Pope Francis: "Wind of Pentecost" May Blow Over the Bishops, So They "Hear the People's Cry"

Opening of the Bishops' Synod of 2014 by
Pope Francis in St. Peter's in Rome

(Vatican) With two speeches Pope Francis was at the prayer vigil on the eve of and during the sermon at the opening of the Synod of Bishops of the 191 Synod Fathers has shown the way. This leads to two questions: What did the Pope say? And most importantly: What exactly did the Pope mean? What does he mean specifically in connection with the Synod of Bishops and their questions when he equates the "shepherd" with the "winemakers" from the parable of Jesus, God's "dream" of "confounding" his people  and  placing "intolerable burdens on the shoulders" of the people? And what if he says that the "cry of the people" sounds, and the shepherds acquire the "smell" of the people and explore his will and can finally touch the "wind of Pentecost" in  order to be "creative" (... ) to discover "new and unprecedented opportunities"?

 Pope Francis, opened this morning's  Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family with a Pontifical Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, For two weeks, 191 Synod Fathers and 60 consultants and observers will discuss on family and marriage. It is based on a working paper which was drawn up by the Permanent Secretariat of the Synod under the presidency of Cardinal Secretary Lorenzo Baldisseri, a close confidant of the Pope. There will be a press release daily to inform over the course of the Synod of Bishops.

Pontifical Mass in St. Peter's Basilica - The "Dream of God"

In his homily , the Pope spoke of the vineyard as a "dream of God". This "dream" was "his people: he hath planted it and he maintains it with patience and true love for it to be a holy people, a nation bringing forth much good fruit of righteousness." However, "both in the old prophecy as also in Jesus' parable   God's dream is confounded. "

Jesus turn with his likeness "of the ruling class": "That is the job of the leaders of the people: to cultivate the vineyard with freedom, creativity and diligence." With the "elite" says the Pope, the shepherds are compared these with the winemakers who the vineyard "usurped; in their greed and their arrogance they mean to do with him what they want, and they take the opportunity for God   to realize his dream for the people he has chosen for himself. "

The Pope goes even further in his charge to the shepherds: "For they bind heavy and insupportable burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders; but with a finger of their own they will not move them. (cf. Mt 23.4.). "

The Synod of Bishops was there to "cultivate the vineyard of the Lord better and to beware of his dream to work his plan of love for his people. In this case, the Lord requires us to take care of the family which was an essential part of his plan of love for humanity from the beginning. "

"Elite" - "Greedy Winemakers" - "Shepherds"

Then the Pope said addressed to the synod fathers: "We are all sinners, and for us there can be the temptation of greed that is always present in us humans, to take the vineyard for ourselves'. The dream of God always collides with the hypocrisy of some of his servants. We can frustrate the dream of God, 'if we do not let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit."  But what does he mean when Pope Francis says,  "guided Holy Spirit?"  "The Spirit gives us the wisdom that goes beyond pure knowledge to work generously in true freedom and humble creativity."

"Brothers, to cultivate the vineyard and it is well to beware, it is necessary that our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus are kept by the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding (Philippians 4.7). So our thinking and planning is consistent with the dream of God: to  form a holy   people that has heard him, and brings the fruits of the kingdom of God" (cf. Mt 21,43.).

Prayer Vigil at St. Peter's Square for the Synod of Bishops on the Family

The Pope actuated  no substantive comment on the hotly debated issues in the run-up to the Synod of Bishops, especially the approval remarried divorcees to Communion or the recognition of a second marriage by the Church.

Yesterday, Saturday, Pope Francis took  part  at a prayer vigil in part on St. Peter's Square for a "good send off" of the Synod of Bishops. The  Italian Episcopal Conference had been invited. More than 80,000 people had come, especially families.  Catholic doctrine shone in the testimonies. Among them was a coupled married in the Church   who had divorced civilly, but got together again after six years.

In his speech , the Pope said: "Already the convenire in unum to the Bishop of Rome is an event of grace, in the manifested episcopal collegiality on a path of spiritual and pastoral judgment. "

Perceive the "Smell" of the People of Today - to Give Ear to the Pulse of the Time

And he appealed to the Synod Fathers: "To explore what the Lord wishes for His  church today, we must give an ear to the pulse of the time and perceive the "smell" of people today, until we have penetrated   their joys, hopes, sorrows and concerns  (cf.. Gaudium et Spes, no. 1). Then we will be able to make the good news about the family with credibility."

He continued, "by the Holy Spirit, we ask for the Synod Fathers, especially the gift of hearing". The bishops gathered in Rome  should "listen to God, to hear the cry of the people with him"; "Listen to the people, until they breathe the will to which God calls us."

"Return to the Origins of Christian Experience Opens  New, Unexpected Possibilities"

At the same time for "listening", the Pope called for "willingness to honest, open and fraternal" dialogue, "which leads us to accept with pastoral responsibility implied, the questions that this period brings. Let it true that they pour into our hearts, without ever losing the peace, but with the serene confidence that the Lord in due time will not fail  due to lead to unity. The history of the Church tells us, as we know, not perhaps of many similar situations, where we learned to overcome our fathers with persistent patience and creativity?"

The "secret" lies in a "view", said the Pope, so that was "third gift" to which it applies ask, "if we really want to check our steps on the floor of today's challenges," let our "glance be directed to Jesus Christ." "If we think his way of us to live and work with people, make it our own, we will not have difficulties to cast the work of the Synod  informatively and find ways for the pastoral care of the person and the family. Because every time we return to the origin of the Christian experience, we open to new and unexpected ways. "

"Wind of Pentecost, May Give Us Creative Love"

These three things, the hearing, the synodal discussion about the family,  the same loved with the look of Christ, "will be an opportunity for Providence, with which we will renew the Church and society after the example of Saint Francis. With the joy of the gospel we shall find fall in the step of a reconciled and merciful Church, poor and a friend of the poor. A church that is capable of "defeating through patience and love, the equally inner and outer afflictions and troubles," (Lumen gentium, n. 8).

"May the wind of Pentecost blow across the Synod work, the Church, over the whole of humanity. Let him untie the knots that prevent people from meeting each other. May he heal the bleeding wounds and rekindle hope. There are so many people without hope! May he give us that creative love, which makes it possible to love as Jesus loved. And our preaching will regain the vitality and dynamism of the first missionaries of the Gospel. "

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Giornalettismo / Avvenire
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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