At the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass, Pope Francis said God’s love cannot be confined “to our own agenda” and to truly reform the Church, people should follow Jesus’ greatest commandment: to adore God and love others. Source: CNA.
“We may have plenty of good ideas on how to reform the Church, but let us remember: to adore God and to love our brothers and sisters with his love, that is the great and perennial reform,” Pope Francis said in St Peter’s Basilica yesterday
“We are always at risk of thinking that we can ‘control God,’ that we can confine his love to our own agenda. Instead, the way he acts is always unpredictable, it goes beyond, and consequently, this action of God demands amazement and adoration,” he added.
The Pope’s homily marked the closing of the month-long 2023 Synod on Synodality assembly, where 365 delegates discussed and voted on more than 80 proposals for how to become a more “synodal Church”.
“Brothers and Sisters, the General Assembly of the Synod has now concluded,” he said. “In this ‘conversation of the Spirit,’ we have experienced the loving presence of the Lord and discovered the beauty of fraternity.”
“Today we do not see the full fruit of this process, but with farsightedness, we look to the horizon opening up before us. The Lord will guide us and help us to be a more synodal and more missionary Church, a Church that adores God and serves the women and men of our time, going forth to bring to everyone the consoling joy of the Gospel,” Francis added.
About 5000 people attended the closing Mass for the Synod on Synodality’s 2023 assembly, according to the Vatican. The Mass concluded with the congregation singing the Marian hymn “Salve Regina.”
FULL STORY
Pope Francis at Synod closing Mass: To reform the Church, adore God and love others (By Courtney Mares, CNA)
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