Dear brothers and sisters,
It is a joy for me to be with you in the Cathedral of Rome: the Pope is such as the Bishop of Rome, and I am a Christian with you and a bishop for you. I thank the Cardinal Vicar for the words with which he opened this meeting, which I experience as a great embrace of the Bishop with his people.
I greet the members of the Episcopal Council, the parish priests, all the priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers, and all of you who represent your parishes here. I thank you for the joy of your discipleship, for your pastoral work, for the burdens you carry and those you remove from the shoulders of the many people who knock at the door of your communities.
Jesus« words to the Samaritan woman, which we have just heard in the Gospel, in this difficult historical period, are now addressed to us, the Church of Rome: »If only you knew the gift of God« (Jn 4:10). To this weary woman, who arrives at the well at the hottest hour of the day, Jesus reveals that there is a living water that quenches thirst forever, a gushing spring that never runs dry: it is the very life of God given to mankind. This gift is the Holy Spirit, who quenches our burns and irrigates our aridity, casting a light on our path. Saint Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, also uses the word »gift" to designate the Holy Spirit, the creative Spirit capable of renewing all things.
Through the synodal process, the Spirit has raised the hope of an ecclesial renewal capable of revitalizing communities, so that they grow in evangelical style, in closeness to God and in a presence of service and witness in the world.
After a long period of listening and debate, the fruit of the synodal journey has been, above all, an encouragement to value ministries and charisms, drawing on the baptismal vocation, placing at the center the relationship with Christ and welcoming our brothers and sisters, starting with the poorest, sharing their joys and sorrows, their hopes and difficulties. In this way, the sacramental character of the Church is highlighted, and as a sign of God's love for humanity, the Church is called to be a privileged channel so that the living water of the Spirit can reach everyone. This requires God's holy people to be exemplary. As we know, sacramentality and exemplarity are two key concepts in the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council and in the hermeneutics of Pope Francis. Remember how much he took to heart the patristic theme of the mysterium lunae, that is, the Church seen in the reflection of Christ's light, in its relationship with Him, the sun of justice and the light of the nations.