By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily during the opening Mass for the Synod on Synodality, on Oct. 17, 2021, at St. Mary Cathedral.
In the Church of Jesus Christ, no one is so poor that he or she does not have something to contribute; and no one is so rich, that he or she does not have something to receive. As Peter declared in today’s first reading, when he baptized the pagan Cornelius and his household, “God shows no partiality, rather in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”
And so today, at the initiative of Pope Francis, God’s people throughout the world are gathering with their bishops to prepare for the XVI General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2023. With the theme, “For a Synodal Church: communion, participation and mission,” Pope Francis is inviting all of God’s people — and not just the elites of parishes and chanceries — to listen, one to the other, and all to the Holy Spirit, to discern a path forward for the Church, to imagine a different future for the Church and her institutions in keeping with the mission she has received.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Archbishop Thomas Wenski gives closing remarks after opening the archdiocesan portion of the Synod on Synodality with a Mass at St. Mary Cathedral Oct. 17, 2021.
Our participation in this Synod on synodality will last until April of 2022; a second phase, the continental phase, will follow from September 2022 until March 2023. After which the bishops’ conferences of each country will coordinate and evaluate together the results of the diocesan phase which will, hopefully, give the Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome later in 2023 a rich resource of information, ideas and suggestions for moving forward together. “Moving forward together” perhaps is a good definition of what the pope means by “synodality.”
Synods are not new for the Church. In 2012-13, we had an Archdiocesan Synod, our second one in our 60 plus years of history. And the Synod of Bishops to be held in Rome in 2023 is the 16th “general synod of bishops” since the Second Vatican Council. Since the first council of Jerusalem convened by Peter to settle the issue of whether new Christians would have to be circumcised (they do not), the Church has come together to pray and make decisions about matters affecting the Christian communities.
Synod means “to walk together.” In the Gospel today, we find Jesus walking with the disciples of Emmaus. His walking together with those disciples made possible an encounter. We too must be willing to encounter one another — to be willing to be challenged by the presence and the stories of others. Jesus listened to the disciples of Emmaus, and they to him. This is more than listening with the ears; it is listening with heart. And, in these times of political and ideological polarizations, how important our listening to one another is. We must not barricade ourselves in our certainties or “soundproof” our hearts so as not to hear the voice of the other, or the voice of the Spirit. Even in their grief, the disciples of Emmaus listened to Jesus explain the Scriptures to them; and their hearts were set on fire. Along the road to Emmaus, through their encounter, through their listening, they came to discern that the stranger who had accompanied them along the path was the Lord himself, whom they recognized in the breaking of the bread. After that, of course, the disciples of Emmaus continued their walking together — but they went off in a new direction — not to Emmaus, but back to Jerusalem where they announced to the brothers and sisters gathered there that they had seen the Risen Lord.
And so, we are invited to walk together — in a synodal way, a way of encounter, listening and discernment. Sometimes, when someone has asked me what a “synod” is, I answer that “synod” is a “churchy” word for strategic planning. Most people are familiar with strategic planning from their occupations and professions. And such planning will tend to be more successful if consultation is wide ranging. Planning helps us to understand, to evaluate, to arrive at best decisions, best practices. We cannot continue to apply old solutions to new problems. As Pope Francis said, the Church must not become a "museum," beautiful but mute, with much past but little future.
Faced with the loss of credibility due to scandals that have wounded the Body of Christ, given the growing secularism of our society, a secularism that wants to exile God from our consciousness and marginalize those who persist in believing, and taking into account the challenges of an ongoing pandemic, and for many other reasons, some strategic planning won’t hurt.
I thank you for the generosity of your time and talent to ensure that in the coming weeks and months we undertake a credible synodal process — so that listening to one and all, and listening to the Holy Spirit, “we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right.”
