The continues our series of blogs on the Instrumentum laboris for the second assembly of the Synod on Synodality. This week we move to the second section on Pathways. We're headed toward being a synodal Church in terms of culture. What pathways will lead us there? Let's see what the Spirit has revealed so far!
Photo courtesy of Wix images
When I was a kid, "The Wizard of Oz" came on once a year and watching it was a family event. While I have a lot of memories of things like blankets, Jiffy Pop and running to hide behind the sofa when the flying monkeys appeared, the memory I'd like to share with you has to do with Scarecrow, hanging in the cornfield when Dorothy approaches. She's a little lost, and he points out that there are choices she can make. "This way is a very nice way," he notes, pointing left. "And this way is a very nice way, too," he declares, pointing right. (Don't hold me accountable for the details here...just go with the image, ok?) There are pathways and, like Dorothy, we have to determine which we will take, in life, and in the embrace of synodality. So what has the Holy Spirit revealed so far? The IL says this:
Formation is a necessary pathway. As the participants in the early stages became more and more familiar with the many aspects of synodality, they began to realize people would need to be intellectually, spiritually and practically formed for this. The universal call for formation as a pathway toward synodality emerged and persisted, all the way to this second IL. Who needs to be on this pathway? EVERYONE. EVERYONE. What will they be formed around? Baptismal dignity, how the Spirit guides the Church, listening, missionary synodality and women's ministry within the ecclesial community, to begin with. And what kinds of pathways need to be created? Paths that make sense in local circumstances. One size cannot fit all. Wholistic: intellectual, spiritual and practical pathways. Experiential and mystagogical pathways, with meaningful accompaniment along the way. Pathways that are growing out of cultural awareness, the signs of the times and digital influences. Pathways that are communal, that is shared by men and women, clergy and laity, and ordination candidates with the laity, especially women.
Discernment for mission is another necessary pathway that will lead to a synodal Church. This means a surrender to the truth that the Spirit guides the Church and bestows upon the faithful, the baptized, a sense of the faith that is an expression of their prophetic identity, acquired in baptism. This means practicing the art of discernment in common, with broad participation. It means embracing spiritual realities such as inner freedom, openness to new creations, trusting surrender to God's willl, and more. This discernment will require familairity with the channels of divine communication: the Word of God, the living Tradition of the Church, contemporary events, and diverse knowledge streams, the natural world and personal conscience. And this discernment will be carried out in a disposition of surrender to the Lordship of Christ and the voice of the Spirit. It will require ongoing learning by doing. Processes will need to be developed in addition to Conversations in the Spirit. This formation for discernment will be especially necessary in the local Church among those with ecclesial responsibilities.
The Spirit has revealed these two pathways, and two more. Delegates will be puzzling over how to explain, frame and begin to journey along these pathways. But you need not wait for their specifics. The Holy Spirit is leading us along these routes. Hear the Spirit say, "This is a very nice way!" and choose to start along it, even now.
Now to the final two pathways that will lead the Church into a synodal culture. A third pathway is called "decision-making processes." To create a synodal culture, the whole community is to be included by prayer, listening, analysis, dialogue and discernment with an eye to conforming to God's will. The whole community will have within it those with differing roles, responsibilities, levels of expertise, skills and gifts, all in service to discovering and then enacting the Spirit's will. Consultation cannot be ignored as it is a ministry at the service of the unity of the People of God and its fruits must be received. It must take place at the local level because this is constitutive of a synodal Church. It must include the effective participation of women to be synodal. Finally this work requires access to all relevant information and so requires the final pathway.
The fourth and final pathway in the IL is entitled "Transparency, Accountability and Evaluation." It is in service to decision-making processes, but it is also essential to the restoration of trustworthiness, lost in the past years. Credibility has also been lost partly because of clericalism's disposition that "assumes ordained ministers are accountable to no one for the exercise of the authority vested in them." These elements are essential to a welcoming Church. And this work will require a recovery of accountablity not just to higher authority but to the community being served. Accountability is in service to communion and serves to protect communion. There's a lot of work to be done here to create the forms and procedures of transparency around the specific areas named in paragraph 79.
And there you have it...the pathways, each important, each a necessary way to go in order for the Church to become synodal. Don't wait on the delegates to begin to pray, converse, learn the laws! Look at how other charitable organizations and Christian communities manage these various pathways and consider how each of these will need to be carved out in your local parish. Here are some questions to jump start your local listening to the Spirit:
What would adult faith formation include if we are forming a people to be synodal? What elements are already in place and what will we need to acquire or develop? What do we need from our pastor, Bishop and national documents to support this?
Who needs to be the first tier of people in our parish to learn about and begin to experiment with discernment in common? Who can accompany them? What does the entire People of God need to understand in order to be part of widespread consultation that is part of discernment in common?
How are decisions currently made in our parish? In our committees? In our Councils? How are synodal practices already in place, even partially? How are women included in the decision-making and decision-taking processes in our parish?
About what are we already transparent in our community? How do we know that these current practices are effective? What contributes to increasing trustworthiness? How can we imagine our pastor and pastoral staff being accountable to the community? What kinds of questions would we ask the community in order to discover their perspectives?
Who has been wounded by past practices in our parish? What does the Holy Spirit want us to learn from their woundedness? How does the Spirit want us to work toward healing and reconciliation with these people?
The Pentecost Vigil Project has resources that can assist you as you contemplate these pathways. We have tools, free assessments, paid products and consultants who can accompany you on the #synodjourney. We're here, walking with you. We'd love to hear how the Spirit is inspiring your pathways...and which "very nice way" you are heading first!
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