Pope Leo XIV gathered cardinals present for the extraordinary consistory this week for an early morning Mass Jan. 8 in St. Peter's Basilica, telling them they're together not to promote "agendas," but to take part in a "discernment" that "comes from the Lord."

In the afternoon of Jan. 7, as the consistory started, the cardinals chose two themes to discuss during the gathering -- the missionary nature of the church based on Pope Francis' "Evangelii Gaudium," and synodality as a means of effective collaboration with the pope. Because of time constraints, they were limited to two of the four initially proposed topics, which meant setting aside liturgy -- "the source and summit of the Christian life," in the pontiff's own words -- and governance of the Roman Curia for this meeting.

Pope Leo told the cardinals gathered in St. Peter's for 7:30 a.m. Mass that they are at the consistory "not to promote personal or group 'agendas,' but to entrust our plans and inspirations to a discernment that transcends us ... and which comes only from the Lord," encouraging 170 cardinals present to "place each of our hopes and ideas upon the altar."

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"Our College, while rich in many skills and remarkable gifts, is not called primarily to be a mere group of experts, but a community of faith," the pope said. "Only when the gifts that each person brings are offered to the Lord and returned by him, will they bear the greatest fruit according to his providence."

Encouraging the cardinals in their service, the pope reminded them that what they offer to the Church, at every level, "is something profound and very personal, unique to each of you and precious to all. The responsibility you share with the Successor of Peter is indeed weighty and demanding."

After the Mass, the cardinals moved to the nearby Paul VI Audience Hall for a full day of discussions.

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Reflecting on the meaning of the consistory, the pope said during the morning Mass that the world consistory -- "consistorium" in Latin, or assembly -- "can be understood through the root of the verb consistere, meaning "to stand still," highlighting how the cardinals paused their busy daily schedules "in order to be here."

"We have set aside our activities for a time, and even canceled important commitments, so as to discern together what the Lord is asking of us for the good of his people," Pope Leo said. "This itself is already a highly significant and prophetic gesture, particularly in the context of the frenetic society in which we live."

"It reminds us of the importance, in every aspect of life, of stopping to pray, listen and reflect. In doing so, we refocus our attention ever more clearly on our goal," the pope emphasized.

Through this pause, the pope said, the cardinals manifest "a profound act of love for God, for the Church and for the men and women of the whole world," allowing themselves "to be formed by the Spirit: primarily in prayer and silence, but also by facing one another and listening to one another."

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Pope Leo stressed that the cardinals "may feel inadequate," faced with the pressing challenges of the contemporary world "where satisfaction and hunger, abundance and suffering, and the struggle for survival together with a desperate existential emptiness continue to divide and wound individuals, communities and nations."

But in this, Pope Leo said, the cardinals, along with the pope, "may not always find immediate solutions to the problems we face, yet in every place and circumstance, we will be able to help one another," and in particular, to help the pope, he said, "to find the 'five loaves and two fish' that providence never fails to provide wherever his children ask for help."