From the Word, through the Holy Spirit, to mission statement. This is how the Pope's teachings in these weeks could be summarized. Today this Word continues to act, both in the liturgy and in the Christian life and in the mission statement of the Church.

This is confirmed by the interventions of Francis at the beginning of the Synod of Amazonia, and by the celebration of the day of the missions at the heart of the "missionary month".

Institution of "Word of God Sunday".

Although perhaps somewhat overshadowed by the Amazon synod, the apostolic letter "Aperuit illis" (30-IX-2019) - with which Pope Francis establishes the "Sunday of the Word of God" - is a further step in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council.

The Risen Christ, especially in the liturgy, "opens for us the treasure of his Word so that we can proclaim this inexhaustible wealth throughout the world" (n. 2).

For this reason-the presence and action of Christ-the Christian tradition unites the "table" of the Word to the "table" of the Eucharist (cf. Dei Verbum, 21). The Pope exhorts pastors to be attentive to the homily, to prepare it with prayer staff, brevity and concreteness so that the Word of God may reach the hearts of those who listen and bear fruit.    

Although the books of the Bible have an undeniable historical foundation, "the Bible is not a collection of history books, nor of chronicles, but is totally directed to the integral salvation -salvation from evil and death- of the person" (n. 9). To achieve this salvific purpose, the Holy Spirit, under the guide of the Church, opens us to the spiritual meaning of the text. In this way he frees us from the risk of remaining enclosed in the mere written text without passing to its meaning, falling into a fundamentalist inspiration. The Holy Spirit transforms Scripture into the living Word of God, which has an inspired, dynamic and spiritual character (cf. n. 7).

The Council further explains that the Word of God has taken on our human language through the Incarnation of the Son of God, in a given historical and cultural context and with consequences for all times and places. Scripture becomes effective in those who listen to it, seek to share it with others and make it come alive. It teaches us to receive God's love and to reciprocate it with love for others and mercy (cf. nn. 12-13). And it identifies us with the glorious Christ, as it did with Mary.

"Jesus did not come to bring the evening breeze, but fire to the earth."

In his homily during the opening Mass of the Synod on the Amazon (October 6, 2019), the Pope encouraged those present - many of them bishops - to rekindle the gift received. That gift par excellence, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit, which makes us servants, as shepherds of the faithful, without seeking anything in return. How to do this faithfully?

"Jesus did not come to bring the evening breeze, but fire to the earth". And for this reason it is necessary to welcome the audacious prudence of the Holy Spirit, overcoming inertia, routines and fears; for prudence does not mean indecision or defensiveness, but, on the contrary, discernment to serve with wisdom and sensitivity to the newness of the Spirit.

What is this fire of God's love like? Francis explained that it is a fire that illuminates, warms and gives unity as well as diversity and life, but does not burn or destroy. Evangelization is not compatible with one's own interests, with one's own ideas or those of group when they try to impose themselves in order to standardize everything and everyone.

The core topic -he pointed out- is the testimony and the advertisement of the Gospel: "The advertisement of the Gospel is the main criterion for the life of the Church: it is her mission statement, her identity". And to proclaim the Gospel is "to live the submission, it is to bear witness in depth, it is to become all things to all (cf. 1 Cor 9:22), it is to love to the point of martyrdom".

For this it is necessary to remain in humble love, knowing that the only way to truly possess life is to lose it for love. This is how we see it when we look at Jesus crucified. And this is how many of our missionary brothers and sisters in Amazonia have lived it, who have spent their lives and continue to do so, and need us to walk with them.

The following day, in the greeting prior (7-X-2019) to the beginning of the work of the synod on the Amazon, whose motto expresses his goal: "New paths for the Church and for an integral ecology", Francis referred to four dimensions of this synod, which could also be of others: pastoral dimension, cultural dimension, social dimension and ecological dimension.

The pastoral or evangelizing dimension - he affirmed - is the essential and the most encompassing. The Pope describes it as follows: a look at the reality of the Amazon with a Christian heart and the eyes of a disciple, because there are no neutral views or hermeneutics, and our "prior option" is that of disciples and missionaries. It is worth remembering that this look at reality with the eyes of missionary disciples - evangelizing Christians - was already the core topic of the Aparecida document.

Then come the other dimensions: cultural, social and ecological. We look at the reality of these peoples "respecting their history, their cultures, their style of good living", their own identity and wisdom. That is, without reducing their idiosyncrasy, without establishing distances, without proposing simply pragmatic measures, but starting from contemplation and admiration for the many true and good things they possess and can teach us.

As on similar occasions, Francis invited to prayer and reflection, dialogue and listening, humility, courage and fraternity, discernment as a method of the synodal process, wisdom, service and communication.

At the heart of the missionary month

Mission Sunday was celebrated on October 20. It was the 100th anniversary of Benedict XV's Apostolic Letter Maximum illud, with which the Pope wanted to give a strong impetus to the missions.

In the message that Francis had sent for that day he affirmed: "A Church going out to the ends of the earth demands a constant and permanent missionary conversion". This does not concern only those in the Church who have the official task of missionaries, but all Christians: "Each one of us is a mission statement in the world because he or she is the fruit of God's love. And we realize it by offering Christian salvation in respect for the freedom staff of each one, and in dialogue with the cultures and religions of the peoples.

On this day Francis chose for his homily the biblical image of the mountain as the place of great encounters between God and man. It is so from the Old Testament (Isaiah, Sinai, Mount Carmel) and is manifested with Jesus (Mount Tabor, Mount Olivet, Calvary, etc.).

The mountain brings us closer to God and to others, even if climbing it costs us effort. It lifts us up to give us more perspective and show us more beauty, so that we can discover what counts most. "What is it that counts for me in life? What are the summits I wish to reach?"

To go up it is necessary to walk lightly. To proclaim it is necessary to renounce, "to renounce many material things that dwarf the heart, make us indifferent and enclose us in ourselves". From there follow the questions: "How is my ascent: do I know how to renounce the heavy and useless baggage of worldliness in order to climb the mountain of the Lord?

This is what the Christian mission statement consists of: to bring pure air, altitude, joy and peace to all: "to witness, to bless, to console, to lift up, to transmit the beauty of Jesus". This is the proposal that Francis makes to us in the name of Jesus: "Go with love to all, because your life is a precious mission statement : it is not a burden to bear, but a gift to offer".

He also asked all of us at the Angelus: "Do I pray for the missionaries? Do I pray for those who go far away to bring the Word of God through their witness?"