By Archdiocese of Miami -

VATICAN CITY | The Pope Video for the month of October is a call to pray for the Synod as the Ordinary General Assembly takes place this month, in conjunction with World Mission Day. 

The synodal journey, Pope Francis remarks, is based on prayer and discernment. This synodal dimension is closely linked to the missionary vocation of the Church, for “mission is at the heart of the Church.”

The pope prays that the Church might allow herself “to be guided by the Holy Spirit towards the world’s peripheries,” reaching out to everyone, “without excluding anyone.”

The message is focused on the Synod on Synodality, a process that began in 2021 and will continue through 2024. The first session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly will take place from Oct. 4 to 29, 2023.

“This is a journey we are on, like the disciples of Emmaus,” the pope explains, “listening to the Lord who always comes to meet us.”

 

Listening and discernment in an ongoing journey

The message for this month’s video – which received the support and collaboration of The Pontifical Mission Societies USA and on the Synod on Synodality – is an invitation to place ourselves before the Lord in an attitude of listening and dialogue.

The concept of the Church as “on the way,” and its missionary vocation is represented in the choice of images put together as a road movie: Through an automobile window, we see places and people from different countries – from the Vatican to Cambodia, passing through Africa, the Middle East, North America – capturing scenes from daily life. That car represents the Church; its gas, the “power of the Holy Spirit,” which, in the words of Pope Francis, must lead the Church “towards the world’s peripheries.”

Letting herself be guided by the Holy Spirit requires listening together. For this reason, the pope also clarifies that in this Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod, “nothing ends here. Rather, we are continuing an ecclesial journey here,” so as to reap the fruits of mutual listening between brothers and sisters, everyone together at the service of Christ’s mission.

 

What the Synod on Synodality is

On Oct. 10, 2021, Pope Francis convoked the Synod on Synodality to treat the theme, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.” The Synod of Bishops is a consultative body that asks bishops from all over the world to participate in the governance of the Church, advising the pope on matters that concern the universal Church. The word “synod” comes from Greek and expresses the idea of “walking together.”

Expected to last three years (October 2021-October 2024), the Synod on Synodality has gone through different stages of listening and discernment. Pope Francis wants the entire Church to reflect on synodality: that the entire People of God – bishops, priests, men and women religious, lay men and women, adults and young people – participate in a conversation regarding whether and how we are walking together.

On Oct. 4, the first session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly will begin. In this meeting, bishops and other participants are gathering to reflect on the fruit of the previous listening process. In this Synod, there will be two such assemblies held one year apart – from Oct. 4 to 29, 2023, and in October of 2024.

The first session of the Ordinary General Assembly also coincides with the 97th World Mission Day. In this regard, Msgr.  Kieran Harrington, National Director of the The Pontifical Mission Societies USA, comments: "Pope Francis, in echoing the spirit of St. Francis Xavier, emphasizes the Church's journey to the margins of society. As he reorganizes the Church's endeavors to prioritize the marginalized and impoverished, he reminds us of Christ's ministry centered around sharing the Good News with the overlooked and underserved. This is the primary task of The Pontifical Mission Societies at a universal level: 120 national offices work together in support of thousands of missionaries who bring the message of the Gospel to all. As we reflect on the Pope's prayer intention this month, we are called to adopt a lifestyle of listening and dialogue, moving towards the peripheries, guided by the Holy Spirit.”