“Without prayer there is no Synod” – Pope Francis

Sep 29, 2023

Diocese of Penang                                             PKK/BDN/2023/09/169

Dear Clergy, Consecrated Men and Women, Lay Faithful and People of God in the Diocese of Penang,
In a few days, on October 4, the Holy Father will open the first session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, For a Synodal Church. Communion, Participation, Mission.

As we approach the opening of the Assembly, the Secretary General of the Synod, Cardinal Mario Grech, has requested us to pray for the Synod and to urge unanimous and unceasing prayer from every Christian community in our particular Church.

The Synod is, above all, an event of prayer and listening that involves not only the members of the Synodal Assembly, but every baptised person and every particular Church. Indeed, all of us are called at this time to unite in a communion of prayer and insistent invocation of the Holy Spirit to guide us in discerning what the Lord is asking of His Church today

. With the prayer of listening, adoration, intercession and thanksgiving, the whole ecclesial community will be present, in the power of the Spirit, at the Synodal Assembly as an event that concerns all the baptised.

I invite you to emphasise prayer for the Synodal Assembly especially on Oct 1, 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A), remembering it in the homily, the Universal Prayers, and in the final blessing of the Eucharistic celebration. (Cardinal Grech)

United in the same spirit of solidarity, I ask for your kind implementation throughout the Diocese of Penang in all the parishes, chapels and Mass centres. Go to bit.ly/3t5jZVh for the relevant materials for this celebration:

1) Blessing at the end of the Eucharistic Celebration
2) Universal Prayer – Intercessions for Sunday Mass
3) Universal Prayer – Intercessions for a Weekday

I will be representing all of you and praying with you at the Ecumenical Prayer Vigil on Sept 30 and at the Opening Mass of the Synod on Oct 4 in Rome.

May the Spirit of the Lord enlighten us and lead us always in the way of His will, for it is only His Word that makes us live (ef. Ps. 119:50) and in which we find our joy.

Yours in Christ,
Rt Rev Sebastian Francis, D.D.
Bishop of Penang
September 18, 2023