Hey, Have You Heard of the Synod and Synodality?
Hugh Menton – Greater Los Angeles Chapter
Unlike many Affiliates and Catholics, I was received into the Church as an 18-year-old, while a student at a Catholic university. I was looking for meaning, a direction in life, as young people still do. The decision shaped and filled my life. Now I am an old man and I am finding that same meaning and feeling in Pope Francis’ call for the current synod and vision of synodality. Reminiscent of my college days, when many Catholics were unaware of the social doctrines of the Church and its place in the world as described by Vatican II, many Catholics today in the US are unaware of the Synod. Have you heard about it?
The Vatican Office for the Synod, the USCCB, diocesan materials, and parish bulletins are using the Jesuit educational approach—begin with definitions (something I found useful as a college student). Here is one definition of Synodality:
syn = “together” hodos = “road”
synod = “on the road together”
Synodality is a style or mode of being Church, in which we journey together, both clergy and laity, each according to our roles and spiritual gifts.
The intention of this process is “to inspire people to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make 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 hearts and restore strength to our hands for our common mission.”
What do Affiliates have to do with the Synod? For me, it's as basic as the Affiliates being a voice in the Church. This is an opportunity to initiate doing Church differently, something clearly expressed at Vatican II—as the People of God and all people of goodwill. As Father Greg Boyle points out in his new book, The Whole Language, that goodness is present in every human being. Affiliates are called to expose that goodness and bring it forward to the world, as Maryknollers have always done.
We will have opportunities to express the Affiliate experience and vision in this process, which hopefully will not end in 2023. It seems to me Maryknoll pillars of spirituality, community, global vision, and action are quite in sync with Pope Francis' call to communion, participation, and mission.