SYNOD ON SYNODALITY

Not much has been said by the secular media so far. The Texas Catholic Herald has had some coverage in these past few months. If you follow Catholic media and Catholic News Apps you’ve been seeing things about the Synod on Snyodality.

A Synod is one of the ways the Holy Spirit continues to guide the Church. The key to a Synod - just like a Church Council like the 2nd Vatican Council – is to listen to the Holy Spirit.
There can be Synods at the level of a diocese but also Synods of the whole Church, like this one.

Pope Francis has invited every diocese in the world to participate in the 16^th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to be held in October of 2023.

On Oct. 20, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo formally marked the beginning of the local Synod process with an Opening Mass of the Synod at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. The following is an excerpt of his homily from that Mass:   A synod is a conversation about who and what we are and what our experiences are. And that’s what we’re going to try to do in some intelligent, methodical form in the next few months.  The goal is not solving a problem. That’s not what synods do. And that’s what Pope Francis has told us. He wants us to talk together, and he wants us to disclose, not just to give answers, but to disclose who we are. And we’re not going to know it if we just talk alone. We have to speak together because the Spirit is the relationship, the string that holds us together.

In the first centuries, the early Christian Church often gathered the bishops together in Synods to call on the Holy Spirit to help them to discern important topics of the Faith and the Practices of the Church. They also held larger gatherings of Bishops called ‘Councils’. The Council of Nicaea, The Council of Ephesus, etc.

The Synod of Bishops is a permanent institution of the Catholic Church. It was established by St. Paul VI in 1965, shortly after the close of the Second Vatican Council, to continue the spirit of collegiality and communion that was present at the Council. The Synod is an assembly of bishops from around the world who assist the Holy Father by providing counsel on important questions facing the Church in a manner that preserves the Church's teaching and strengthens her internal discipline. – Taken from www.archgh.org

The Holy Father wants to reclaim this practice for the Church today – but not only at the level of the Bishops but also including all of the Faithful. What’s new is that now the process more explicitly involves all of the laity, all the People of God. We are being called to pray and to participate.

Another reason that it’s a big deal is that, going forward, as a diocese and as a parish, we need to learn how to more fully use this prayerful process for our local decision-making.

Let me give you a concrete example: · We have a parish Pastoral Council. It’s group that should help me to hear the Holy Spirit. We should listen together to the Holy Spirit.  It shouldn’t work like a political process.  It should listen to the faithful and also pay attention to what’s happening around the parish.  It doesn’t work by lobbying or trying to sway the Council or me by force of argument or by what the majority of parishioners want. Rather, it should be a Council who is trained in Communitarian Discernment.

Important and complex decisions need time and prayer. And each person needs to listen openly to the others.  And, well, that’s not as easy as it sounds!

So, a synod at the global level and ‘synodality’ at the local level are another way of saying and living out ‘Communitarian Discernment’ – Discerning Together, Walking Together.

The Synod currently underway is NOT about changing Church Teachings. Rather, it’s about HOW the Church undertakes its Mission to: bring glad tidings to the poor; to proclaim liberty to captives.

Like I said before:  that more and more Decision-making in the Church be done through Communitarian Discernment. That the faithful and the pastors learn HOW to discern together… how to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit.

I wouldn’t say ‘what you think’ but rather what is the Holy Spirit saying when we listen to what people think. So, you and I have to pray before we participate. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us discern. Then we offer our prayerful contribution. We also have to ready to listen to one another and to people who may believe the Holy Spirit is saying something else.

First, our parish staff, school staff and Pastoral Council are going to attend a training in a few weeks.  

And, if you’re interested in attending the training just let me know. It will be on Saturday, February 5th from 10am to 1pm. Food will be served. Second, I would like us to hold 1 or 2 ‘Listening Sessions’ so that St. Mary’s can offer our input into that of the rest of the archdiocese. We have until the end of April to hold them and send in our input. Third, even if you don’t attend a Listening Session there will be an online page where you or your friends can respond directly. 
Pray for Us.
 

Pray for the synod:   https://www.prayforthesynod.va/en/
Synod on Synodality:  https://www.usccb.org/synod
Galveston-Houston Archdiocese: https://www.archgh.org/resources/synod/

How to pronounce synod:  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/synod