From the Cardinal: Embracing Synodality, missionary discipleship| September 27, 2024
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Vol. 6. No. 2
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
On Sunday, September 29, the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the three archangels named in Sacred Scripture, participants in the 2024 Synod of Bishops arrive in Rome. We begin our retreat on Monday, September 30. Please pray for us now and throughout October.
Synod 2021-2024, “For a Synodal Church. Communion, Participation, Mission” is a call to joy and to the renewal of the People of God in following the Lord and in commitment to serving the mission of our Redeemer. As the Instrumentum Laboris (Working Document) for this gathering explains (see selection below), our focus during the next four weeks will be on the call to missionary discipleship, a commission that has been given to all the baptized, without exception.
“Synodality” is a concept that has not yet been fully understood or accepted by many in our Church, but it is as old as the Church herself, and it addresses in a very important way the challenges and opportunities of our present day. In a time characterized by rancor and bitter divisions, “synodality” reminds us that we are called to unity, to walk together as sisters and brothers on a journey to our heavenly homeland. It means, as the Instrumentum Laboris says, “learning to accompany each other as a pilgrim people journeying through history towards a common destination, the heavenly city. By walking this path, nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, we are transformed into what we receive.”
Pope Francis has repeatedly challenged us to understand and embrace our role as missionary disciples. He views synodality as a way of expressing our identity and mission as the People of God united in all our diversity, working together to overcome the devastating effects of sin and death on our world. As the Holy Father said in an address to the leaders of spiritual movements in the Church (see selection below):
I have often emphasized that the synodal journey requires a spiritual conversion because without an interior transformation, lasting results cannot be achieved. My hope is that following this Synod, synodality may endure as a permanent mode of working within the Church, at all levels, permeating the hearts of all, pastors and faithful alike, until it becomes a shared “ecclesial style”.
Synodality is not about changing Church teaching. It is about the way we journey together, listening to one another, sharing each other’s hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows. As Pope Francis teaches us, synodality is a way of living, learning and working together that trusts in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
The spiritual conversion that is needed to make synodality an effective ecclesial style can only come through prayerful discernment of God’s will for His Church. During the days of retreat that will precede Synod 2024, the participants will be asked to pray for the grace to serve as co-responsible leaders who are called to communion, participation, and mission in and through the Church.
As the Instrumentum Laboris clearly states:
This vision of the Church – a pilgrim people in every part of the world seeking synodal conversion for the sake of mission – guides us as we move forward on this path with joy and hope. It is a vision that contrasts starkly with the reality of a world in crisis, whose wounds and scandalous inequalities resonate deeply in the hearts of all Christ’s disciples. It prompts us to pray for all victims of violence and injustice and to renew our commitment to work alongside the women and men who are artisans of justice and peace in every part of the world.
May the holy angels intercede for us. And may the Holy Spirit guide us in discernment of God’s will for His Church!
Sincerely yours in Christ the Redeemer,
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Newark
A selection from the “Instrumentum Laboris” for the Second Session the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, October 2024
Introduction
At the heart of Synod 2021-2024, “For a Synodal Church. Communion, participation, mission” is a call to joy and to the renewal of the People of God in following the Lord and in their commitment to serving His mission. The call to be missionary disciples is based on our common baptismal identity and is rooted in the diversity of the contexts in which the Church[1] is present and finds its unity in the one Father, the one Lord, and the one Spirit. It is a call to all the baptized, without exception: “The whole People of God is an agent of the proclamation of the Gospel. Every baptized person is called to be a protagonist of mission since we are all missionary disciples” (ITC, no. 53). This renewal is expressed in a Church that, gathered by the Spirit through Word and Sacrament (cf. CD 11), proclaims the salvation it continually experiences to a world hungry for meaning and thirsting for communion and solidarity. For this world, the Lord prepares a banquet on his mountain.
We renew our commitment to this mission today by practicing synodality, which is an expression of the Church’s nature. Growing as missionary disciples means answering Jesus’ call to follow Him, responding to the gift we received when we were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It means learning to accompany each other as a pilgrim people journeying through history towards a common destination, the heavenly city. By walking this path, nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, we are transformed into what we receive. Thus, we understand that our identity as a people saved and made holy has an inescapably communal dimension, fashioning us into a community that embraces the generations of believers who have preceded us and those who will follow us. The salvation to be received and borne witness to is relational since no one is saved alone. Or rather, using the words offered by an Asian Episcopal Conference, we grow gradually in our awareness that “Synodality is not simply a goal, but a journey of all the faithful, to be accomplished together hand in hand. This is why understanding its full meaning takes time” (CE Bangladesh).[2] St Augustine speaks of the Christian life as a pilgrimage in solidarity, a walking together “towards God not in steps, but with the affections” (Augustine, Discourse 306 B, 1), sharing a life of prayer, proclamation and love of neighbor.
The Second Vatican Council teaches that “All people are called to this union with Christ, who is the light of the world; from him we come, through him we live, and towards him we direct our lives” (LG, no. 3). At the heart of the synodal journey lies the desire, ancient and ever new, to communicate to all the promise and the invitation of the Lord kept in the living tradition of the Church, to recognize the Risen Lord’s presence in our midst and to welcome the many fruits of the Spirit’s action. This vision of the Church – a pilgrim people in every part of the world seeking synodal conversion for the sake of mission – guides us as we move forward on this path with joy and hope. It is a vision that contrasts starkly with the reality of a world in crisis, whose wounds and scandalous inequalities resonate deeply in the hearts of all Christ’s disciples. It prompts us to pray for all victims of violence and injustice and to renew our commitment to work alongside the women and men who are artisans of justice and peace in every part of the world.
Source: Instrumentum Laboris
A Message from Pope Francis: Words of Challenge and Hope
(A selection from Pope Francis’s address to the participants of the Meeting of Moderators of Lay Associations, Ecclesial Movements, and New Communities sponsored by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, June 13, 2024)
I have often emphasized that the synodal journey requires a spiritual conversion because, without an interior transformation, lasting results cannot be achieved. My hope is that following this Synod, synodality may endure as a permanent mode of working within the Church, at all levels, permeating the hearts of all—pastors and faithful alike—until it becomes a shared “ecclesial style.” However, achieving this demands that a change must occur within each of us, a true “conversion.”
This has been a long journey. Think about the fact that the first person who saw the need for synodality in the Latin Church was Saint Paul VI when, following the Second Vatican Council, he established the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops. The Eastern Churches had preserved synodality, yet the Latin Church had lost it. Saint Paul VI opened this path. Today, almost sixty years later, we can say that synodality has entered into the Church’s way of acting. The most important element of the Synod on synodality is not so much the treatment of this or that problem. The most important element is the parochial, diocesan, and universal journey we make together in synodality.
In light of this spiritual conversion, I wish to highlight some attitudes, some “synodal virtues,” which we can derive from the three announcements of the Passion in the Gospel of Mark (cf. Mk 8:31; 9:31; 10:32-34): thinking as God thinks, overcoming exclusiveness, and cultivating humility.
First: thinking as God thinks. Following the initial announcement of the Passion, the evangelist recounts how Peter rebukes Jesus. He, who should have been an example by helping the other disciples to be fully at the service of the Master’s work, opposes God’s plans by rejecting his Passion and death. Jesus tells him, “For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (Mk 8:33).
This is the primary interior change that is asked of us: to move beyond “merely human thought” to embrace the “thought of God.” Before making any decision, before starting any program, apostolate, or mission within the Church, we should ask ourselves: What does God want from me? What does God want from us at this moment, in this situation? Is what I envision, what we as a group have in mind, truly aligned with the “thought of God”? Let us remember that the Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the synodal journey, not we ourselves: He alone teaches us to listen to the voice of God, individually and as a Church.
God is always greater than our ideas, greater than prevailing mindsets, and the “ecclesial fashions” of the day, even the charism of our particular group or movement. Therefore, let us never presume that we are “in tune” with God. Rather, let us continually strive to rise above ourselves and embrace God’s perspective, not that of men and women. This is the first great challenge: thinking as God thinks. Let us recall that Gospel passage when the Lord announced his Passion and Peter opposed him. What did the Lord say? “You are not acting according to God; you are not thinking as God thinks.”
Second: overcoming exclusiveness. Following the second announcement of the Passion, John objects to a man who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name but was not of their group of disciples: “Teacher,” he said, “we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him because he was not following us” (Mk 9:38). Jesus disapproves of this attitude and tells him, “Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mk 9:40); then He invites all the apostles to be attentive so as not to be a stumbling block to others (cf. Mk 9:42-50).
Please, let us be wary of the temptation of the “closed circle.” Though chosen to be the foundation of the new people of God, open to all nations of the earth, the apostles fail to grasp this expansive vision. They withdraw into themselves, seemingly intent on safeguarding the gifts bestowed on them by the Master, such as healing the sick, casting out demons, and proclaiming the Kingdom (cf. Mk 2:14), as if they were privileges.
The following are also challenges for us: limiting ourselves to what our “circle” thinks, being convinced that what we do is right for everyone, and defending, perhaps inadvertently, positions, prerogatives, or the prestige of the “group.” Alternatively, we could also be impeded by the fear of losing our sense of belonging and identity by opening up to other people and differing viewpoints, which stems from failing to recognize diversity as an opportunity rather than a threat. These are “enclosures” in which we all risk imprisonment. Let us be attentive: our own group, our own spirituality, are realities that help us journey with the People of God, but they are not privileges, for there is the danger of ending up imprisoned in these enclosures.
Synodality instead asks us to look beyond the barriers with magnanimity, to see the presence of God and His actions even in people we do not know, in new pastoral approaches, in uncharted mission territories. It asks us to let ourselves be moved, even “hurt,” by the voice, the experience, and the suffering of others: of our fellow believers and all those around us. Be open, with an open heart.
Thirdly and finally: cultivating humility. Following the third announcement of the Passion, James and John ask for positions of honor next to Jesus, who instead responds by inviting everyone to consider true greatness as not in being served, but in serving, in being a servant of all, for that is what He Himself came to do (cf. Mk 10:44-45).
Here we understand that the starting point of spiritual conversion must be humility, the gateway to all virtues. It saddens me when I encounter Christians who boast because “I am a priest from this place,” or because they are lay people from that place, because “I am from this institution.” This is a bad thing. Humility is the door, the beginning. It compels us to scrutinize our intentions: What do I really seek in my relationships with my brothers and sisters in faith? Why do I pursue certain initiatives within the Church? If we detect a hint of pride or arrogance within us, then let us ask for the grace to rediscover humility. Indeed, only the humble accomplish great things in the Church, for they have a solid foundation in the love of God, which never fails, and therefore they do not seek further recognition.
This phase of spiritual conversion is also fundamental for building a synodal Church: only the humble person esteems others and welcomes their contribution, advice, and inner richness, bringing out not their own “I,” but the “we” of the community. It pains me when we meet Christians…, in Spanish we say “yo me mí conmigo para mí,” that is, “I, me, with me, for me.” These Christians put themselves “at the center.” It is sad. It is the humble who safeguard communion in the Church, avoiding divisions, overcoming tensions, and knowing how to set aside their own initiatives in order to contribute to joint projects. In serving, they find joy and not frustration or resentment. Living synodality, at every level, is truly impossible without humility.
Source: Vatican
My Prayer for You
Please join me in this hymn of praise by the prophet Isaiah: “This is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Is. 25:9).
As the People of God, let us join in this praise. As pilgrims of hope, let us continue to advance along the synodal path towards those who still await the proclamation of the Good News of salvation!
I bless you; go forward! And I ask you to pray for me. Please!