little ones, who hides from the knowing and intelligent; the God who created the law and the Sabbath for man and not vice versa; by the God, who leaves the 99 sheep to look for the one lost sheep; the God who is always greater than our logic and our calculations.

“Let us remember, however, that the Synod will be a space for the action of the Holy Spirit only if we participants vest ourselves with apostolic courage, evangelical humility and trusting prayer: with that apostolic courage, which refuses to be intimidated in the face of the temptations of the world – temptations that tend to extinguish the light of truth in the hearts of men, replacing it with small and temporary lights; nor even before the petrification of some hearts, which, despite good intentions, drive people away from God; apostolic courage to bring life and not to make of our Christian life a museum of memories; evangelical humility that knows how to empty itself of conventions and prejudices in order to listen to brother bishops and be filled with God – humility that leads neither to finger-pointing nor to judging others, but to hands outstretched to help people up without ever feeling oneself superior to them.

“Confident prayer that trusts in God is the action of the heart when it opens to God, when our humors are silenced in order to listen to the gentle voice of God, which speaks in silence. Without listening to God, all our words are only words that are meet no need and serve no end. Without letting ourselves be guided the Spirit, all our decisions will be but decorations that, instead of exalting the Gospel, cover it and hide it.”

The session continued with the introduction of the Secretary General of the Synod Card Lorenzo Baldisseri and the report by the rapporteur-general, Card Péter Erdő.

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