Dear Friends,
I am ending our reading about the synod today – at least for now – after all, Advent has begun. However, before we leave the synod preparation materials, Pope Francis has several questions for you to be thinking about. Here he introduces the questions:
Enlightened by the Word and grounded in Tradition, the synodal path is rooted in the concrete life of the People of God. In fact, it presents a peculiarity that is also an extraordinary resource: its object—synodality—is also its method. In other words, it constitutes a sort of construction site or pilot experience that makes it possible to immediately begin reaping the fruits of the dynamic that progressive synodal conversion introduces into the Christian community. On the other hand, it can only refer to the experiences of synodality lived, at different levels and with different degrees of intensity: valuable elements for discernment on the direction in which to continue to move are offered by their strengths and achievements, and also by their limitations and difficulties. Of course, here, reference is made to the experiences activated by the present synodal journey, but also to all those in which forms of “journeying together” are already being experienced in ordinary life, even if the term synodality is not known or used.
The Fundamental Question
The fundamental question that guides this consultation of the People of God, as mentioned at the beginning, is the following: A synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, “journeys together”:
How is this “journeying together” happening today in your particular Church?
What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together”?
In order to respond, you are invited to:
a) ask yourselves what experiences in your particular Church the fundamental question calls to mind;
b) reread these experiences in greater depth: What joys did they provoke? What difficulties and obstacles have they encountered? What wounds have they brought to light? What insights have they elicited?
c) gather the fruits to share: Where, in these experiences, does the voice of the Spirit resound? What is he asking of us? What are the points to be confirmed, the prospects for change, the steps to be taken? Where do we register a consensus? What paths are opening up for our particular Church?
As you gather with family and friends over the holidays, perhaps you can discuss the questions Pope Francis wants us to talk about as a Church. Those discussions are important in knowing in which direction the Holy Spirit is inviting us to go. I look forward to hearing your answers. The Archdiocese will be seeking your input in January.
Peace,
Fr. Damian