“The unity of Christians and the synodality are linked together,” wrote the Holy Father in a homily for an ecumenical service, held on Friday in the Square of the First Roman Martyrs in the Vatican. According to tradition, this is where St. Peter was to be crucified.
Participants of the XVI average General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality, including delegates from another churches and Christian communities, attended the prayer.
In the homily, the pope recalled the First Martyrs of the Church in Rome, on which blood was built the Vatican Basilica and the Church. "May these Martyrs strengthen our assurance that, as we approach Christ, we draw close to 1 another, supported by the prayer of all the saints of our Churches, already perfectly united by their participation in the Passover Mystery," Francis wished. Quoting the decree “Unitatis redintegratio” of the Second Vatican Council of 60 years ago, he stressed that “the closer Christians get to Christ, the closer they get to each other.”
The Holy Father expressed his conviction that “the unity of Christians and the synodality are interrelated” due to the fact that if “the way of synodity is the way God expects from the Church of the 3rd millennium, then it must be traversed with all Christians. Similarly, “the ecumenical road is synodic,” due to the fact that “in both processes it is not so much about building something but about accepting and making a fruitful gift that we have already received.” The Pope noted that the experience of the synod helps us to discover any aspects of the gift of Christian unity.
Unity is first a “favorable, unpredictable gift”. Her “true protagonist is not us, but the Holy Spirit, who guides us to greater unity.” Therefore, "as we do not know from above what the consequence of the Synod will be, so we do not know precisely what the unity to which we are called shall be." Referring to Fr Paul Couturier, the French pioneer of ecumenism in the Catholic Church, Francis pointed out that “the unity of Christians must be begged as «as Christ wants» and «by means he desires».”
Unity is besides “a journey: it matures in motion, on the way”. It increases “in common service, in dialog of life, in the cooperation of all Christians”. Thus, we are to proceed “according to the Spirit” or, as St. Irene says, as “the punishment of the brethren.”
“The union between Christians grows and matures in the common pilgrimage “in the rhythm of God”, as was the case with the pilgrims of Emmaus, accompanied by the risen Jesus,” the Holy Father argued.
Unity is besides harmony. “The Synod helps us rediscover the beauty of the Church in the diversity of its face. So unity is not uniformity, nor is it the consequence of compromises or equivalence. Christian unity is harmony in the diversity of charisms raised by the Spirit to build all Christians," explained the Pope. He called for "to walk the way of unity, for the love of Christ and of all men, to service whom we are called."
“On this road, let us never let difficulties halt us! Let us trust the Holy Spirit, who strives for unity in the harmony of multicolored diversity," encouraged Francis.
Finally, the unity of Christians is necessary, as is the synodism, "for the sake of their testimony," for it is "for a mission," according to Jesus' words, "that all may be one...that the planet may believe." For our division is "a stumbling block to the world, and it besides causes harm to the most holy origin of preaching the Gospel to all creation."
"Ecumenical movement was born out of the desire to bear witness together, with others, not apart from each another or, worse still, against each other. In this place, the first martyrs remind us that today, in many parts of the world, Christians share their lives together due to their religion in Jesus Christ, experiencing the ecumenism of blood. Their evidence is stronger than any word, due to the fact that unity comes from the Cross of the Lord," said the Holy Father.
Recalling the beginning of the Synodal Repentance Service, he stated that "we are besides present ashamed of the scandal of the division of Christians, the scandal of the deficiency of joint witness about the Lord Jesus."
“This Synod is an chance to do better to overcome the walls that inactive be between us. Let us focus on the common plane of our common baptism, which moves us to become disciples of Christ, with a common mission. The planet needs a common testimony, the planet needs us to be faithful to our common mission," encouraged the Pope.
An ecumenical prayer vigil in the Vatican was prepared jointly by: the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the Dynasties for Promoting the Unity of Christians and the Commonwealth of Taizé.
Source: KAI
TG
