We are all blessed to be part of a movement of the Spirit, of an association that Christ himself raised up. Pope Pius XI, in the encyclical Non abbiamo bisogno, devoted to Catholic Action and the laity, affirmed indeed that “it was Jesus Christ himself who laid the first foundations of Catholic Action, choosing and educating the apostles and disciples as fellow workers in his divine Apostolate. And his example was at once followed by the first holy Apostles, as the sacred text itself shows” (n. 48). The Apostolate is nothing other than to plant in souls the beginnings of supernatural life, because Jesus Christ came so that we may have life and have it in abundance (Jn 10:10). This abundance of life extends to every sphere of personal and social life — religious, moral or civil — so that everything may be ordered to the ultimate good and to the highest end that the individual and society can attain.
Inspired by the Spirit of Christ, the Church is always watchful and attentive in responding to the signs and needs of the times, in every place and every culture. We have recently concluded the Synod on synodality. Its principal fruit is that synodality has been recognised as a true social prophecy for our time. What does this mean? On the part of every member of the Church, it involves active and attentive listening in the Spirit and a communal discernment of what the Spirit is saying to the Churches, practising “conversation in the Spirit”, so as to come to exercise a differentiated co-responsibility of believers in Christ. All the Church's movements and associations are called to embrace this synodal path of mutual listening in the Spirit, so that we may walk together each day on a journey of continual purification and conversion, together with real listening and docile submission to the voice of the Spirit.
It is in this context that the CEI has handed us — and we take it up for our reflection today — a precise watchword: to grow and to be built up as “rooted in Christ”. The expression is taken from Saint Paul's Letter to the Colossians (Col 2:7): “rooted and built on him, firm in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving”. Let us try to enter, in prayer, into the deeper meaning of these words and to understand how they can give direction to the important initiatives we are planning in these days.
We all know that rootedness is indispensable to growth. No plant can grow to the point of bearing fruit without sinking deep roots into fertile soil. In the same way, no building can be constructed without resting on firm foundations. Our work and our plans affect the future of present and coming generations, the future of our country and, in an immediate sense, the future of the countries around us, of the whole of Europe. Without any doubt, we need to be deeply rooted in the right soil, which (or rather, the One who) is Jesus Christ, unchanging, the Rock that stands firm forever. The storms and rains of this world — no earthly trial — can ever bring down the house firmly rooted and built on the Rock that is Jesus Christ (cf. Mt 7:24-25).
Coming to concrete situations, let us turn our attention to the challenges in four specific areas that our Bishops have set out for us in the Orientation Lines for the implementation of the Synthesis Document of the Synodal Path, published in May 2026. We will then apply them, in prayer, to our planning, in order to discern — personally and together — how we, as an Association, can integrate them into the work of the coming days.
The first challenge: how can the Churches in Italy proclaim and be more transparent witnesses of the Gospel? The proposal: if there is a true “lived synodality”, in which mutual listening is practised through conversation in the Spirit, this leads to the exercise of a differentiated co-responsibility of believers in Christ. Lived synodality, therefore, leads to mission.
The second challenge: how to bring about a “missionary conversion of pastoral care”? The proposal: every form of ministry must become a place of living encounter with the Risen Lord, mediated by the Church. In this way the gift of faith is put back at the centre.
The third challenge: how to counter social wounds, often the effect of an individualist culture? The proposal: this demands from our Churches a convinced prophecy, a labour to create an ever more intense synergy between the “pastoral ministries” of proclamation, liturgy and charitable-social action.
The fourth challenge: how to strengthen the bond between Christian initiation and Christian formation? Initiation is not something that concerns only children, even though in current practice it continues to be so. The proposal: this attention requires the creation of hospitable contexts of listening and adult narration of the faith, shaped by the Gospel and attentive to the existential dynamics and cultural challenges of today.
Let us recall once more what has been said: the challenges of witnessing to the Gospel, of the missionary conversion of pastoral care, of countering social wounds and of a closer bond between Christian initiation and formation — with their corresponding responses: “lived synodality”, “fostering in every ministry a living encounter with the Risen Lord”, “creating synergy between the pastoral ministries of proclamation and social commitment” and “creating contexts of listening and sharing of the faith” — all require of us the commitment to live our daily lives more firmly rooted in Christ. The best way forward is probably to renew our commitment to personal prayer meditating on the Word of Christ, to prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and to a more frequent and more intense participation in the Sacraments. In this way we will be truly rooted in Christ. The Psalmist tells us that, if we do this, “all our works will succeed”; otherwise we will be “like chaff that the wind scatters” (Psalm 1).
During the time of Adoration, let us call to mind our personal stories: the moments when the Lord Jesus called us by name to follow him and to be his witnesses. Let us ask for the grace to place him at the centre of our lives; let us offer him our past — sometimes even with its bitterness — so that he may transform our wounds into channels of grace; let us offer him our present, so that he may build us up, rooted in his constant, faithful and liberating love, which far surpasses wounds, hurts, difficulties and every obstacle; let us offer him our future and the good works that the Lord calls us, as an Association, to take up with courage and with one heart. He tells us not to be afraid: his grace is always greater than any challenge the world may set before us!
Let us ask in a particular way for the grace of reconciliation and healing. In this way we will be truly rooted in the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge. Let us pray for the grace to make this experience a permanent reality in our lives, so that we may all be renewed in the love of Christ for each one of us, of the One who has called us to be his fellow workers.
Invoking the powerful intercession of Mary, Mother of God, upon our initiatives, let us pray that the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit may guide our hearts and our hands to respond to the challenges of the present time.
Amen.
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