Synod: effective catechesis helping families journey together in new way
What does your family (or families in general) need from the Catholic Church?
“Joy.”
“Continued love and support.”
“Having families feeling included and supported.”
These are some of the responses received from families who recently participated in the Synod on Synodality by conducting listening sessions in their homes using resources created by the Archdiocese of Newark’s Catechetical Office. These resources are also being used to guide listening sessions in parishes and schools.
The Archdiocese of Newark is participating in a synodal journey with Catholics worldwide at the prompting of Pope Francis. The Holy Father called all Catholics to participate in the process of listening to the Holy Spirit and each other to discern the path the faithful must walk together.
This historic moment in the life of the Church brings many blessings. Among them, the Catechetical Office recognizes two major opportunities. First, parish catechetical leaders are in a prime position for outreach because young families arriving at our parishes will most likely be welcomed first by catechists. Therefore, it is important that catechetical ministry throughout the Archdiocese be another vehicle through which all the faithful, including children and youth, can have an opportunity to participate fully in the synodal process.
Second, this synodal path requires that the faithful be formed in synodality. Pope Francis shares, “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium. A synodal Church is a Church that listens, which realizes that listening ‘is more than simply hearing.’ It is a mutual listening in which everyone has something to learn.”
This kind of listening will require both conversion and dialogue. Effective catechesis will help the Church grow in what it means to “journey together” in this new way. The Catechetical Office has developed a series of innovative and engaging resources for parishes and schools to use with children, teens, and their families for their synodal journey. Creative resources have also been developed that extend beyond the parish into the homes of parish families, where the first proclamation of the love of Christ is shared.
Pope Francis reminds us that “All the baptized are called to take part in the Church’s life and mission.”
Patty Rodriguez, associate director for Catechist Formation, developed a resource specifically designed to support parish catechetical teams and Catholic schools in this task. Through prayer and hands-on activities, the Synod “Catechetical Resources for Children Grades K through 8” is designed to explain the process in ways that children and teens can understand and begin to experience.
Rodriguez’s motivation for creating this resource was a deep desire for catechists not to miss this pivotal moment. It is a great joy to see it come to life as catechists begin the journey and share their successes using the resource.
Sarah Lucero, director of religious education at St. Anthony’s Parish in Northvale, shares, “Without this resource, I would not have had time to have these meaningful conversations with our younger children. The simple yet thought-provoking, questions helped elicit responses even from our first graders. The hands-on activities and coloring pages were great and helped to more fully engage the children.”
First graders shared how they know and feel God is close to them: “Warm and peaceful” and “it’s so great I want to help someone!” It is exciting to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit even amongst the youngest members of the Church.
Catechetical leaders have been encouraged to intentionally reach out, not only to their present faith formation families but also to families who may no longer be active at their parish. The Synod Listening Session Guide developed by Sr. Donna Ciangio, O.P., was adapted for use with parents who may not often be present at Mass. This provides a way to invite those disconnected from the Church to reengage and perhaps continue the conversation. With the guide, participants are also provided with a tool to help prepare them to engage in this process. Both the Listening Session Guide and the Preparation Guide are available in Spanish.
Chi Aquino, director of faith formation at St. Paul Church in Ramsey, shares her gratitude for another document: the Synod Preparation Guide for Participants. “Most people, myself included, weren’t really sure what to expect,” she said. “After reflecting with the preparation guide, I felt like I was better prepared for a listening session. The resource emphasizes the spiritual process, and I think the guidance on what attitudes to cultivate and what we should leave behind is the foundation for how we need to walk with one another as a Church.”
Beyond the parish walls
For the Church to really hear the voice of all the faithful, the synod outreach must extend beyond the parish walls. Joanne DePasquale-Parent, associate director for adult and family faith formation, initiated the creation of family resources to help families engage in this exciting time in the life of our Church.
Learning to live synodality must be the way forward for the Catholic Church. Home is an important and essential place to learn and live the synodal way. Families who live synodality by being loving and authentic listeners at home help build more loving and empathetic parishes.
DePasquale-Parent collaborated with Brian Caldwell, director for the Office for Family Life Ministry with the Archdiocese of Newark, to create a Synod on Synodality edition of the Faith Alive @ Home! family resource in English and Spanish.
This family resource was first created by DePasquale-Parent in response to the lockdown in 2020 due to the onset of the Covid-19 health crisis. Our churches were closed, leaving our families isolated from their parish communities. In response to our parish faith formation leaders desiring ways to stay connected to their families and keep them engaged in their faith, DePasquale-Parent created the first Faith Alive @ Home! resource to help families better understand and celebrate Holy Week at home.
Since this first edition, DePasquale-Parent has created additional issues of the Faith Alive @ Home! resource featuring topics such as celebrating the Easter season at home, family discipleship, racism and justice/Catholic social teaching, and the Year of the Family. All editions of the Faith Alive @ Home! family resources are available in English and Spanish on the Catechetical Office website here.
In addition to the synod edition of the Faith Alive @ Home! family resource, DePasquale-Parent, and Caldwell worked together to create a Family Listening Session Guide (also translated to Spanish) which offers step-by-step instructions and all resources necessary to conduct a synod listening session at home. It also provides a link to an online reporting tool for families to share their insights with the Archdiocese.
Catzel LaVecchia, director of lifelong learning at Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River, shared, “We had our monthly family gathering and got great feedback from different age groups. We used some of the materials from the Catechetical Office as well. We had each family share one main thought written on a paper word bubble. We then created a word bubble wall of their insights so the whole parish could see and get excited.”
Through engaging families in the synod process, the voices and insights of our families will impact the continued growth of our Church. The Catechetical Office hopes families will take this important opportunity to learn about the synod, to hold a listening session in their homes, and to report their insights back to us. We believe that everyone’s voice matters!
To fully embrace this new way of walking together as Church, we must all develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be Church. We must grow together in our ability to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit and to detect the action of the Holy Spirit within the life of the Church. This new kind of deep listening requires an openness that can only be the result of both God-given grace and intentional practice. For synodality to take root, we must continue to seek ways to grow in missionary discipleship. Effective catechesis will be an important part of the process.
Joanne DePasquale-Parent and Patricia Rodriguez are associate directors of the Archdiocese of Newark’s Catechetical Office.
Featured image: Synod coloring pages created by first-graders at St. Anthony’s Parish in Northvale are displayed on the parish bulletin board. The parish participated in Synod on Synodality listening sessions using resources created by the Archdiocese of Newark’s Catechetical Office. (Photo courtesy of St. Anthony Parish)
