CNA Staff, Oct 9, 2023 / 12:25 pm
Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October is for the Synod.
“Mission is at the heart of the Church,” Pope Francis said in a video released Oct. 2. “And even more when a Church is in Synod, this synodal dynamic alone carries its missionary vocation forward — that is, her response to Jesus’ mandate to proclaim the Gospel.”
The Synod on Synodality, which brings clerics and laity together for nearly one month of discussions, is taking place at the Vatican from Oct. 4–29.
The Holy Father recalled that “nothing ends here,” but instead “we are continuing an ecclesial journey here.”
He paralleled the synodal journey to the journey the disciples took on the road to Emmaus where they were “listening to the Lord who always comes to meet us.”
“Through prayer and discernment, the Holy Spirit helps us carry out the ‘apostolate of the ear,’ that is, listening with God’s ears in order to speak with the word of God. And thus, we draw near to the heart of Christ,” he said.
The pope added: “Our mission and the voice that draws us to him spring from him. This voice reveals to us that the heart of mission is to reach out to everyone, to seek everyone, to welcome everyone, to involve everyone, without excluding anyone.”
He concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray for the Church, that she may adopt listening and dialogue as a style of life at every level, allowing herself to be guided by the Holy Spirit towards the world’s peripheries.”
Pope Francis’ prayer video is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.
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