The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

Let us journey together with Christ to bring others to him

(En Espanol)

Pope Francis has invited the entire Church to reflect on a theme that is decisive for its life and mission: “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.” What is this “path of synodality,” and why does the Holy Father believe that it is “decisive” for the Church’s life and mission today?

The three-year synodal journey, which began in October 2021 and will conclude in October 2024, follows in the wake of the Church’s renewal proposed by the Second Vatican Council.

It is both a gift and a task, the pope teaches. “By journeying together and reflecting together on the journey that has been made, the Church will be able to learn through her experience which processes can help her to live communion, to achieve participation, to open herself to mission.”

In his homily for the opening of the Synod in Rome on Oct. 9, 2021, Pope Francis said:

“The Synod has three key words: communion, participation and mission. Communion and mission are theological terms describing the mystery of the Church, which we do well to keep in mind. The Second Vatican Council clearly taught that communion expresses the very nature of the Church, while pointing out that the Church has received ‘the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God, and is, on Earth, the seed and beginning of that kingdom’ ” (“Lumen Gentium,” #5). 

With these words, the Holy Father continues, the Church contemplates and imitates the life of the Blessed Trinity, a mystery of communion and the source of mission.

In the wake of the doctrinal, theological and pastoral reflections that were part of the reception of Vatican II, St. Paul VI sought to distill in those two words—communion and mission—“the main lines enunciated by the council.” 

Commemorating the opening of the council, Paul VI stated that its main lines were in fact “communion, that is, cohesion and interior fullness, in grace, truth and collaboration … and mission, that is, apostolic commitment to the world of today” (Angelus on Oct. 11, 1970),

which is not the same as proselytism (converting people by force rather than persuasion).

Jesus first gathered his disciples around him to form them as members of his body, the Church, and only then did he send them out as missionaries and evangelists. What Pope Francis is telling us is that the divisions among us—whether political, social or religious—are a serious impediment to the mission we were given at our baptism. To be missionaries and evangelists who proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations and peoples, we must be united in Christ.

According to Pope Francis, this insight about the importance of “gathering” (communion) and “being sent” (mission) brings us to a third word: participation.

As the pope teaches us, “The words ‘communion’ and ‘mission’ can risk remaining somewhat abstract, unless we cultivate an ecclesial praxis that expresses the concreteness of synodality at every step of our journey and activity, encouraging real involvement on the part of each and all.”

Participation is a requirement of the faith received in baptism. As a result, the Holy Father believes that a synod proves most beneficial when it becomes a living expression of “being Church,” a way of acting marked by the true participation of all.

Those who fear that synodality is an excuse for making fundamental changes in the Church’s teaching miss the main point. Synodality is primarily about engagement—giving all members of the body of Christ opportunities to participate in the Church’s mission. This requires that we come together around the word of God and the sacraments. It also means listening prayerfully to the hopes and dreams, fears and anxieties of all the baptized, our sisters and brothers in Christ.

Pope Francis believes that “a synodal Church needs the Spirit, the ever-new breath of God, who sets us free from every form of self-absorption, revives what is moribund, loosens shackles and spreads joy. The Holy Spirit guides us where God wants us to be, not to where our own ideas and personal tastes would lead us.”

Let us invoke the Holy Spirit and humbly listen to him, the pope says, journeying together with docility and courage, so that can all participate fully in the Church’s mission.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †