Provisions on the Way

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Sometimes to accomplish a task, we need other people to encourage and strengthen us, giving us confidence and support. At other times, to be persistent we need to have our expectations expanded beyond a narrow perception of how to proceed. Like the judge in today's Gospel (Luke 18:1-8), our expectations are expanded by receiving challenges from

other people: by remembering what we have learned from past, similar experiences, by realizing the direction we are pursuing is too limited. Prayer leads us to expand our minds and hearts beyond our own limits, entrusting ourselves to the God who always acts justly and wills only good for us.

Prayer, and in particular reflection on the word of God, is an essential part of the synodal

process. It is not just a way to begin and end the meeting. It is meant to infuse the entire

gathering. Time spent in prayer is not an add-on to these gatherings, but a critical dimension of the synodal process. There are no prescriptions about what this prayer should look like or sound like. It can, and should, be different in different contexts, reflecting the age, experience, and cultural background of those who gather. For gatherings with non-Catholics, or deeply wounded or marginalized communities, an entirely different form of prayer – or simply a time of silence – might be more appropriate. Some ways we can pray even before a synodal gathering include:

• Celebrating the Eucharist regularly, especially the Sunday Eucharist. The Eucharist is called viaticum, food (or provisions) for the journey. On this Synodal journey, we need the Eucharist, the source of life and unity for the Church, which fills us with sacramental grace and forms us into the one Body of Christ.

• Including the synodal gatherings in the Universal Prayer at parish Masses in advance

  of the gathering.

• Encouraging parishioners to pray for participants in a synodal gathering, using the traditional prayer Adsumus Sancte Spiritus, or another prayer.

• Inviting all who will participate in a synodal sharing to pray daily before their session.

Jesus' admonition to "pray always without becoming weary" says something about persistence in prayer as well as how we ought to pray. Prayer opens up a deeper relationship with God that expands us and our expectations of both self and God. Come, Holy Spirit!