This weekend at each Mass we will hear about the beginning steps of the Synodal Process at Saint Teresa’s. This is the start of a consultation and listening process so that we can hear from every parishioner.
Here is some information from the Diocese to help you reflect and consider your responses.
Questions for Use in Parish Listening, Sharing and Reflection
The Synod website provides suggestions on how to pose these questions to various groups of people in simple and engaging ways (https://rcaos.org.uk/synod).
Each diocese, parish, or group should not aim to cover all the questions but should discern and focus on those aspects of synodality most pertinent to its context.
Participants are encouraged to share with honesty and openness about their real-life experiences, and to refl ect on what the Holy Spirit might be revealing in what they share with one another. Frameworks for sharing can be found in the Facilitating Local Spiritual Conversations document.
This Synod poses the following fundamental question:
A synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, ‘journeys together.’ How is this
‘journeying together’ happening today in your local Church? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our ‘journeying together’? (PD 26)
By growing together in communion, the people of God deepen their participation in the life of the Church and so become more effective missionary disciples in the world.
Read all of the questions. The questions in bold are the main ones we suggest you explore but you may wish to focus on the three thematic areas using the other questions offered here.
Communion The Church is Catholic because she is sent to all, in order to gather the entire human family from every nation and culture, under the Lordship of Christ and in the unity of his Spirit.
1. What are the ways in which your parish most successfully brings people together?
2. In which areas of parish life (liturgical, charitable, social etc.) does your parish feel and act as one?
3. In which areas of parish life (liturgical, charitable, social etc.) are you able to discern the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit?
4. How is the Holy Eucharist the main focal point for your parish?
5. Is the parish the sole locus for Communion in your area?
6. Christ is present as the head united to his body (Ephesians 1:22-23) in our parishes and communities. How is this reflected in your parish/community life? Are there other reasons that you gather together?
7. In what ways can you help to build up communion effectively and authentically in the coming months and years?
8. How do you relate to members of the Church who have drifted away from practice?
9. How does your parish relate to other parishes nearby and the diocese as a whole?
ParticipationParticipation is based on the fact that all the faithful are qualifi ed and called to serve each other through the gifts they have all received from the Holy Spirit. The authority of pastors is a specifi c gift of the Spirit of Christ the Head for the building up of the entire Body.
1. Reflecting on 16 months of the pandemic, how has participation in your parish been affected? Were these issues there before?
2. How can participation be strengthened moving forward into the future?
3. What are the means by which different voices can be heard in your parish (particularly those on the periphery of parish life)?
4. Which groups and individuals are least included in your parish?
5. How can you broaden the way you include people whilst keeping always true to the Gospel and our core Christian identity?
6. How do you currently participate, personally, in the life of the Church? How much responsibility do you have as an individual?
7. How can we better enable full participation and co-responsibility in the life of the Church at the parish and diocesan levels?
8. How does your parish effectively identify and use the gifts of its people?
9. How do families and young people effectively participate in the life of your parish?
What do you do to support them?
MissionThe People of God are on pilgrimage through history towards the heavenly homeland. Each one of the baptised is to be honoured with the same dignity as children of God and appointed to the same mission, the proclamation of the Good News and the building of the Kingdom of God.
1. Given what you see of the Church (words and actions), in the parish and beyond, what would you say is the Church’s mission?
2. How might we fi nd a shared understanding of mission in the different parishes and Catholic institutions in the Archdiocese of Southwark?
3. Are we looking in or are we looking out, as a parish community? Can we do both effectively?
4. From a missionary perspective, how would you characterise both the local situation and local needs in your parish and community?
5. How is your parish set up for evangelisation? How does your parish reach out to the broader community with the Good News?
6. Where is the Holy Spirit calling you to mission and service today?
7. In what ways do you already intentionally and actively seek to share the Good News of Jesus Christ?
8. How does the life of the parish, in terms of catechesis, adult formation, liturgy etc. aid in the formation of parishioners as missionary disciples?
9. How can the call to holiness and the call to mission be refl ected in different aspects of parish life?
Terms from the Synod documentsDiscernmentThe Synodal Process entails a discernment process. In this process, we listen to each other in order to discern what God is saying to all of us. This kind of discernment is not only a one-time event, but ultimately a way of life, grounded in Christ, following the lead of the Holy Spirit, living for the greater glory of God. Communal discernment helps to build fl ourishing and resilient communities for the mission of the Church today. Discernment is a grace from God, but it requires our human involvement in simple ways: praying, refl ection, paying attention to one’s inner disposition, listening and talking to one another in an authentic, meaningful, and welcoming way. Discernment in this spiritual key plants seeds that can bear the fruits of fraternity, healing, communion, mission, and more. God comes to lead and inspire us as we seek to discern His will.
CommunionSynodality is a living expression of the Catholicity of the Church as communion. In the Church, Christ is present as the Head united to His Body (Ephesians 1,22-23) in such a way that she receives from Him the fullness of the means of salvation. The Church is Catholic also because she is sent to all, in order to gather the entire human family in the richness of the plurality of cultural forms, under the Lordship of Christ and in the unity of His Spirit. The synodal path expresses and promotes her Catholicity in two ways: it shows the dynamic way in which the fullness of faith is shared by all members of the People of God and it assists in handing it on to all people and all peoples. (ITC, Syn., no. 58)
ParticipationA synodal Church is a Church of participation and co-responsibility. In exercising synodality she is called to give expression to the participation of all, according to each one’s calling, with the authority conferred by Christ on the College of Bishops headed by the Pope. Participation is based on the fact that all the faithful are qualifi ed and called to serve each other through the gifts they have all received from the Holy Spirit. The authority of Pastors is a specifi c gift of the Spirit of Christ the Head for the building up of the entire Body, not a delegated and representative function of the people. (ITC, Syn., no. 67)
In the synodal Church the whole community, in the free and rich diversity of its members, is called together to pray, listen, analyse, dialogue, discern and offer advice on taking pastoral decisions which correspond as closely as possible to God’s will. So, in coming to formulate their own decisions, Pastors must listen carefully to the views and experiences of the faithful. Canon law stipulates that, in certain cases, they must act only after having sought and obtained the various opinions according to juridically established procedures [82]. (ICT, Syn., no. 68) At the same time, the path of synodality requires much wider participation than only that which is required by the law.
MissionThe Church is missionary because that was the way of Christ. We are told in the Bible that ‘God so loved the world that he sent his only Son’ (John 3:16). Jesus was sent into the world to reveal God’s love. In turn, Jesus said to his apostles, ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’ (John 20:21). ‘You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8). The mission of Jesus to proclaim the Kingdom of God to all people has been handed onto the Church and individual believers, guided by the Holy Spirit.
The dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium sets out a vision of the nature and mission of the Church as communion, with the theological presuppositions of a suitable re-launch of synodality: the mystical and sacramental conception of the Church; her nature as People of God on pilgrimage through history towards the heavenly homeland, in which all her members are by virtue of baptism honoured with the same dignity as children of God and appointed to the same mission; the doctrine of sacramentality of the episcopate and collegiality in hierarchical communion with the Bishop of Rome. (ITC, Syn., no. 40)
The full document explaining terms can be found on the siocesan website: https://rcaos.org.uk/synod and on the General Secretariat for Synod of Bishops own site: https://www.synod.va/en.html
Here is some information from the Diocese to help you reflect and consider your responses.
Questions for Use in Parish Listening, Sharing and Reflection
The Synod website provides suggestions on how to pose these questions to various groups of people in simple and engaging ways (https://rcaos.org.uk/synod).
Each diocese, parish, or group should not aim to cover all the questions but should discern and focus on those aspects of synodality most pertinent to its context.
Participants are encouraged to share with honesty and openness about their real-life experiences, and to refl ect on what the Holy Spirit might be revealing in what they share with one another. Frameworks for sharing can be found in the Facilitating Local Spiritual Conversations document.
This Synod poses the following fundamental question:
A synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, ‘journeys together.’ How is this
‘journeying together’ happening today in your local Church? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our ‘journeying together’? (PD 26)
By growing together in communion, the people of God deepen their participation in the life of the Church and so become more effective missionary disciples in the world.
Read all of the questions. The questions in bold are the main ones we suggest you explore but you may wish to focus on the three thematic areas using the other questions offered here.
Communion The Church is Catholic because she is sent to all, in order to gather the entire human family from every nation and culture, under the Lordship of Christ and in the unity of his Spirit.
1. What are the ways in which your parish most successfully brings people together?
2. In which areas of parish life (liturgical, charitable, social etc.) does your parish feel and act as one?
3. In which areas of parish life (liturgical, charitable, social etc.) are you able to discern the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit?
4. How is the Holy Eucharist the main focal point for your parish?
5. Is the parish the sole locus for Communion in your area?
6. Christ is present as the head united to his body (Ephesians 1:22-23) in our parishes and communities. How is this reflected in your parish/community life? Are there other reasons that you gather together?
7. In what ways can you help to build up communion effectively and authentically in the coming months and years?
8. How do you relate to members of the Church who have drifted away from practice?
9. How does your parish relate to other parishes nearby and the diocese as a whole?
ParticipationParticipation is based on the fact that all the faithful are qualifi ed and called to serve each other through the gifts they have all received from the Holy Spirit. The authority of pastors is a specifi c gift of the Spirit of Christ the Head for the building up of the entire Body.
1. Reflecting on 16 months of the pandemic, how has participation in your parish been affected? Were these issues there before?
2. How can participation be strengthened moving forward into the future?
3. What are the means by which different voices can be heard in your parish (particularly those on the periphery of parish life)?
4. Which groups and individuals are least included in your parish?
5. How can you broaden the way you include people whilst keeping always true to the Gospel and our core Christian identity?
6. How do you currently participate, personally, in the life of the Church? How much responsibility do you have as an individual?
7. How can we better enable full participation and co-responsibility in the life of the Church at the parish and diocesan levels?
8. How does your parish effectively identify and use the gifts of its people?
9. How do families and young people effectively participate in the life of your parish?
What do you do to support them?
MissionThe People of God are on pilgrimage through history towards the heavenly homeland. Each one of the baptised is to be honoured with the same dignity as children of God and appointed to the same mission, the proclamation of the Good News and the building of the Kingdom of God.
1. Given what you see of the Church (words and actions), in the parish and beyond, what would you say is the Church’s mission?
2. How might we fi nd a shared understanding of mission in the different parishes and Catholic institutions in the Archdiocese of Southwark?
3. Are we looking in or are we looking out, as a parish community? Can we do both effectively?
4. From a missionary perspective, how would you characterise both the local situation and local needs in your parish and community?
5. How is your parish set up for evangelisation? How does your parish reach out to the broader community with the Good News?
6. Where is the Holy Spirit calling you to mission and service today?
7. In what ways do you already intentionally and actively seek to share the Good News of Jesus Christ?
8. How does the life of the parish, in terms of catechesis, adult formation, liturgy etc. aid in the formation of parishioners as missionary disciples?
9. How can the call to holiness and the call to mission be refl ected in different aspects of parish life?
Terms from the Synod documentsDiscernmentThe Synodal Process entails a discernment process. In this process, we listen to each other in order to discern what God is saying to all of us. This kind of discernment is not only a one-time event, but ultimately a way of life, grounded in Christ, following the lead of the Holy Spirit, living for the greater glory of God. Communal discernment helps to build fl ourishing and resilient communities for the mission of the Church today. Discernment is a grace from God, but it requires our human involvement in simple ways: praying, refl ection, paying attention to one’s inner disposition, listening and talking to one another in an authentic, meaningful, and welcoming way. Discernment in this spiritual key plants seeds that can bear the fruits of fraternity, healing, communion, mission, and more. God comes to lead and inspire us as we seek to discern His will.
CommunionSynodality is a living expression of the Catholicity of the Church as communion. In the Church, Christ is present as the Head united to His Body (Ephesians 1,22-23) in such a way that she receives from Him the fullness of the means of salvation. The Church is Catholic also because she is sent to all, in order to gather the entire human family in the richness of the plurality of cultural forms, under the Lordship of Christ and in the unity of His Spirit. The synodal path expresses and promotes her Catholicity in two ways: it shows the dynamic way in which the fullness of faith is shared by all members of the People of God and it assists in handing it on to all people and all peoples. (ITC, Syn., no. 58)
ParticipationA synodal Church is a Church of participation and co-responsibility. In exercising synodality she is called to give expression to the participation of all, according to each one’s calling, with the authority conferred by Christ on the College of Bishops headed by the Pope. Participation is based on the fact that all the faithful are qualifi ed and called to serve each other through the gifts they have all received from the Holy Spirit. The authority of Pastors is a specifi c gift of the Spirit of Christ the Head for the building up of the entire Body, not a delegated and representative function of the people. (ITC, Syn., no. 67)
In the synodal Church the whole community, in the free and rich diversity of its members, is called together to pray, listen, analyse, dialogue, discern and offer advice on taking pastoral decisions which correspond as closely as possible to God’s will. So, in coming to formulate their own decisions, Pastors must listen carefully to the views and experiences of the faithful. Canon law stipulates that, in certain cases, they must act only after having sought and obtained the various opinions according to juridically established procedures [82]. (ICT, Syn., no. 68) At the same time, the path of synodality requires much wider participation than only that which is required by the law.
MissionThe Church is missionary because that was the way of Christ. We are told in the Bible that ‘God so loved the world that he sent his only Son’ (John 3:16). Jesus was sent into the world to reveal God’s love. In turn, Jesus said to his apostles, ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’ (John 20:21). ‘You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8). The mission of Jesus to proclaim the Kingdom of God to all people has been handed onto the Church and individual believers, guided by the Holy Spirit.
The dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium sets out a vision of the nature and mission of the Church as communion, with the theological presuppositions of a suitable re-launch of synodality: the mystical and sacramental conception of the Church; her nature as People of God on pilgrimage through history towards the heavenly homeland, in which all her members are by virtue of baptism honoured with the same dignity as children of God and appointed to the same mission; the doctrine of sacramentality of the episcopate and collegiality in hierarchical communion with the Bishop of Rome. (ITC, Syn., no. 40)
The full document explaining terms can be found on the siocesan website: https://rcaos.org.uk/synod and on the General Secretariat for Synod of Bishops own site: https://www.synod.va/en.html
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