To prepare for the Synod of Bishops on Synodality in 2023, Bishop Jaime Soto asked parish pastoral councils, men and women religious, Catholic Charities agencies and many other Catholic organizations in the diocese to host listening sessions for the local phase – held both in person and online. Parishes and groups were asked to share the notes from these conversations. The listening sessions make up the initial phase of the two-year synodal process.
Parishes, groups, and organizations held two-hour listening sessions in English and Spanish. The meetings began with prayer, followed by videos on the synod, the reading of a pre-selected Gospel passage, silent reflection and time for sharing in small groups.
Participants reflected on the biblical image of the multiplication of the loaves (Mt 14:13-21) and answered four reflection questions. Here are some of the responses from a sampling of the synod listening sessions:
1. Reflecting on the image – what experiences of church come to your mind that are life-giving?
- “We have a wonderful facility (hall) but we could do more for the community (e.g., feed the hungry).”
- “Jesus is not distant from the people. Rather, he’s in the midst of the people – their needs and hungers – as the priest should be.”
- “Within the swirl of humanity in the church, Christ still acknowledges the individual person. He knows each one of us.”
- “The Church acts in place of Jesus, in that it feeds us the bread of life even as Jesus fed the masses. We attend church for the same reason the masses flocked to Jesus: because of his words, miracles and the hope that he provides that there is a life everlasting.”
- “Inclusion means all must be listened to. Cultural and language barriers must be overcome. Different ethnicities, ages and genders may hear things differently. The Church needs to listen without judging. The work and needs are enormous; do not get discouraged. Congregations will follow lives of example by clergy. Christ is the center; diversity is inclusive and a good thing.”
2. What do you bring to this encounter with Jesus that is burdening and challenging?
- “Small burdens during everyday life can be shared with God. With God all things are possible. Men came to Jesus asking for help to feed the 5,000. They trusted in Jesus, and all were fed. Trust in Him. If not His plan, it will fail. Trust in his plan. Individually we need to seek, discern and focus on the will of God and make it our own.”
- “The idea of sacrificing in the U.S. requires all to shed the distractions of modern life and return to simplicity. Our sharing must start with our own families and extend to the community and then to our state and country. The definition of family needs to be re-established. The youth of today must put social media in the proper context and find out who they are spiritually. Our comfort range can be keeping us from sharing with those who are hurting and are in need of spiritual nourishment. We want to give generously, but not go beyond our protective armor to deliver it.”
- “People are hungry physically and spiritually. There is hunger for meaning and direction – that Jesus can give through us his disciples. However, some of the forms through which the church is trying to feed people, especially at the spiritual level, are less or no longer effective. Therefore there is a need of change in the forms, in the way of doing things. But not less important is the consideration that change for the sake of change is not the solution.”
- “Worry about a dying church that is losing members and concern that our faith will not be passed on to future generations.”
3. Where do you sense the Spirit is leading you to grow more deeply, to engage more fully?
- “The Spirit does call people to ministry. If you engage with Christ, you will be able to respond to where the Spirit is calling you to do ministry, to take responsibility. That is what the Eucharist is about; we do the blessing and give to people.”
- ”We need to listen to one another, to give each the opportunity to be heard, but if we don't listen to God all our efforts are useless.”
- “We are called to live and share our faith as fully as possible. We must strive to grow spiritually through daily prayer, reflection on Scripture, participation in the celebration of the Eucharist and the other sacraments; and our participation in spiritual formation and human relations should be continuous to develop communication and leadership skills that are necessary for the different ministries and members in general of our community.”
- “We sense the Spirit leading us to renounce ourselves, to sacrifice and to pray, to please God, to learn how to discern, to serve God and to gain spiritual conversion.”
4. What touches you the most? What begins to emerge? What is the most significant moment for you?
- “In this most critical time in human history, in all our needs, in our sinfulness and brokenness, the Lord keeps walking with us. He sees our needs and desires. He sees our hunger for meaning and purpose and he wants to feed us. He not only provides the bread to eat, but keeps empowering his modern disciples to continue his mission of salvation.”
- “It is important to us that whoever is asking these questions actually listen to what we, the young church, have to say and make changes for the better.”
- ”I delight in what brings people together. I love community and that Jesus is calling us to pass on the faith. I hope that whether or not we ‘get it,’ we can all be a family and one body of Christ.”
- “Foster good, honest conversation. The pastoral council is the voice for the people in the church. We need more outreach, personal connections and more community building. People hunger for this intimacy. Make sure parishioners unable to attend services know they are missed. The young also need to be recognized. The picture is Jesus reaching out to the people. The problem with outreach is that the same people are doing the task. We need to encourage people to bring their skills into the church.”
- “We need to consider people on the margins more thoughtfully; this synod process may not include those needing to be heard. Within the Catholic community there is a wide range of beliefs. We need to keep our focus on welcoming people. Seniors within the community are marginalized, forgotten, pushed aside.”
LEARN MORE
About the Synod at www.scd.org/synod or usccb.org/synod.