Synodality, central to the life and mission of the ChurchWriting about the synodal journey after the day of Pentecost, when the whole Church receives an outpouring of the Spirit, is very providential. The liturgy of this solemnity, with the very famous sequence Veni, Sancte Spiritus! is invoking the action of the Paraclete, with all his power, so that ecclesial life, as a whole, may be renewed, full of love and holiness. How easy it is then to speak of the way of the Church.
Because the Church - Pope Francis, who is the prime mover of the synodal journey, is constantly reminding us - has no meaning in itself. By her very essence, she looks outside herself, that is, she needs Love, the Trinity, for her existence. Following the classic image of the Fathers: it is like the moon, which needs the sun to give light.
Open to divine grace
Let us recall, in fact, the liturgical image of a "perfect moon" in reference to the Church open to divine grace. Gregorian chant, in a masterly way, has been able to give musical form to this image of the Church shining, full, full of light, when she allows the Holy Spirit to act, like a "full moon" in the starry sky.
Those who are reading us right now about the synodal journey may think that we have gone too far. And, in reality, we are touching the very core of the process that Pope Francis is promoting and that, next October 2021, will celebrate its XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The calendar was presented this week under the guidance of Mario Grech, Cardinal Secretary of the Synod, to all the media. He joyfully announced the project, that is, the path that all believers in Jesus Christ will travel together with the Pope and the whole Church, to go to God united in faith, hope and above all in love.
It is about "to turn the Synod into the space of the People of God".Cardinal Grech explained to the media. It will have three phases: diocesan, continental and universal, over the next three years. On October 9 and 10, with the Pope presiding, the first of the phases will begin, inviting the entire People of God to participate. Thus, for the first time in its history, the Synod starts from the local churches and calls everyone to a profound renewal of personal life. This is called an "integral synodal journey" because it does not exclude any of the members of the People of God from participation. These days it is not difficult to find an outline of the phases in which this Synodal journey will unfold. Let us say it a little in theological terms: it is a matter of reflecting on Christian identity within the common journey of the Church, a communion of life and faith, of love and hope. This implies sharing in the goods given to us by the Holy Spirit.
This is the greatness of the Christian vocation: to call us and to be truly children of God. But it is the Holy Spirit who is responsible for bringing this call to fulfillment. No one can be left behind, therefore, and this is what the synodal journey reminds us again and again. Hence Pope Francis wants to include in the Synod the voice of the faithful, large and small, more or less prepared, men and women, the voice of all, in short, because the voice of the faithful gathers a very important sense of the life of the Church, that sense that traditionally has been called sensus fideliumThe famous "Catholic nose" that intuitively detects truth and error in the life of Christians. If you will, with the more theological expression: to discern under "the assistance of the Spirit to his Church".
May Christ live in the Church
This is the great objective of the synodal journey: that Christ may live in us, that Christ may live in the Church. It is a call that none of the believing communities, no matter how geographically isolated they may be, should remain on the margins of the process of renewal. In our time, with the social expansion and emigration of many populations, this phenomenon of dissemination is taking place. Whether we like it or not, there is a great social mobility throughout the world, but the life of the Church is communion, personal congregation by the Spirit in the holiness of love.
We can now briefly explain what this Assembly on the Synod is all about. The Cardinal Secretary explained it by referring to the three fundamental principles of the synodal journey: communion, participation and mission.
Much has been said about each of these dimensions of the life of the believer, and we will continue to do so in the coming years, because they are the fundamental concepts that, from the ecclesiological point of view, are highlighted in this era of the Church. We can also speak of the historical roots, of its relationship with the Second Vatican Council. Pope Francis wanted to put a personal stamp on the path of synodality, moving from an "event Synod" to a "process Synod", to a path, in practice, that moves everyone. Now, however, Francis adds a new consequence, which is the participation of all. The repeated insistence, one could almost say machaconic, that it is the People of God who take the lead in this synodal journey, indicates something very fundamental for the coming years. The center of this path is not the Hierarchy, it is not the Pope -although he is the main promoter-, it is not the Synod, but it is "each and every believer in Christ" who must advance on this path of communion, participation and mission.
Let us say it with a synthetic phrase that is precisely our title: "A way in the Spirit" for all believers, towards communion in Christ.
The new "synodal itinerary
The XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, on the theme: For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission, was scheduled for October 2022. The Pope has now decided on a new date and a unique procedure, that of a "synodal itinerary" leading to the Assembly in October 2023.
The tour will pass through three phases: a diocesan phase, a continental phase -with two Instrumentum Laboris and a universal one. It will open in October 2021, at the Vatican (on the 9th and 10th) and in each diocese (on the 17th).
The diocesan phase will take place from October 2021 to April 2022; the dioceses and Episcopal Conferences will be involved. At the end of this phase, the General Secretariat of the Synod will proceed with the drafting of the first Instrumentum Laboris (before September 2022). The continental phase will run from September 2022 to March 2023; thereafter (and before June 2023), the General Secretariat of the Synod will draft the second Instrumentum Laborisand send it to the participants of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This will be held in October 2023, according to the procedures established in the Apostolic Constitution. Episcopalis Communio.
