Fr Richard Mbando
The faithful from around the diocese of Mangochi – including laymen and women, priests, seminarians, Consecrated men and women, took part in the liturgy which marked the beginning of the two-year synodal process.
“Celebrating a Synod means walking on the same road, together,” said Bishop Stima during the homily as he took the day’s Gospel reading as the starting point for his reflection on synodality.
“This Synod offers us the opportunity to be with each other, to invite our family and friends back to the faith, to listen to each other’s joys and sorrows, and share our hopes and dreams for the Church,”continued Bishop Stima.
He further said that the diocese will now actively engage in listening and in dialogue with Catholics of all ages, and that the intent of the Synod is not to produce documents but to plant dreams, allow hope to flourish, inspire trust, bind up wounds, weave together relationships, learn from one another and enlighten the minds and give strength to our hands.
“Synodality and the synodal process are not a gathering or meeting of bishops, nor are they the administrative arm of the Church. Rather, Synodality is the path and process of the Church as communion. It is the communion of all the baptized who are listening to each other,dialoguing with each other and praying together to hear the voice of Holy Spirit as we all seek holiness and proclaim the Gospel.,” he added.
Pope Francis in his opening remarks of the Synod said it is the “path… which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.”
At the end of the ceremony Bishop Stima prayed the Adsumus Sancte Spiritus, the first word of the original Latin, meaning, “We stand before You, Holy Spirit,” which has been historically used at Councils, Synods and other Church gatherings for hundreds of years, and is attributed to Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 4 April 636).