VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 173
DATE 06-10-2015

Summary:
- It is not easy to be a prophet, says Cardinal Alencherry to the Synod

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 It is not easy to be a prophet, says Cardinal Alencherry to the Synod
 Vatican City, 6 October 2015 (VIS) - This morning at 9 a.m., with the
recitation of the Terce prayer, the third Congregation of the General Ordinary
Assembly on the Family opened in the Synod Hall.
 His Beatitude Cardinal George Alencherry, major archbishop of
Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars, India, and president of the Synod of
the Syro-Malabar Church, pronounced a homily in which he underlined, in the
light of the Bible readings, the prophetic mission of the Church in our times.
 "The reading from Jeremiah gives us a message very much applicable to the goal
of our Synodal deliberations on family", he began. "Prophet Jeremiah uttered a
few oracles to the royal family of Judah cautioning the King against the ruin
that may fall upon the Kingdom, if the King does not render Justice and
righteousness and save the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor. Josiah and
Jehoiakim were the kings of Judah, at that time. We know that both of them were
weak kings, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, destroyed the Kingdom of
Judah and the temple. Owing to the failures of the kings the people were driven
to exile and all the sufferings that arose from it. Josiah and Nebuchadnezzar,
the kings of Judah, could not render justice and righteousness and save the
oppressed from the hand of the oppressor. Justice means the acceptance of the
reign of God and righteousness is the grace of God resulting from the
acceptance
of God's reign. The kings of Judah failed in their responsibility to give
justice and righteousness to the people, and accordingly the people had to
suffer the consequences".
 "The words of the prophet are applicable to rulers and leaders of all the
times
and also to the people governed by them. In many countries of the world people
are denied justice and righteousness as a result of the promotion of
individualism, hedonism and oppression by secularist values and lines of
action.
The question arises as to whether the leaders of the Church have come forward
with a prophetic role like that of Jeremiah to support the people with the Word
of God and by personal witness".
 "Jeremiah had to suffer the cost of his prophetic role", the Cardinal
observed.
"His life was a symbol of the message he gave. Suffering and ruin he had to
take
upon himself. He was asked to accept three signs in his life: not to marry, not
to attend funerals and not to attend parties".
 "'Do not take a wife': Jeremiah is not to experience the deep love of a bride,
for the bride, Israel, has rejected Yahweh's love. He must experience
loneliness, as Yahweh experiences loneliness. In Christian times, celibacy
becomes a sign".
 "'Do not go into a house where there is mourning': Jeremiah is not to mourn or
show compassion to the dead, because Yahweh has lost all feelings for his
people. They will die unlamented".
 "'Do not go into a house where there is a celebration': Jeremiah is not to
join
any celebration, because there is nothing to celebrate. Jeremiah is called to
lead a terrible life, and no wonder he goes into deep depression and bitter
lament. It is not easy to be a prophet".
 "The pastors of the Church in the present times are called to take upon their
lives a prophetic role of suffering and kenosis, similar to that of the prophet
Jeremiah", concluded His Beatitude, citing Pope Francis' words in his apostolic
exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium":
 "I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out
on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and
from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being
at the centre and then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and
procedures. If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences,
it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the
strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a
community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life. More
than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of
remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security,
within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe,
while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us:
'Give them something to eat'".

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