Synod Mass to celebrate participants who listened to the Holy Spirit, responded in the spirit of prayer
Sunday, Oct. 16, at noon, we will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral Basilica of Sacred Heart, presided over by our Cardinal Joseph Tobin C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, which will bring the diocesan stage of the Synod to an end.
The Archdiocese of Newark officially began its synodal journey with Catholics worldwide on Oct. 17, 2021, in preparation for the Synod of Bishops in 2023. Catholics explored the theme, “For a synodal church: communion, participation, and mission.”
Many people – some 15,000 – participated in the synodal process throughout the Archdiocese. They met to honestly analyze – in a spirit of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit – how they see the ecclesial reality both in their parishes and at the archdiocesan level. They responded, as in the rest of the Catholic world, to the invitation made to all of us by Pope Francis.
The Pope wanted us all to participate in this tremendous historical consultation. He asked us to express, without fear, our opinion of how we see the Church today and what we believe should change or improve in it. And that we dream big with the Church of the future.
There were many listening sessions organized in different languages — some 700 in all — not only in parishes but also in other settings such as schools and universities. Many written pages were collected.
With these pages, the diocesan document was written, which then contributed to the drafting of the regional document (of the dioceses of New Jersey and Pennsylvania). Finally, the regional draft was used to compile the national document, a summary of what was received in all the dioceses of the country. This national document has been sent to Rome so that the consultation can continue its course and that, together with those received from all the countries of the world, it will be the basis for the last stage of the Synod on Synodality, when the bishops meet with Pope Francis in the fall of next year.
The Hispanic community had significant participation in the synodal process of our Archdiocese. We have prepared a report of what was sent by 212 small groups that met for five weeks in more than 40 parishes, as well as what was expressed in the Synodal Meeting that we celebrated in June at the John Paul II Youth Center in Kearny. In this document, the joys and concerns of Hispanics are expressed, especially at the parish-level community.
And now… what? Since we have already given the opinion that they asked for, perhaps we think that now there is nothing to do but wait for the document that will come out of the Vatican next year when the bishops meet with Pope Francis.
Although this document will be very important for the entire Catholic world, it is very important that we continue to ask ourselves at the local level — archdiocese and parishes — how we can continue the process of listening attentively to the voices of our community both clergy and laity. We will have to gradually leave behind the paternalism of some and the childishness of others. To do something that perhaps we are not used to – listen to one another, and even more difficult, be all willing to go where the Holy Spirit wants to take us.
Monday, Sept. 26, representatives of some 30 parishes with Hispanic ministry met at the Archdiocesan Center to consider a conversation that should be the norm in the future among us, because as Pope Francis has said, the Church of the 21st century must be a synodal church. We have received the suggestions received in the archdiocesan synodal process. Now it is a matter of looking for concrete ways to put them into practice, of learning to walk together, each one with the vocation and mission to which he has been called. The Synod would be incomplete if we do not learn in our parishes – even little by little – to listen to each other and to walk together. It is a long task and perhaps not an easy one, but one that we cannot fail to carry out with optimism and joy, with the help of the Holy Spirit. The synodal process has lit a spark in our Archdiocese. Now we must feed the fire.
Editor’s note: Deacon Asterio Velasco is the Director of Hispanic Ministry, Archdiocese of Newark.
Featured photo: A Mass of Thanksgiving will be held on Oct. 16 at the Cathedral Basilica of Sacred Heart presided over by Cardinal Joseph Tobin C.Ss.R., which will bring the diocesan stage of the Synod to an end. (Archdiocese of Newark)
