The Archdiocese of Seattle is a few months into the implementation of Partners in the Gospel. This initiative is grounded in the goal of enabling all of us to become strong missionary disciples for Christ. To do that, we need to reorganize parish life and revitalize our efforts to carry out the mission of the Church. This is necessarily disrupting life for just about everyone.
Initial reports of the impact in parishes reveal a wide array of results. In a recent meeting with the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, I heard reactions from excitement to frustration, enthusiasm to regrets, cautious optimism to confusion. Some parishes are hosting numerous opportunities for people to meet one another and form a new sense of parish while others are taking it slowly. Other parishes are experiencing the refreshing call to shared decision-making and collaboration while others are still hoping for a greater call to co-responsibility of all the baptized.
None of this is a great surprise. Change is seldom simple or easy. These are the first steps of a long journey we are making together. And what I wish to remind us all is that the Lord is with us on this journey, and the Holy Spirit will serve as our guide to lead us on paths of light to become the Church God is calling us to be.
In speaking with one of our deacons, he wisely recalled the words of Proverbs: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; in all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). These words reminded me of Psalm 37: “Trust in the Lord and he will act.” These early days of our Partners in the Gospel journey are a good time to recall some of the basic components of becoming a more synodal Church.
• First, the Holy Spirit from Pentecost onward is always leading and inspiring the life and mission of the Church. We must be open to this inspiration.
• Another key component of synodality is spending time in prayer with sacred Scripture. It would be good for all of us in these initial steps of renewal to read the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles to see how the Holy Spirit worked in the life of Jesus and in the early Church and to pray for the grace to be equally sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
• Pray in and from whatever discomfort you may be experiencing in these transformative days of change. Then, think of how the Holy Spirit is present and working precisely in that discomfort to bring about something new. Think of the persecution that broke out against the early Christians. James was killed, and Peter was arrested. These were indeed difficult moments in the life of the Church. But, as the Acts of the Apostles tells us, “Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf. … Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, ‘Get up
quickly.’ The chains fell from his wrists” (Acts 12:5,7).
Prayer, sacred Scripture and the Holy Spirit, these are the building blocks of the Church and are essential for us now as we seek to renew our faith and carry out the mission that is ours in the Risen Jesus Christ!
Other characteristics of a synodal Church we must employ are dialogue, listening to each other and walking together. These aspects help us discern prayerfully what the Holy Spirit is saying to us so we might know the will of God and be open to be transformed more fully into the Body of Christ, the Church.
Keep faith and hope alive, and let us walk united as we follow Christ.
This article appeared in the October/November issue of Northwest Catholic magazine. Read the rest of the issue here.