January 16, 2022 - "Listening Sessions"

Last October Cardinal Gregory celebrated a Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral to mark the opening of the Archdiocesan Synod that will be held over the next several months as part of the preparation for a Synod of Bishops that will be held in Rome in October 2023.  You may be wondering:  Why are we doing this?  The answer is that Pope Francis wants to hear from the local Church about what is happening in local parishes.  He and the bishops want to know what individuals think we should be doing to help make our parishes better.  The Holy Father is proposing that we do this through a synodal process.  Synod comes from a Greek word that means being on the road together or perhaps better, being on a journey together. This journey involves listening to the Holy Spirit and to each other in order to discern the path we are called to walk together.
 
Pope Francis hopes that this synodal process will inspire us to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make people’s hopes flourish, to stimulate trust, to bind up wounds, to weave new and deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges, to enlighten minds, warm our hearts, and restore strength to our hands for our common mission.
 
In order to keep to the pretty rigid timetable that the Holy See has given the Dioceses around the world, I need to submit a ten-page report summarizing our parish discussions on the questions being asked in the synod process to the Archdiocese by February 15, 2022.  Initially I hoped that we could this through in-person meetings, virtual meetings, and through an online link that the Archdiocese was providing for people to participate who could not attend either in-person or virtual meetings.  Because of the rising number of COVID cases, I felt that I had to cancel the in-person meetings and just rely upon three virtual meetings and the online link to the questions.
 
We had the first virtual session yesterday and will have two more virtual sessions.  These will take place on January 29 and February 5.  We are skipping a Saturday because we have First Penance and Reconciliation scheduled for next Saturday, February 22.  To be better prepared for the next sessions let me list here the topics that will be taken up and some questions we might consider as we discuss those topics.  Let me list those topics here.
 
For the session on January 29, 2022, there are two topics.  Speaking Out is the first topic.  Two questions we might consider in preparation for this topic is this:  What enables or hinders you from speaking up courageously, candidly, and responsibly in the Church and society?  What space is there in our parishes for the voice of the people (including active and inactive member of our faith)?  The second topic is Sharing Responsibility for our Common Mission and Sharing Authority and Participation.  Some questions we might consider to discuss this topic is this:  How are you able to participate in the mission of the Church to proclaim the Gospel? What hinders you from being active in your parish?  How is authority or governance exercised in your local parish and in the Church?  
 
For the session on February 5, 2022, there are also two topics.  Discerning and Deciding is the first topic.  Some questions we might consider in preparation for this topic is this:  How does your parish use the methods of listening and speaking (consultation) to make decisions?  How does your parish promote participation in decision-making within the hierarchical structures of the Church?  Do the decision-making methods of your parish help you to listen to all members of the community, including those who are on the peripheries of parish life? The second topic is Celebration.  Here are some questions to consider to prepare for a discussion on this topic:  How do prayer and liturgical celebrations, especially Sunday Mass, inspire and guide you? How do your prayer life and celebration of the Mass inspire and inform your personal decisions?  How does the parish invite all Catholics, including cultural communities, youth, families, persons with disabilities and their families into the active life of the parish, especially Sunday Mass?
 
Until next week,
Fr. John