Embracing Synodality, missionary discipleship

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

On Sunday, September 29, the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the three archangels named in Sacred Scripture, participants in the 2024 Synod of Bishops arrive in Rome. We begin our retreat on Monday, September 30. Please pray for us now and throughout October.

Synod 2021-2024, “For a Synodal Church. Communion, Participation, Mission” is a call to joy and to the renewal of the People of God in following the Lord and in commitment to serving the mission of our Redeemer. As the Instrumentum Laboris (Working Document) for this gathering explains (see selection below), our focus during the next four weeks will be on the call to missionary discipleship, a commission that has been given to all the baptized, without exception.

“Synodality” is a concept that has not yet been fully understood or accepted by many in our Church, but it is as old as the Church herself, and it addresses in a very important way the challenges and opportunities of our present day. In a time characterized by rancor and bitter divisions, “synodality” reminds us that we are called to unity, to walk together as sisters and brothers on a journey to our heavenly homeland. It means, as the Instrumentum Laboris says, “learning to accompany each other as a pilgrim people journeying through history towards a common destination, the heavenly city. By walking this path, nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, we are transformed into what we receive.”

Pope Francis has repeatedly challenged us to understand and embrace our role as missionary disciples. He views synodality as a way of expressing our identity and mission as the People of God united in all our diversity, working together to overcome the devastating effects of sin and death on our world. As the Holy Father said in an address to the leaders of spiritual movements in the Church (see selection below):

I have often emphasized that the synodal journey requires a spiritual conversion because without an interior transformation, lasting results cannot be achieved. My hope is that following this Synod, synodality may endure as a permanent mode of working within the Church, at all levels, permeating the hearts of all, pastors and faithful alike, until it becomes a shared “ecclesial style”.

Continue reading Cardinal Joseph Tobin’s latest newsletter.