Pray for the World Synod
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A special blessing for all who have worked so hard on our new ministry/school building. There is still much to be done, especially on the west side of the alley, but we are overjoyed at where we have arrived on this project, and anticipate happily welcoming all the wonderful ministry that will soon begin taking place in our new home. Alleluia!
Looking further from home, coming up soon (October 4 – 29) is the World Synod in Rome. Not much has been said about this in the news. I have looked through the last six months of our Diocesan publication, Catholic Spirit, but not found any items on the Synod. So perhaps you are not aware that the Synod is beginning in a month.
All around the world a lot of work has been done in preparing for this Synod, first on the local level in parishes and schools, then at the diocesan level, then the national level, finally at the continental level (which in our case was only Canada and the US.) Many pages of reflection and documentation have been produced. You can find the “North American Final Document for the Continental Stage of the 2021-2024 Synod” (hardly a catchy title) at https://www.usccb.org/synod.
An article that I found interesting, and a LOT shorter than the Continental report, is by Anna Rolands in Commonweal Magazine titled “The synod has taught me: Catholics are not as divided as the skeptics thought.” She, along with other lay men and women, have been helping to process all the input from around the globe for the Synod.You can find her article at: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2023/06/29/synod-synodality-
Please keep the World Synod in your prayers. I hope we will all be hearing and learning more about it as it develops. I do not expect any big, sudden, dramatic changes coming out of the World Synod this October. That is not the way the Church typically works. But the groundwork for change, guided by the Holy Spirit, will be laid. Who knows where the Holy Spirit wants to lead us? I would be disappointed if there are not a few surprises along the way.
God bless! Fr Chuck