19.5.24
Mrs Turnstone recommended this post from Richard Rohr at the Center for Action and Contemplation as”Good solid stuff”. It challenges us to become more open to the Holy Spirit.
Baptism “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11); that’s the one that really matters. Read on!
Filed under Daily Reflections, Pentecost
B 3.2 How can we develop discernment practices and decision-making processes in an authentically synodal manner, that respects the action of the Spirit?
As a synodal Church, we are called to discern together the steps we should take to fulfil the mission of evangelisation, emphasising the right of all to participate in the life and mission of the Church and drawing forth the irreplaceable contribution of all the Baptised. Underlying all discernment is the desire to do the Lord’s will and to grow in closeness to Him through prayer, meditation on the Word and participation in sacramental life, which enables us to choose as He would choose. Regarding the place of discernment in a missionary synodal Church:
a) the Continental Assemblies express a desire for shared decision-making processes capable of integrating the contribution of the whole People of God, particularly those with relevant expertise, as well as involving those who for various reasons remain on the margins of community life, such as women, young people, minorities, the poor and the excluded. This desire is often expressed together with dissatisfaction with forms of exercising authority in which decisions are taken without consultation;
b) the Continental Assemblies also note the fears of those who see a competition between the synodal and hierarchical dimensions that are both constitutive of the Church. However, signs of the opposite are also emerging. In one example, the experience of a relevant authority taking a decision within a synodal process made the community more ready to accept its legitimacy. A second example is the growing awareness that the lack of healthy exchange within a community weakens the role of authority, sometimes reducing it to a mere assertion of power. In the third example, in a region where the number of Priests is very low, ecclesial responsibilities have been entrusted to lay Faithful who exercise them in a constructive and non-oppositional manner;
c) the widespread adoption of the method of conversation in the Spirit during the consultation phase allowed many to experience elements of community discernment and participatory consensus-building in a manner that did not hide conflicts or create polarisations;
d) those who perform tasks of governance and responsibility are called to initiate, facilitate and accompany processes of community discernment that include listening to the People of God. In particular, the Bishop’s authority has a fundamental role to play in animating and validating the synodal character of these processes and in confirming the faithfulness of the conclusions that emerge during the process. In particular, it is the responsibility of the Pastors to verify the relationship between the aspirations of their communities and the “sacred deposit of the Word of God entrusted to the Church” (DV 10), a relationship that allows those aspirations to be considered a genuine expression of the People of God’s sense of faith;
e) adopting the perspective of community discernment challenges the Church at all levels and in all its organisational forms. In addition to Parish and diocesan structures, this also concerns the decision-making processes of associations, movements and Lay-led groups, where they have recourse to institutional mechanisms that routinely involve practices such as voting. It calls into question the way in which the decision-making bodies of Church-related institutions (schools, universities, foundations, hospitals, reception and social action centres, etc.) identify and formulate operational guidelines. Finally, it challenges Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in ways that connect the specificities of their charisms and their own constitutions (cf. DCS 81);
f) Adopting decision-making processes that make stable use of community discernment requires a conversion that is personal, communal, cultural and institutional, as well as an investment in formation.
Question for discernment
How can we imagine decision-making processes that are more participatory, which give space for listening and community discernment supported by authority understood as a service of unity?
Suggestions for prayer and preparatory reflection
1) What space do we make in our decision-making processes to listen to the Word of God? How do we make room for the action of the Holy Spirit concretely and not just in words?
2) How can conversation in the Spirit, which opens up the dynamism of community discernment, contribute to the renewal of decision-making processes in the Church? How can it be drawn more centrally into the formal life of the Church and so become an ordinary practice? What changes in canon law are needed to facilitate this?
3) How can we promote the ministry of the facilitator of community discernment processes, ensuring that those who carry it out receive adequate formation and accompaniment? How can we form ordained Ministers to accompany processes of community discernment?
4) How can we foster the participation of women, young people, minorities, and marginalised voices in discernment and decision-making processes?
5) How can a clearer account of the relationship between the entirety of the decision-making process and the specific moment of decision-taking help us to better identify the responsibilities of the different actors at each stage? How do we understand the relationship between decision-taking and discernment in common?
6) How can and must Consecrated men and women participate in the decision-making processes of the local Churches? What can we learn from their experience and their different spiritualities regarding discernment and decision-making processes? What can we learn from associations, movements and Lay-led groups?
7) How can we deal constructively with cases in which those in authority feel they cannot confirm the conclusions reached by a community discernment process, taking a decision in a different direction? What kind of restitution should that authority offer to those who participated in the process?
8) What can we learn from the ways that our societies and cultures manage participatory processes? What cultural models, where adopted by the Church, prove, by contrast, an obstacle to building a more synodal Church?
9) What can we learn and receive from the experience of other Churches, and from that of other religions? What stimuli from indigenous, minority and oppressed cultures can help us to rethink our decision-making processes? What insights can be gained from experiences in the digital environment?
Filed under Christian Unity, Daily Reflections, Mission, PLaces, Synod
B 3.1 How can we renew the service of authority and the exercise of responsibility in
a missionary synodal Church?
A synodal Church is called to uphold both the right of all to participate in the life and mission of the Church by virtue of Baptism, and the service of authority and exercise of responsibility that is entrusted to some. The synodal journey is an opportunity to discern the ways in which this can be done that are appropriate to our times. The first phase made it possible to gather some ideas to aid this reflection:
a) authority, responsibility and governance roles—sometimes succinctly referred to by the English term leadership—take a variety of forms within the Church. Authority in consecrated life, in movements and associations, in Church-related institutions (such as universities, foundations, schools, etc.) is different from that which derives from the Sacrament of Orders; spiritual authority linked to a charism is different from that linked to ministerial service. The differences between these forms must be safeguarded, without forgetting that they all have in common the fact that they are a service in the Church;
b) in particular, they all share the call to be configured to the example of the Master, who said of himself: “I am among you as one who serves” (Lk 22:27). “For the disciples of Jesus, yesterday, today and always, the only authority is the authority of service.”* These are the fundamental coordinate by which grow in the exercise of authority and responsibility, in all their forms and at all levels of Church life. It is the perspective of that missionary conversion which “aims to renew her [the Church] as a mirror of Christ’s own mission of love” (PE I, 2).
c) in this line, the documents of the first phase express some characteristics of the exercise of authority and responsibility in a missionary synodal Church: an attitude of service and not of power or control; transparency, encouragement and the flourishing of the person; a capacity for and competence of vision, discernment, inclusion, collaboration and delegation. Above all, the ability and willingness to listen is emphasised. This is why there is an insistence on the need for special formation specifically in these skills and competences for those in positions of responsibility and authority, as well as on more participatory selection procedures, especially with regard to the selection of Bishops.
d) a transparent and accountable approach is fundamental to an authentically evangelical exercise of authority and responsibility. However, it also arouses fears and resistance. That is why it is important to address, with an attitude of discernment, the most recent findings of management and leadership sciences. Moreover, conversation in the Spirit is identified as a way of managing decision-making and consensus-building that builds trust and fosters an exercise of authority appropriate to a synodal Church.
e) the Continental Assemblies also point to experiences in which power and decision-making processes have been appropriated by some in positions of authority and responsibility. They link these experiences to the culture of clericalism and the different forms of abuse (sexual, financial, spiritual and of power), which erode the credibility of the Church and compromise the effectiveness of its mission, particularly in those cultures where respect for authority is an important value.
Question for Discernment
How can authority and responsibility be understood and exercised such that it serves the
participation of the whole People of God? What renewal of vision, and forms of concrete
exercise of authority, responsibility and governance, are needed in order to grow as a
missionary synodal Church?
Suggestions for prayer and preparatory reflection
1) Is the teaching of the Second Vatican Council concerning the participation of all in the life and mission of the Church effectively incorporated into the consciousness and practice of the local Churches, particularly by Pastors and those who exercise functions of responsibility? What can foster a more profound awareness and appreciation of this teaching in the fulfilment of the Church’s mission?
2) In the Church there are roles of authority and responsibility not linked to the Sacrament of Orders, which are exercised at the service of communion and mission in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in associations and lay movements, in ecclesial movements and new communities, etc. How can these forms of authority be appropriately promoted and how can they be exercised in relationship with the ministerial authority of the Pastors within a synodal Church?
3) What elements are necessary in forming Church leaders for the exercise of authority? How can formation in the method of authentic and insightful conversation in the Spirit be encouraged?
4) How can seminaries and houses of formation be reformed so that they form candidates for ordained Ministry who will develop a manner of exercising authority that is appropriate to a synodal Church?
How should the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis and its related documents be rethought at the national level? How should curricula in theology schools be reoriented?
5) What forms of clericalism persist in the Christian community? A perception of distance between the lay Faithful and their Pastors persists: what can help to overcome it? What forms of exercising authority and responsibility should be superseded as they are not appropriate for a properly constituted synodal Church?
6) To what extent does the shortage of Priests in some regions provide an incentive to question the relationship between ordained Ministry, governance and the assumption of responsibilities in the Christian community?
7) What can we learn about the exercise of authority and responsibility from other Churches?
8) In every age, the exercise of authority and responsibility within the Church is influenced by the prevailing management models and imagery of power in society. How can we become aware of this and exercise an evangelical discernment of the prevailing practices of exercising authority, in the Church and in society?
* FRANCIS, Address at the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, 17th October, 2015.
Filed under Christian Unity, Daily Reflections, Justice and Peace, Mission, Synod
B 2.4 How can we properly value ordained Ministry alongside baptismal Ministries in a missionary perspective?
The Final Documents of the Continental Assemblies express a strong desire for the Synod to reflect on the relationship between ordained and baptismal Ministries, emphasising the difficulty of doing so in the ordinary life of communities. In the light of the teaching of Vatican II, the synodal process offers a valuable opportunity to focus on the relationship between the exercise of baptismal dignity (in the wealth of vocations, charisms and ministries rooted in Baptism) and the ordained Ministry, seen as a gift and an inalienable task at the service of the People of God. In particular:
a)In the footsteps of the Second Vatican Council, the necessary relationship between the common priesthood and the ministerial Priesthood is reaffirmed. They are “interrelated” because each one “in its own special way is a participation in the one Priesthood of Christ” (LG 10). There is no opposition or competition or ground for claims between the two. Their complementarity should be recognised;
b) The Continental Assemblies express a clear appreciation for the gift of the ministerial Priesthood and, at the same time, a deep desire for its renewal in a synodal perspective. They also point out the difficulty of involving some Priests in the synodal process and note the widespread concern for instances where Priests struggle to face the challenges of our time, are far from the life and needs of the people or are focused on the liturgical-sacramental sphere only. They also express concern for the loneliness experienced by many Priests and emphasise their need for care, friendship and support;
c) Vatican Council II teaches that “the divinely established ecclesiastical ministry is exercised on different levels by those who from antiquity have been called Bishops, Priests and Deacons” (LG 28).
From the Continental Assemblies emerges the request that the ordained Ministry, in the diversity of tasks, be for all a living witness of communion and service in the logic of evangelical gratuity. They also express the desire for Bishops, Priests and Deacons to exercise their ministry of guidance and unity in a synodal style. This included specific aspirations to recognise and enhance the gifts and charisms present in the community, to encourage and accompany processes for the communal embrace of mission, and to seek decisions in line with the Gospel and through listening to the Holy Spirit. Also requested is a renewal of seminary programmes so as to be more synodally oriented and more in contact with the whole People of God;
d) In reflecting on ordained Ministry at the service of the baptismal life, the first phase of the Synod presents clericalism as a force that isolates, separates and thus weakens and dissipates the energies of a healthy and wholly ministerial Church. It indicates that formation is the privileged way to overcome it effectively. Clericalism is not viewed as the prerogative of ordained Ministers alone but is present in different ways in all the components of the People of God;
e) Many regions report that trust in ordained Ministers and the Church as a whole has been undermined by the consequences of the “scandal of abuse by members of the clergy or by people holding ecclesial office: first and foremost, abuse of minors and vulnerable persons, but also abuse of other kinds (spiritual, sexual, economic, of authority, of conscience). This is an open wound that continues to inflict pain on victims and survivors, on their families, and on their communities” (DCS, no. 20).
Question for discernment
How can we promote in the Church both a culture and concrete forms of co-responsibility such that the relationship between baptismal Ministries and ordained Ministry is fruitful? How can we understand the specific gifts of ordained Ministers within the one People of God from a missionary perspective
Suggestions for prayer and preparatory reflection
1) How does the ministry of Priests, “consecrated to preach the Gospel, shepherd the faithful and celebrate divine worship” (LG 28), relate to baptismal Ministries? How does the triple office of th ordained Ministry relate to the Church as a prophetic, priestly and royal People.
2) In the local Church Priests with their Bishops “constitute one Priesthood” (LG 28). How can we help strengthen this unity between the Bishop and his Priests for more effective service to the People
of God entrusted to the Bishop’s care?
3) The Church is enriched by the ministry of so many Priests who belong to Institutes of Consecrated
Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. How can their ministry, characterised by the charism of the
Institute to which they belong, promote a more synodal Church?
4) How is the ministry of the permanent diaconate to be understood within a missionary synodal Church?
5) What guidelines could be adopted for the reform of seminary curricula and teaching programmes in colleges and schools of theology in order to promote the synodal character of the Church? How can the formation of Priests engage more closely with the life and pastoral realities of the People of God they are called to serve?
6) What paths of formation should be adopted in the Church to foster an understanding of ministries that is not reduced to ordained Ministry but at the same time enhances it?
7) Can we discern together how a clerical mindset, whether in Clergy or Laity, inhibits the full expression of both the vocation of ordained Ministries in the Church as well as that of other members of the People of God? How can we find ways to overcome this together?
8) Can Lay people perform the role of community leaders, particularly in places where the number of ordained Ministers is very low? What implications does this have for the understanding of ordained Ministry?
9) As some continents propose, could a reflection be opened concerning the discipline on access to the Priesthood for married men, at least in some areas?
10) How can an understanding of ordained Ministry and the formation of candidates that is more rooted in the vision of the missionary synodal Church contribute to efforts to prevent the recurrence of sexual abuse and other forms of abuse?
Filed under Christian Unity, Daily Reflections, Justice and Peace, Mission, Synod
This is shared from Coram Fratribus, the blog of Bishop Erik Varden, the Catholic Bishop of Trondheim in Norway; click for the full homily.
To grasp what Jesus’ baptism represents, we must approach it poetically. We must consider every aspect of the Gospel — each word, each syllable — in the light of a meaningful, complex context. If we do, a wide perspective opens.
When Jesus descends into the water, he touches creation as such. Modern environmental politics proclaim the same message as the beginning of the book of Genesis: No water, no life. He, the Holy One, hallows creation and claims it for himself. From this moment on, creation is a means to our hallowing. We ascertain this in the way we use water, oil, bread, and wine. Thus Jesus’s baptism stands for a horizontal axis, affirming his communion with the things of earth. This horizontal picture is rent by a vertical axis intruding in the form of the descending Dove, a herold of the Father’s voice proclaiming: ‘My Son, the Beloved!’ Love is revealed by the fact that the Son stands undressed and vulnerable as the axes’ point of intersection. The Baptism indicates a cruciform pattern that will be revealed definitively on Calvary. Let us be mindful of that when we recall that we have been baptised ‘into Christ’s death’ (Rm 6:3) in order to rise to new life in him.
The Spirit hovering over the water makes us think of the first day of creation. Something entirely new is about to begin. This new thing holds out the key to our life’s enigma. The baggage the old Adam has lugged around for so long is taken by the current; while the new Adam rises, upright and free, to be showered with divine love. Christ, the Firstborn, shows us what we, God’s adopted children, are called to become.
This image — or, if you like, this poem — gives meaning to everything else.
https://coramfratribus.com/words-on-the-word/baptism-of-the-lord/
Filed under Daily Reflections, Laudato si', poetry
O God, creation’s secret force, yourself unmoved, all motion’s source, who from the morn till evening ray through all its changes guide the day: Grant us, when this short life is past, the glorious evening that shall last; that, by a holy death attained, eternal glory may be gained. To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, Three in One, may every tongue and nation raise an endless song of thankful praise!
| Saint Ambrose of Milan composed this simple hymn, appropriate for Eastertide with its reflection on a holy death and eternal glory. I wonder what would make a holy death? Or unholy? Accident victims and those who die in their sleep or of a massive heart event we can but commend to God, ‘creation’s secret force’ who can grant eternal glory to whomsoever he will. The photograph shows the ancient Baptistry beneath the present day Cathedral of Milan, discovered in the 1950s when the metro was being excavated. Notice that it was a proper pool with room for total immersion. It has eight sides because Jesus rose on Easter Sunday, the eighth day of Holy Week. We are baptised into his death and resurrection,as was Ambrose, in this pool, and at his hand, Augustine. |
Filed under Daily Reflections, Easter, Mission, PLaces, Spring
As we approach Holy Week and all its violence, jealousy, fear and betrayal, Pope Francis asks us to pray for the spread of peace and non violence, by decreasing the use of weapons by States and citizens.
The flowers, candles and other tokens in the square after the bombing represent just one instance of people coming together to reject violence and darkness in favour of peace and light.
It is not only states that must renounce violence, but citizens, you and me. Remembering that the pen, and the tongue too for that matter, is mightier than the sword, let us be courteous and respectful in speech at this time commemorating betrayal, false witness and fear. A silent smile will do no harm!
Let us take a leaf out of Pope Francis’s book and show our care for those around us, including those who work hard to care for us. Despite being ill, he took the opportunity to baptise a little boy and encourage his mother, and later to share a pizza with the staff who were caring for himself. Shared meals are part and parcel of being Christian!
Filed under Autumn, Daily Reflections, Easter, Justice and Peace, Lent
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| Saint Óscar Romero, source of inspiration for the Regional Assembly of Central America-Mexico |
| By: Óscar Elizalde Prada The first day of the Regional Assembly of Central America-Mexico (CAMEX) – one of the four Assemblies planned by the Latin American and Caribbean Church for the continental stage of the Synod of Synodality – began in San Salvador with a sign of faith, full of hope and prophetic commitment. Pilgrimage to the Martyr’s Chapel of St. Romero As pilgrims, the Assembly participants travelled from the Casa Familia de Nazaret – where the meeting is taking place – to the Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero Martyr’s Chapel located in the Divine Providence Hospital. They arrived there at around 09:00 (local time) to celebrate the opening ceremony, followed by the spiritual retreat that marked the beginning of the activities. The opening ceremony was attended by the Apostolic Nuncio to El Salvador, Mgr. Luigi Roberto Cona; the Archbishop of San Salvador, Mgr. José Luis Escobar Alas; the president of the Conference of Religious of El Salvador, Sr. Genoveva Henríquez – on behalf of the consecrated life of the CAMEX region -; and Mgr. Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, President of the Latin American Episcopal Council (Celam). During his intervention, the President of Celam referred to the equality of the baptised “as a structuring criteria for the configuration of all ecclesial subjects”, thus taking up the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and recognising the “People of God as a discerning subject”. In this sense, Bishop Cabrejos insisted that “the practice of discernment in community is essential to grow in synodality and to really walk together in our Church”, since synodality “is not a concept to be studied, but a life to be lived”. After the opening ceremony, the participants let themselves be inspired by the testimony of St. Romero during the spiritual retreat animated by the spirituality commission of the continental stage led by the General Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious (CLAR), Sr. Daniela Cannavina, HCMR. Opening Mass at the tomb of Archbishop Romero At 13:15 the assembly members went to the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador to celebrate at 14:00 the Opening Mass of the meeting at the tomb of Mons. Romero, in the crypt of the Cathedral, which was presided over by Mons. Miguel Cabrejos. Both the Eucharist and the retreat were marked with the sign of mysticism and prophecy, and from the option for the poor that identifies the Latin American and Caribbean Church. “Being in this place fills us with emotion and gratitude to God, because it was here that our great prophet Mons. Romero shed his blood”, commented Sister María Suyapa Cacho, a member of the Garífuna pastoral in Honduras, who said that in her vocational journey she has always felt motivated by the testimony of Saint Romero, highlighting his ability to “listen to his people” to discern God’s will in the face of the signs of the times. “I asked God, through the mediation of Mgr Romero, to allow me to continue denouncing the injustices that affect our people and to maintain my commitment to society and to our Church”, she concluded. After the celebration of the Eucharist, the participants of the CAMEX Regional Assembly returned to the Casa Familia de Nazaret to begin their work in the light of the introductory reflection on synodal spirituality by Father Ricardo González, a member of the theological-pastoral reflection team of Celam. To conclude the day, Sr. Dolores Palencia, CSJ and Mauricio López Oropez introduced the conformation of the working groups in the light of the methodology of spiritual conversation. The coming days will allow for the experience of active and reciprocal listening, as well as community discernment through spiritual conversation. Published in: https://adn.celam.org/san-oscar-romero-fuente-de-inspiracion-para-la-asamblea-regional-de-centroamerica-mexico/ Photos: Catholic media chain in El Salvador. |
| Through the portal https://synod2023.org you can access the sites of the individual continental meetings. |
Filed under Christian Unity, Justice and Peace, Mission, PLaces, Synod
John the Baptist is naturally despondent in today’s Gospel reading. He’s in prison and unable to pursue his vocation of prophet, reminding people that being God’s chosen nation means living as if they really believed it, calling them to repent and offering them the dramatic sign of baptism – full immersion, not just a sprinkling! But now John needs reassurance and turns to the one man who can provide it.
Look what’s happening, replies Jesus. People are being helped and healed, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
Today the Good News still has to be proclaimed to the poor, and we still need to hear the call to repentance, to take a new direction. Baptised we may have been, but we still need healing. Ponder this extract from an article about the Church in South Sudan, a Church scarred by decades of war and hunger. Fr Michael Heap MAfr goes on to challenge his British readers:
All of us need to be reminded from time to time that our Baptism, our taking on the name “Christian”, means much more than just living like everyone else, apart from some prayers and Sunday Mass. We have taken on a new direction in life. We don’t go looking for suffering and rejection, but if it comes because of our commitment to Jesus Christ, we accept it without fear. This is so in South Sudan. It is so in UK. It is true in each of our lives. To live as baptised followers of Jesus means changing our outlook on everything, no matter how small.
From: Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) Magazine, August 2022 p3.
Let us pray, God and Father, to those who go astray you reveal the light of your truth and enable them to return to the right path. Grant that all who have received the grace of baptism may strive to be worthy of their Christian calling and reject everything opposed to it. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
We can all, each and every one of us, go astray; indeed, we all do go astray, day by day. Let us consider one miss-step we have made today, and turn again from it back to the path: Repent!
agnellusmirror 