The Synod: A great opportunity for change in the Church

We have been told that this Synod is different, that walking together applies to all of us, the “ordinary” Catholics, that Pope Francis wants to make sure our voices – as well as the voices of those who may be estranged from the Church – count. We all count. 

Pope Francis has issued us a challenge: listen to the Holy Spirit to discern how the Church should walk in the 21st century. But this is not an individual discernment. We must accomplish it as a community, allowing the Holy Spirit to use our brothers and sisters to speak to us. Together.

We must allow ourselves to be affected and transformed by the conversations. 

Deacon Asterio Velasco

And yet, even with this invitation, it’s possible that many of us have had difficulty digesting this change. We are not used to being asked, or being invited to dream of a Church in which things are done differently.

It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words. And it is true for a well-sketched drawing. The logo of the Synod deserves a close look. I invite you to take a look if you have not yet done so. Full of color, it shows a new way of seeing our Church. A new way of dreaming it. 

This view is far from the hierarchical pyramid that some of us were taught. The pope sat at its pinnacle, and, in descending order, followed bishops, and priests. At the bottom of the pyramid stood all the others, women and men religious and all the baptized. 

The Synod logo, then brings us a new image: “A large, majestic tree, full of wisdom and light, reaches for the sky. A sign of deep vitality and hope which expresses the cross of Christ. It carries the Eucharist, which shines like the sun. The horizontal branches, opened like hands or wings, suggest, at the same time, the Holy Spirit.” At the base of the tree are fifteen silhouettes that walk together representing the People of God. Among those journeying together are a bishop and a religious sister. They “are not in front of them, but among them.”

Pope Francis has told us to flip that view, to invert the pyramid so that the People of God are at the top, and that the clergy are at the bottom at the service of the community. 

Pope Francis wants the Church to hear the voices of all. But we will fall short if we only act as a conduit in passing the information received to and from others. We must allow ourselves to be affected and transformed by the conversations. 

This is the “Synod on Synodality” that of “walking together”. It begins within each of ourselves, living the synodality among us, in our parishes, and in our Archdiocese. It is as Cardinal Tobin shared with us, we “experience the Church as walking with others. Each fellow pilgrim has received a call and gifts given by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church.” We need to listen to that call every day. And if we listen and believe that the Holy Spirit may be behind these voices, we have to take them into account and put this into action.

It is true that we already live elements of synodality in our parishes and Archdiocesan work. Now we are being asked to make this a truly transformational change that is integrated into every aspect so that it becomes as natural as breathing. 

The Church is engaged around the world inviting Catholics to participate in the Synod. Discussions focus on simple – while simultaneously difficult – questions: How are we walking together in our community? How steps do we take to grow and accept the Holy Spirit’s invitation?

It is important we are not afraid to express, with complete sincerity, what we carry inside, with true love. Because, after all, it is about our Family. Hopefully, we will no longer speak of “them” and “us” as we speak of our Church. Pope Francis and Cardinal Tobin are encouraging us to participate in listening sessions in which we become truly aware of something that we have repeated so many times: we all are the Church. 

Visit the Archdiocese of Newark’s synod webpage for more information.