Holy Spirit you are with us

An Ecumenical Prayer Vigil will take place on Saturday, 30 September – immediately preceding the General Assembly of the Synod.  This service will emphasise the centrality of prayer in the synodal process and highlight the relationship between synodality and ecumenism. Presenting the event at a press conference at the Holy See Press Office, Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod, noted that the Vigil will also emphasise “the key theme of commitment to unity and peace in this world torn apart by so many divisions” and demonstrate “the importance of prayer” for the unity of all Christians, while entrusting the Synod to the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit you are with us.

Pope Francis will be joined by twelve representatives of various Christian traditions, including the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I; and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Several non-Catholic fraternal delegates who are attending the Synod will also take part in the event.

Celebrating unity already achieved

Young people will also have an important role in the Prayer Vigil, which will be taking place in the context of the Together Gathering  in Rome, an initiative inspired by the dream of Taizé prior, Brother Alois for an ecumenical gathering during the synod “to celebrate the unity already achieved in Christ and to make this visible.”

The Gathering will see some 3,000 young adults representing more than 40 different countries coming together in Rome for a weekend of sharing, workshops, testimonies, and praise and worship.

At a recent press conference, Brother Matthew of Taizé explained that the Together Gathering is intended to express the reality of the Synod on Synodality, especially by involving young people. He highlighted the pilgrimage the young pilgrims will make from Rome’s Lateran Cathedral to St. Peter’s Square for the Prayer Vigil, as well as the numerous other prayer vigils taking place around the world on that same day.

We stand before you Holy Spirit

Every session of the Second Vatican Council began with the prayer Adsumus Sancte Spiritus, the first word of the Latin original meaning, “We stand before You, Holy Spirit,” which has been historically used at Councils, Synods and other Church gatherings for hundreds of years, being attributed to Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 4 April 636).  As we are called to embrace this synodal path of Synod 2021-2023, this prayer invites the Holy Spirit to work within us so that we may be a community and a people of grace. For Synod 2021-2023, we propose to use this simplified version, so that any group or liturgical assembly can pray more easily.

Gathering Together

Br. Alois from the Taizé Community spoke about the importance of unity and Gathering Together, at the International Sant’Egidio Conference “The Audacity of Peace” in Berlin on 13^th September:

“…we have set out, together with Sant’Egidio and fifty or so movements and communities as partners, to prepare a wonderful event to celebrate and promote unity. It will take place on 30 September in Rome and elsewhere in the world, on the eve of the opening of the synodal assembly of the Catholic Church, and we have chosen to call it ‘Together | Gathering of the People of God’. Many of the participants at our meeting in Berlin today are involved in the preparations, and we look forward to seeing you again.”

 

 

 

See link to download the full text
of this prayer:  EN-ADSUMUS

See  https://www.synod.va/en/resources.html

https://www.synod.va/en/resources/communication-tools/adsumus.html

Vatican New – Prayer Vigil to highlight centrality of prayer in Synod Process

https://www.taize.fr/en_rubrique3757.html