Vatican's Synod Mass with Cardinal Fridolin who Quotes Pope Benedict XVI - "the Evil One always seeks to ruin the work of God by sowing division in the heart..." Full Text + Video
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Homily of Cardinal Fridolin AMBONGO BESUNGU, O.F.M. Cap.
Today's responsorial psalm invites us to give thanks to God; and we have many reasons to thank (give thanks) to God. One of the reasons is undoubtedly the grace of this synodal path, which we are traveling as a Church, guided by the Holy Spirit. This synod on synodality is the new Pentecost, which will certainly renew the Church in the communion of its members and in the active participation of all in the life and mission of the Church.
Yes, my brothers and sisters, the Church needed this time of grace and discernment, a time to look back on the path we have traveled, with its glories and its failures, to learn from it for a new beginning .
In today's first reading, the prophet Joel invites the priests, the ministers of the altar, to weep and mourn because the offerings and libations have disappeared from the house of God. He advises priests to bring together elders to study and seek together new ways of presenting themselves before God.
This prophecy of Joel corresponds somewhat to the synodal experience that we are experiencing these days here in Rome. Coming from all continents, and united in one family, in this beauty of unity in cultural diversity, we are also invited to weep and lament before this altar, at the tomb of Saint Peter, because of our weaknesses as a Church. Indeed, as our instrumentum Laboris reminds us: “The face of the Church today bears the signs of serious crises of confidence and credibility. In many contexts, crises linked to sexual abuse, abuse of power, abuse of conscience and economic abuse, etc. (IL,23), counter-testimonies which even risked distancing people from the Church.
Yes, brothers and sisters, we are here to cry and ask God for forgiveness for our sins. But the best way to cry is the courage to undertake the path of repentance and conversion, which opens paths of reconciliation, healing and justice (IL, 23).
Today's Gospel is about Jesus' struggle against the devil. It reminds us that the devil is still present and active in our world. Its strength lies precisely in the strategy of being forgotten and appearing in the most attractive and reassuring forms. Knowing his prey well, the devil launches his attacks from the most sensitive realities. As Pope Benedict XVI said, "the Evil One always seeks to ruin the work of God by sowing division in the heart of man, between body and soul, between the individual and God, in relationships interpersonal, social and international. The evil one sows discord.
Dear brothers and sisters, if we have the courage to look at our current reality as a Church, it will not be difficult to see to what extent the Evil One is at work and influences our way of being and acting. The Evil One wants to see us divided, he might even use some of us for his cause.
This is why we must courageously fight the Evil One, using in particular the weapons of synodality, which require unity, walking together, discernment in prayer, mutual listening and what the Spirit has to say to us. 'Church.
We are called to fight this powerful adversary with an equally powerful weapon at our disposal, which is the Holy Spirit, protagonist of this new way of being Church - the synodal Church.
May the Eucharist that we offer here at Peter's tomb open us to listening to the Holy Spirit. May it move the synodal Church from dream to reality, from words to concrete life where we will be able to walk together in communion, participation and mission.
Amen!
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, the Archbishop of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, delivers the homily at daily Mass for Synod members, and urges Christians to fight the evil of division and discord in the Church.
St. Peter's Basilica, October 13, 2023
“With all my heart, Lord, I want to praise you and sing of all your wonderful works” (Psalm 9).Today's responsorial psalm invites us to give thanks to God; and we have many reasons to thank (give thanks) to God. One of the reasons is undoubtedly the grace of this synodal path, which we are traveling as a Church, guided by the Holy Spirit. This synod on synodality is the new Pentecost, which will certainly renew the Church in the communion of its members and in the active participation of all in the life and mission of the Church.
Yes, my brothers and sisters, the Church needed this time of grace and discernment, a time to look back on the path we have traveled, with its glories and its failures, to learn from it for a new beginning .
In today's first reading, the prophet Joel invites the priests, the ministers of the altar, to weep and mourn because the offerings and libations have disappeared from the house of God. He advises priests to bring together elders to study and seek together new ways of presenting themselves before God.
This prophecy of Joel corresponds somewhat to the synodal experience that we are experiencing these days here in Rome. Coming from all continents, and united in one family, in this beauty of unity in cultural diversity, we are also invited to weep and lament before this altar, at the tomb of Saint Peter, because of our weaknesses as a Church. Indeed, as our instrumentum Laboris reminds us: “The face of the Church today bears the signs of serious crises of confidence and credibility. In many contexts, crises linked to sexual abuse, abuse of power, abuse of conscience and economic abuse, etc. (IL,23), counter-testimonies which even risked distancing people from the Church.
Yes, brothers and sisters, we are here to cry and ask God for forgiveness for our sins. But the best way to cry is the courage to undertake the path of repentance and conversion, which opens paths of reconciliation, healing and justice (IL, 23).
Today's Gospel is about Jesus' struggle against the devil. It reminds us that the devil is still present and active in our world. Its strength lies precisely in the strategy of being forgotten and appearing in the most attractive and reassuring forms. Knowing his prey well, the devil launches his attacks from the most sensitive realities. As Pope Benedict XVI said, "the Evil One always seeks to ruin the work of God by sowing division in the heart of man, between body and soul, between the individual and God, in relationships interpersonal, social and international. The evil one sows discord.
Dear brothers and sisters, if we have the courage to look at our current reality as a Church, it will not be difficult to see to what extent the Evil One is at work and influences our way of being and acting. The Evil One wants to see us divided, he might even use some of us for his cause.
This is why we must courageously fight the Evil One, using in particular the weapons of synodality, which require unity, walking together, discernment in prayer, mutual listening and what the Spirit has to say to us. 'Church.
We are called to fight this powerful adversary with an equally powerful weapon at our disposal, which is the Holy Spirit, protagonist of this new way of being Church - the synodal Church.
May the Eucharist that we offer here at Peter's tomb open us to listening to the Holy Spirit. May it move the synodal Church from dream to reality, from words to concrete life where we will be able to walk together in communion, participation and mission.
Amen!
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