A Holy See Press Office communiqué on Tuesday revealed that the last session of the encounter convoked by Pope Francis was dedicated to discussing various aspects of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.
Newsroom (31/08/2022 8:45 PM Gaudium Press) The Pope summoned the Cardinals, the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches and top officials of the Secretariat of State, asking them to gather in the Vatican on 29-30 August to reflect “in a fraternal atmosphere,” on the recently published Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, on reforming the Roman Curia.
The Holy See Press Office also said, “The work in language groups, and the discussions in the Synod Hall provided the opportunity for participants to freely discuss many aspects of the Document and of the life of the Church.”
The Meeting has seen almost the entire College of Cardinals gathered in the Vatican with Pope Francis for the first time since the start of his pontificate nearly ten years ago.
The prelates have been discussing the new challenges the Curia and the Universal Church faced, focusing on important themes such as the role of lay persons, financial transparency, synodality, a new administrative organization, the call to mission and the proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world.
Pope Francis presided over the Mass with the new Cardinals and College of Cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica early Tuesday evening. The celebration followed Saturday’s Consistory for creating new Cardinals and two days of meetings of all the Cardinals.
In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on the theme of “wonder” as described in the readings proclaimed during the celebrations: the wonder of St. Paul before God’s saving plan and the astonishment of the disciples encountering the risen Jesus who called on them to “make disciples of all nations.”
He said here we can appreciate how the Holy Spirit guides and moves us forward to proclaim the Gospel and “to all the peoples the wonders of the Lord.”
The Pope observed that just as we often marvel at the greatness of the universe, we are also “full of wonder as we consider the history of salvation,” as “all things find their origin, existence, end and purpose in Christ.”
While we marvel at God’s plan of salvation, we can also be further amazed that “God calls us to share in this plan,” the Pope pointed out, as we see in the mission given to the apostles by the risen Christ to “Go… make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20).
The Lord reassures the disciples, telling them, “I am with you always, to the end of the age,” and this promise “inspires hope and consolation,” said the Pope. He added that these words and this mandate are given to us today, thrilling our hearts even after two thousand years. We are further amazed how the divine decision to evangelize the world started with a “ragtag group of disciples,” some of who still had doubts, but the Pope said that gives hope for ourselves as well.
The Pope said we must avoid a false sense of security, thinking that today everything is different and all set or we risk falling into the “deception, whereby the Father of Lies seeks to make Christ’s followers first worldly, then innocuous.”
The sense of wonder we experience through the Word of God also awakens in us “wonder at being in the Church, of being Church,” the Pope added, saying the awareness of being blessed in Christ and bearing witness to Him helps strengthens the community of believers and makes them attractive to others.
The Pope said we rejoice as well in gratitude for these gifts, all the baptized. He recalled Saint Paul VI, who offered his legacy of “love for the Church, a love which is first and foremost gratitude, grateful wonder at her mystery and at the gift of our being not only members of the Church, but involved in her life, sharing in and, indeed, jointly responsible for her.”
In conclusion, the Pope offered the basics of what it means to be a minister of the Church: “one who experiences wonder before God’s plan, and, in that spirit, passionately loves the Church and stands at the service of her mission wherever and however the Holy Spirit may choose.”
– Raju Hasmukh
(Via Vatican News)
