Archbishop Marco Tin Win Calls FABC Delegates to Cultivate Hearts Open to God's Grace

Archbishop Marco Tin Win urged Church leaders gathered for the 12th Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) to cultivate hearts open to God's grace, saying such openness is essential for the Church to become a credible witness to the Gospel and a builder of bridges in Asia.

The Myanmar prelate delivered the message during the Eucharistic celebration opening the fourth day of the FABC Plenary Assembly at Hotel Mulia in Jakarta on July 23.

Archbishop Marco Tin Win served as the principal celebrant, joined by Archbishop Khalid Rehmat of Pakistan and Bishop John Baptist Lee Keh-Mien of Taiwan as concelebrants, together with cardinals, bishops, and priests participating in the assembly.

Reflecting on the Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Archbishop Marco Tin Win began with the disciples' question to Jesus: "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" He explained that Jesus used parables not simply as a teaching method but as a way of leading people into the mystery of the Kingdom of God.

"Parables communicate divine truth by touching the human heart. A story often speaks more powerfully than analysis and remains in people's memory long after it is heard," he said.

The archbishop stressed that the Gospel's call to see and hear extends beyond physical sight and hearing. What matters most, he said, is a heart receptive to God's grace.

"Seeing, listening, and understanding demand a receptive heart, a heart attuned to grace. When the heart is attuned to grace, the mind becomes capable of perceiving life from God's perspective," he said.

He added that wisdom, one of the Holy Spirit's greatest gifts, enables believers not only to gain knowledge but also to understand divine truth and allow God's Word to transform their lives.

Describing Jesus' parables as "sacred veils," Archbishop Marco Tin Win said they both conceal and reveal the mysteries of God. For those who humbly seek the truth, they become windows into God's heart. For those whose hearts remain closed, they serve as an invitation to deeper conversion.

Quoting the prophet Isaiah, whom Jesus cites in the Gospel, the archbishop  noted that people's hearts can become spiritually insensitive. Yet, he said, Christ never stops sowing the seed of God's Word.

"Jesus is not condemning; He is lamenting. Even so, He never gives up. He continues to teach and keeps sowing the seed of His Word into every heart, no matter how hard the soil may be," he said.

His homily echoed the central theme of the FABC Plenary Assembly, which is exploring synodal conversion and the Church's mission of building bridges across Asia. The archbishop suggested that such a mission begins not with strategies or structures but with hearts transformed by God's grace and attentive to His Word.

The spiritual reflection set the tone for the day's plenary sessions, which featured Msgr. Tomáš Halík, professor of sociology at Charles University in Prague, speaking on global geopolitical shifts, and Dr. Choong Pui Yee, lecturer in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Malaya, addressing Asia's changing realities and the Church's call to become a missionary synodal community committed to dialogue, reconciliation, and communion.