Walking over to the Pope Paul VI Hall each morning is always an adventure. The North American College, where our delegation is staying, is located about four blocks from the Vatican. You walk through a garage that takes you down from the Gianicolo Hill on which the College is situated.
On the way, you often run into pilgrim groups following their guides. The guides are holding umbrellas or sticks with bandanas tied to them high above their heads as a way to keep their groups together. Some of the pilgrims are English speaking, and you hear many other languages as well. The pilgrims are always scrabbling to stay together and to not get lost.
St. Peter’s Square and the Basilica are major destinations for visitors to Rome. Catholics and non-Catholics marvel at the majesty and beauty – the graciousness of the colonnades, the fountains, the incredible history.
As you turn toward St. Peter’s, there are always several women and even children begging, a reminder of the Scripture passage that refers to those begging at the gate. Several times in the Synod so far, bishops in their interventions have held up the poor as those for whom the Word holds special meaning.
The Word moves us to see the poor, hear their cry and respond to them in love. How many saints have heard the Word and turned their lives around, giving themselves over to working among the poor – Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta perhaps the most striking example. She lived for others, especially those in need. Her care grew out of her deep love of the Lord grounded in the Word.
Over and over, we have heard at the Synod that the Word is not only to be studied, dissected and analyzed, but most importantly to be lived out in imitation of Christ’s care for the littlest and weakest.
I am remembering today many of our priests in the Diocese of Tucson who are on retreat this week and next week. There has been a great emphasis on the formation and ongoing formation of priests discussed during the Synod so far. They, along with our deacons, preach the homilies in the Eucharistic Assembly. In order to preach well, to preach convincingly, priests must be disciples themselves, in love with the Word, and striving in their lives to live that Word. Let us pray together that our priests on retreat open their ears to hear God’s Word in their lives in a deeper and fuller way.
(Father Raniero Cantalamessa, a Franciscan Capuchin and preacher for the Papal Household, is conducting this week’s retreat and Bishop Richard Hanifen, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, will be preaching next week’s retreat.)
During this morning’s session of the Synod, we heard from a number of bishops. Several themes keep surfacing in these “interventions.” Soon, the Synod will seek to formulate propositions to be considered by the Holy Father as he writes his post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation. (The most recent example of such a document would be Sacramentum Caritatis, which grew out of the Synod on the Eucharist. Some exhortations have been very significant, including Christifideles Laici on the Laity and Pastores Dabo Vobis on priestly formation.)
This morning’s session of the Synod was somewhat abbreviated to allow the Synod Fathers to attend a special Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s Basilica to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Pius XII.
All of the Cardinals who are Synod Fathers joined the Holy Father in concelebrating this Mass. The Holy Father’s throne was located to the side, across from the marvelous statue of St. Peter, whose foot has been touched by countless pilgrims. The Holy Father has been presiding from that place most recently in his Masses.
Pope Benedict spoke of the many contributions of Pope Pius XII: his great encyclicals Mystici Corporis, Divino Afflante Spiritu, and Mediator Dei and his words and work on behalf of peace.
As has been his custom in his encyclicals, Pope Benedict included a reference to a non-Church figure in his reflections, quoting Golda Meir’s praise of Pope Pius XII when he died.
Pope Benedict’s own upbringing during the time of Hitler gives him a special sensitivity to the tragic events that took place in the Nazi regime, especially the horror of the Holocaust. All prayed that such inhumanity never happens again. While violations of human rights and dignity continue in far too many places, we must stand for peace and the rights and dignity of every human being.
The afternoon session involved more interventions by Synod Fathers, along with time for open discussion. As bishops speak from their own experiences, you realize in a deeper way the struggles faced by the Church.
For example, consider the availability of translations of the Bible and how, while there are about 4,000 languages around the world, one can only read the Bible in about 2,000 of them. As it is important for people to pray in their own language, it would seem they would welcome the opportunity to read the Bible in their own language, even though that language would be spoken in only one small area.
We see this in our Diocese, where Hispanics or Poles or Vietnamese or Korean or Native Americans – who may speak English well enough to go to Mass in English – prefer to participate in a Mass in their own language. Praying is an action deep in the heart of a person, and as they talk to God they desire to speak the language of their heart.
Other bishops reflected on the persecution or lack of freedoms in their countries. While one might want to invite others to get to know Christ in the Word, it is not permitted by law. In so many places in our world, there is no religious freedom – which we take so much for granted in our country.
These interventions emphasize that the circumstances in which bishops and their co-workers do their pastoral work vary greatly around the world.
Some of the bishops tell stories in their interventions and in the discussions, some of which are funny, some poignant and some both funny and poignant at the same time.
One bishop from a country in Africa shared the story of a priest who noticed as he gave his homily that one of the women in the congregation had tears in her eyes. He felt he had really touched her with his words. Afterwards, in talking with her, he learned that when she looked at him his long beard had reminded her of her goat that had died the day before. She was mourning the animal’s loss. The bishop went on to remind us that we need to understand the struggles people face in their lives, know their pain and bring the Word’s comfort and healing.
There are members of various Christian groups represented at the Synod as fraternal delegates. Two of them spoke powerfully today. They expressed how delighted they were that the Holy Father had chosen this theme for the Synod. One indicated that no other Church has spent so much time on the Word. Another commented that this was a truly ecumenical theme for the Synod and prayed that the Synod might deepen and expand the relationship between the Bible and Eucharist in furthering the unity of all Christians.
Well worth praying for.
