CONCLUSION OF THE ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
PAPAL CHAPEL
HOMILY OF THE
HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
Saint Peter's
Basilica
XXX Sunday in Ordinary Time, 27 October 2024
_________________________________________
Today’s Gospel presents us with Bartimaeus, a blind man forced to beg at
the side of the road, an outcast lacking hope. Yet, when he heard Jesus passing
by, he began to shout after him. All Bartimaeus could do was to cry out in pain
to Jesus and express his desire that he might regain his sight. While others were
troubled by his cries and rebuked him, Jesus paused. For God always hears the
cry of the poor, and no cry of pain goes unheard by him.
Today, at the conclusion of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,
with our hearts filled with gratitude for the moments we have shared, let us
reflect on what happened to Bartimaeus. Initially he was “sitting by the
roadside” (Mk 10:46), but by the end he was called by Jesus,
recovered his sight and “followed him on the way” (v. 52).
The first thing that the Gospel tells us about Bartimaeus is that he was
begging by the roadside. His position is typical of someone who sits by the
side of a road, caught up in his own grief, as if there were nothing else to do
but receive something from the many pilgrims passing through the city of
Jericho as Passover drew near. Yet, as we know, if we are truly to live, we
cannot remain seated. Life entails being on the move, setting out, dreaming,
planning, opening up to the future. Blind Bartimaeus, then, represents that
inner blindness which restrains us, keeps us stuck in one place, holds us back
from the dynamism of life and destroys our hope.
This can help us reflect not only on our own lives, but also on what it
means to be the Lord’s Church. So many things along the way can make us blind,
incapable of perceiving the presence of the Lord, unprepared to face the
challenges of reality, sometimes unable to offer adequate responses to the
questions of so many who cry out to us, as Bartimaeus did to Jesus. We cannot
remain inert before the questions raised by the women and men of today, before
the challenges of our time, the urgency of evangelization and the many wounds
that afflict humanity. Sisters and brothers, we cannot afford to sit back. A
sedentary Church, that inadvertently withdraws from life and confines itself to
the margins of reality, is a Church that risks remaining blind and becoming
comfortable with its own unease. If we remain stuck in our blindness, we will
continuously fail to grasp the urgency of giving a pastoral response to the
many problems of our world. Let us ask the Lord to send us the Holy Spirit, so
that we do not sit in our blindness, which in other words can be a worldliness,
complacency, or closed heart. We cannot stay sitting in our blindness.
Yet, we should remember that the Lord passes by every day. The Lord
always passes by and pauses in order to attend to our blindness. We should ask
ourselves, “Do I hear him passing by? Do I have the capacity to hear the Lord’s
footsteps? Do I have the capacity to discern when the Lord is passing by?” It
is good if the Synod is urging us as a Church to be like Bartimaeus: a
community of disciples who, hearing that the Lord is passing by, feel the joy
of salvation, allow ourselves to be awakened by the power of the Gospel, and to
cry out to him. The Church does this when it takes up the cry of all the women
and men of the world, of those who wish to discover the joy of the Gospel, and
of those who have turned away; the silent cry of those who are indifferent; the
cry of those who suffer, of the poor and marginalized, of children who are
enslaved in so many parts of the world for work; the broken voice of those who
no longer have the strength to cry out to God, either because they have no
voice or because they are in despair. We do not need a sedentary and defeatist
Church, but a Church that hears the cry of the world – I wish to say this even
if some might be scandalised – a Church that gets its hands dirty in serving.
Thus, we come to the second aspect. The Gospel tells us that if initially
Bartimaeus was seated, at the end we see him following Jesus along the
road. This is a typical expression in the Gospel, meaning that he has
become the Lord’s disciple and has followed in his footsteps. When the beggar
cried out to him, Jesus stopped and called for him. Bartimaeus, from where he
was sitting, jumped up on his feet and immediately afterwards regained his
sight. Now he can see the Lord; he can recognize God’s action in his life and
finally set out to follow him. Let us do likewise. Whenever we are seated and
settled, when as a Church we cannot find the strength, the courage or the
boldness to arise and continue along the way, let us always remember to return
to the Lord and his Gospel. We always need to return to the Lord and the
Gospel. As he passes by again and again, we need to listen to his call so that
we can get back on our feet and he can heal our blindness; and then we can
follow him once more, and walk with him along the way.
I would like to reiterate that the Gospel says of Bartimaeus that he
“followed him on the way”. This is an image of the synodal Church. The Lord is
calling us, lifting us up when we are seated or fallen down, restoring our
sight so that we can perceive the anxieties and sufferings of the world in the
light of the Gospel. And when the Lord puts us back on our feet, we experience
the joy of following him on the way. We follow the Lord along the way, we do
not follow him enclosed in our comforts or we do not follow him in the mazes of
our minds. We follow him only along the way. Let us remember never to walk
alone or according to worldly criteria, but to walk on the way alongside him.
Brothers and sisters, not a seated Church, but a Church on her feet. Not
a silent Church, but a Church that embraces the cry of humanity. Not a blind
Church, but a Church, enlightened by Christ, that brings the light of the
Gospel to others. Not a static Church, but a missionary Church that walks with
her Lord through the streets of the world.
Today, as we give thanks to the Lord for the journey we have made
together, we will be able to see and venerate the relic of the carefully
restored ancient Chair of Saint Peter. As we contemplate it with the wonder of
faith, let us remember that this is the Chair of love, unity and mercy,
according to Jesus’ command to the Apostle Peter not to lord it over others,
but to serve them in charity. And, as we admire the majestic Bernini Baldachin,
more sublime than ever, we can rediscover that it frames the true focal point
of the entire basilica, namely the glory of the Holy Spirit. This is the
synodal Church: a community whose primacy lies in the gift of the Spirit, who
makes us all brothers and sisters in Christ and raises us up to him.
Sisters and brothers, let us therefore continue our journey together with
confidence. Today, the word of God speaks to us, as to Bartimaeus: “Take heart;
get up, he is calling you”. Do I feel called? Do I feel weak and cannot get up?
Do I call for help? Let us throw off the cloak of resignation; let us entrust
our blindness to the Lord; let us stand once more and carry the joy of the
Gospel through the streets of the world.
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