Pope Francis’ Prayer for October 2022
Joey Kariveli, Vatican City
The Pope said that God expects the church of the third millennium to walk on the same path with everyone.
Pope Francis has said this in a two-minute long video message of the prayer mandate for the month of October that was published on Monday (03/10/22), explaining what the synod is about. The Pope explains that Synod, from its Greek root, means to walk together, to walk in the same line. The Pope says the Church needs to recover this awareness.
The Pope exhorts that a synodal style church will be one that learns and realizes that listening is more than just hearing, explaining that this means listening to one another, accepting diversity and opening the door to those outside the church. The Synod is not a gathering of opinions and a meeting, not a reckoning, but rather a listening to the Holy Spirit, the protagonist. It is prayer, and without prayer there can be no Synod, the Pope clarifies.
The Pope invites us to take advantage of the opportunity to be a Church of intimacy, reminding us that it is God’s style. Thanking all the people of God who walk in the Synod by listening attentively, the Holy See invites all to pray that they may always be faithful to the Gospel and proclaim it boldly, live in a growing synodal environment and be a community of solidarity, brotherhood and welcome.