Pope Francis formally launched the two-year global consultation process leading to the 2023 synod on synodality on Sunday 10th October 2021 with a call to ‘look others in the eye and listen to what they have to say.’ Preaching at a Mass at St. Peter’s, Pope Francis said that Catholics taking part in the synodal path should strive to ‘become experts in the art of encounter … Not so much by organizing events or theorizing about problems, as in taking time to encounter the Lord and one another,’ he said. ‘Time to devote to prayer and adoration — this prayer that we neglect so much: to adore, to make room for adoration — listening to what the Spirit wants to say to the Church.’
We are beginning our parish response to this request of Pope Francis to join with the whole Church in its preparation for the Synod in Rome in 2023. In the coming weeks we will be reflecting prayerfully on how we journey together as a pilgrim people. I welcome the idea of consultation – that we will be given a voice in shaping the future of the universal Church. In the past communication in the Church has largely been one way! The Synodal Pathway is an opportunity for us to articulate our hopes and dreams for the kind of Church that we want to be.
The first thing we need to do is to frequently pray the ‘Adsumus Sancte Spiritus’, see below. This prayer was used before every session of the last Vatican Council and has been used at church gatherings for hundreds of years. It invites the Holy Spirit to be at work in us to help us try to build flourishing and resilient communities for the mission of the church today.
The second thing we need to do is really think and talk to one another about how we fulfil our mission as baptised people within the Church and how we can encourage others to join us. We need to think about what is helpful on our journey and what are the obstacles that stand in our way.
The third thing we need to do, after several weeks of personal reflection and discernment, is to call some meetings where we can discuss of the issues that have arisen. This is a listening process, it is not about trying to persuade someone else to have the same opinion as you but it is more about trying to clarify our own thoughts.
When this has finished, we will all be invited to visit the Diocesan website to submit our views. {There will be paper forms for those who do not wish to complete online.} The Diocesan team will then consider the responses from all the parishes in East Anglia and take the main points to the National Phase where there will be discernment among the Bishops. This will start in April 2022. Between September 2022 and March 2023 there will be a Continental Phase and the process will finish with the Synod of Bishops in Rome in October 2023.
If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please contact Richard McGreevy or Rob Hardie, our parish coordinators or speak to me.
Richard can be contacted by email at: richardmcgreevy@spanet.com or by phone 01603 738255
Rob can be contacted by email at: robclarehardie@btinternet.com or by phone on 01603 897609
Full details can be found on our Diocesan websites at https://www.rcdea.org.uk/bishop-alan-to-launch-synodal-pathway-online-survey/. I would advise you to wait until the New Year before completing it so that the parish can prepare for this significant moment in the life of the Church.
Adsumus Sancte Spiritus (Synodal Prayer)
We stand before You, Holy Spirit,
as we gather together in Your name,
With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path
nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find You our unity
so that we may journey together to eternal life
and not stray from the way of truth
and what is right.
All this we ask of You,
who are at work in every place and time,
in the communion of the Father and the Son,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
