Introduction
Pope Francis wants to hear from the whole Church about what is happening in local parishes. He and the bishops would like to know what individuals think we should all be doing to help make our parishes better.
The way he has proposed doing this is a synodal process. Synod means “journeying together” and it involves listening to the Holy Spirit and to each other in order to discern the path we are called to walk together.
The process will involve collecting input through listening sessions facilitated at the parish level. These sessions will give an opportunity for everyone to contribute a response to the basic question of this synod: “What is the Holy Spirit saying to our Church today?”
This question will be explored using three key focus areas: Communion, Participation, and Mission. Dialog around these focus areas, guided by prayer, Scripture reflection and small group sharing, will form the basis of a report from each parish that will be synthesized at the diocesan level and sent to the Vatican for use during the gathering of bishops in October 2023.
The synod "is intended to inspire people to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make people's hopes flourish, to stimulate trust, to bind up wounds, to weave new and deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges, to enlighten minds, warm hearts, and restore strength to our hands for our common mission.” (from the Synod Handbook)
The practice of living as a synodal Church means:
The people of God talk with one another and listen to one another about questions that matter: this is what we mean by the theme of “Participation”
The conversations lead to conversion to Christ and commitment to active participation in the mission given by Christ: this is the theme of “Communion”
The communion exists for a common purpose; mission flows naturally from the experience of communion: this is what is addressed in the theme of “Mission”.