The Eucharistic celebration generates the life of the community and the synodality of the Church. In a more general sense, discernment means the process by which important decisions are taken; in a second sense, more typical of the Christian tradition and more relevant for our purposes, it corresponds to the spiritual dynamic by which a person, a group or a community seek to recognize and to follow the will of God in their particular situation: test everything; hold fast to what is good (1 Thess 5:21).In so far as it involves seeking to recognize the Spirits voice and accept the Spirits call, discernment is an essential dimension of Jesus manner of life, a fundamental attitude rather than a particular action. The way many platforms work often ends up favouring encounter between persons who think alike, shielding them from debate. Then there are moral wounds, the weight of ones errors, the sense of guilt for having made mistakes. The formation of seminarians and consecrated persons. In the fourth place, serious initial discernment is crucial, because too often young people who offer themselves to seminaries or houses of formation are admitted without their past history being known sufficiently well or studied in depth. Vocation is neither a pre-composed script that the human being has simply to recite nor is it an unwritten theatrical improvisation. 108. Without misleading the young through minimalist proposals or overwhelming them with a body of rules that give Christianity a reductive and moralistic image, we are called to invest in their fearlessness and to educate them to take on their responsibilities, in the sure knowledge that error, failure and crisis are experiences that can strengthen their humanity. The second part, Their Eyes Were Opened (Lk 24:31), is interpretative and provides some basic tools for appreciating the theme of the Synod. For many, artistic expression is also an authentic professional vocation. In particularly delicate moments, such as the phase of discernment over fundamental life choices or the negotiation of critical periods, direct personal accompaniment will prove particularly fruitful. Among their functions, besides favouring the exchange and dissemination of good practice at individual and community level, and developing appropriate instruments of digital formation and evangelization, they could also manage systems of certification for Catholic sites, to combat the spread of fake news about the Church, and they could seek ways of persuading public authorities to promote ever more stringent policies and instruments for the protection of minors on the web. Clearly the apostolate of the young towards other young people cannot be improvised, but must be the fruit of a serious and thorough formative journey: how to accompany this process? Ezek 36:26-27). As for the journey of reconciliation among all Christians, the Synod is grateful for the desire of many young people to foster unity among the separated Christian communities. Many find that their voice is not considered worthwhile or helpful in social and ecclesial circles. This approach is in profound harmony with the Christian vision which contemplates, in the incarnation of the Son, the inseparable encounter between the divine and the human, between earth and heaven. It was emphasized that pastoral programmes should range from infancy to adulthood, to help the young find their place in the Christian community. For the Church, this represents a stimulus to recovering the importance of the dynamics of faith, proclamation and pastoral accompaniment. This question becomes particularly delicate in the case of wandering seminarians: relational and affective instability, and the lack of ecclesial roots, are danger signals. We journeyed together, with the Successor of Peter, who strengthened us in faith and gave us fresh vigour and enthusiasm for the mission. International Theological Commission, Synodality in the life and mission of the Church, 2 March 2018, 9.The document illustrates, moreover, the nature of synodality in these terms: "It is possible to go deeper into the theology of synodality on the basis of the doctrine of the sensus fidei of the People of God and the sacramental collegiality of the episcopate in hierarchical communion . When religious communities and new foundations live their fraternity authentically, they become schools of communion, centres of prayer and contemplation, places of witness of intergenerational and intercultural dialogue and arenas for evangelization and charity. Wednesday, September 8, 2021. It is a place of transmission of the faith and formation for mission, in which it becomes evident that the community lives by grace and not by the work of our hands. 149. 81. A youth for youths, becoming an example to the young, and thus sanctifying them for the Lord (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, II, 22, 4), Christ sanctified the stage of youth by the very fact that he lived it. Hence the symphony of voices that is the fruit of the Spirit. There is an inherent complementarity between personal accompaniment and community accompaniment, which every spirituality or ecclesial sensibility is called to articulate in its own way. Indeed Jesus not only fascinated people with his life he also issued an explicit call to faith. In this way all the necessary ingredients are in place for the Church to be able to offer the young who wish it a profound experience of vocational discernment. It is about emphasizing empathetic listening, accompaniment and discernment, along the lines indicated by the recent Magisterium. 89. The young who experience these various trials, together with their families, count on the support of Christian communities, but these communities are not always adequately equipped to welcome them. Synod of Bishops. PDF For a Synodal Church - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Saint Paul returns many times in his letters to this theme, recalling the image of the Church as a body made up of various members and emphasizing that each member is necessary and at the same time a part of the whole, since only the unity of all makes the body alive and harmonious. Throughout the history of the Church, different spiritualities have addressed the topic of discernment with different emphases, and in relation to different charismatic sensitivities and historical epochs. Moreover, the digital world is one of socio-political engagement and active citizenship and can facilitate the circulation of independent information that can provide effective protection for the most vulnerable, publicizing violations of their rights. In this Synod we have experienced how co-responsibility lived with young Christians is a source of profound joy for bishops too. Let us aim to make our day-to-day life, in all its expressions, more accessible. It is in relationships with Christ, with others, in the community that faith is handed on. 27. New forms of violence are being spread through social media, for example cyber-bullying; the internet is also a channel for spreading pornography and exploitation of persons for sexual ends or through gambling. The Synod on Synodality is a three-year process of listening and dialogue beginning with a solemn opening in Rome on October 9 and 10, 2021 with each individual diocese and church celebrating the following week on October 17. He amazed us with the wealth of his gifts and filled us with his courage and strength, to bring hope to the world. To highlight the priority of pastoral and spiritual duties, the Fathers insisted on the need to rethink the concrete ways in which the ministry is exercised. Journeying with them as pilgrims to the tomb of Peter, we experienced how drawing together in this way creates the conditions for the Church to become a place of dialogue and a witness to a life-giving fraternity. 11. (ITC) describes synodality this way: 'Synod' is an ancient and venerable word in the Tradition of the Church, whose meaning draws on the . We now live in a culture without boundaries, marked by new spatio-temporal relationships partly because of digital communication and by constant mobility. When inspired by intercultural and interreligious dialogue, the Churchs educational activity is also appreciated by non-Christians as a form of authentic human promotion. Part of this proclamation is the invitation to the young to recognize in their lives the signs of Gods love and to discover the community as a place of encounter with Christ. All of this was summarized in the Instrumentum Laboris, which provided a solid basis for discussion throughout the weeks of the Assembly. Their low profile in urban areas, their lack of original and constructive ideas, and rapidly changing lifestyles all call for a renewal of parish life. 97. Listening to Christ and being in communion with him will help pastors and educators to cultivate a wise interpretation of this stage in life. Faith as witness lives on in the Church, the sign and instrument of salvation for all peoples. He added, though, that we are free to respond to it or to reject it (cf. The world of sport needs to be helped to overcome the ambiguities by which it is afflicted, such as the idolization of champions, subservience to commercial interests and the ideology of success at any cost. 69. The four chapters cover: 1) Synodality in Scripture, Tradition, and Church history; 2) The theology of synodality in light of Vatican II; 3) The structure of synodality at all levels in the Church; 4) The spiritual and pastoral conversion to listening and discernment necessary for synodality to characterize the Church. There are questions about the body, affectivity and sexuality that require deeper anthropological, theological and pastoral study, in whatever forms and at whatever level seems most appropriate, from local to universal.Among the questions that emerge are those regarding the difference and harmony between male and female identity and sexual inclinations. Sometimes these environments take insufficient account of the candidates previous experience, underestimating its importance. In various contexts there are groups of young people, often from ecclesial movements and associations, who are actively involved in the evangelization of their peers through a transparent life witness, accessible language and the capacity to establish authentic bonds of friendship. Synodality in the life and mission of the Church (2 March 2018) - Vatican On Easter morning the young Beloved Disciple arrived first at the tomb, before Peter, who was weighed down by age and by betrayal (cf. At the heart of the Word and of the Church. Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 169-173). Young Christians, who like their contemporaries are digital natives, find here an authentic mission, in which some are already engaged. The Church does not lack initiatives and solid programmes that can allow young people to feel accepted and listened to, and to make their voice heard. The Synod reflected on the situation of people who live as singles, recognizing that this term can indicate a great variety of circumstances. The Synod invites communities to make room for initiatives that recognize and permit them to be active participants, for example through the use of sign language for the deaf, suitably tailored catechetical programmes, social experiences and work experience. Sometimes the desire for social prestige and personal success, the ambition of parents or a tendency to determine the choices of their children leave little room for discernment and condition the decisions that are made. They transmit a very rich educational patrimony, to be shared on a large scale, to support families and civil society itself. In a world marked by diversity of peoples and a variety of cultures, walking together is fundamental if the initiatives of solidarity, integration and promotion of justice are to be credible and effective, and to show what is meant by a culture of encounter and gratuitousness. Synodality: Pope Francis' Vision of A Synodal Church and Human Issues The life of Jesus remains today profoundly attractive and inspiring; for all young people it is a provocation which challenges them. Through lived experience of fraternity and solidarity, especially with the lowliest, young people learn that authentic freedom comes from feeling accepted, and the more we make space for others, the more it grows. Wanting to accompany them, he joins them on the way. This entails acknowledging the indifference that affects many Christians too, and to overcome it by stressing the social dimension of the faith. 132. PDF For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission. Vademecum SYNODALITY, THE SYNOD STRUCTURE AND ECCLESIA SEMPER REFORMANDA Authors: Nihal Abeyasingha University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka Abstract The Catholic Church is constituted of 24 Individual. 116. God has entrusted the earth to the covenant of man and woman. The economy of salvation, on the other hand, is a Mystery that infinitely surpasses us; hence only through listening to the Lord do we learn what part we are called to play in it. Equally significant is the emphasis that young people place on sporting activity, whose potential for education and formation the Church must not underestimate, maintaining a solid presence there. Only a pastoral approach capable of renewal on the basis of care for relationships and the quality of the Christian community will be significant and attractive for the young. 165. It is important to take sufficient care over their formation and to see that their ministry is more widely recognized by the community. A healthy and wise graduality of penitential paths is needed pastorally, involving a range of educational figures, who can help young people to read their moral lives, to develop a correct sense of sin and above all to open themselves to the liberating joy of mercy. 86. The Church has never been rigidly monochrome, but she has developed as a polyhedron of persons with varying sensitivities, origins and cultures. He is at work from the beginning of the creation of the world so that the Fathers plan to recapitulate all things in Christ may reach fulfilment. Mk 5:41; Lk 7:14). As Saint Paul VI stated: The Church has something to say, a message to give, a communication to make (Ecclesiam Suam, 65). The Message to Young People of the Second Vatican Council (7 December 1965) presented the Church as the real youth of the world, which possesses the ability to rejoice with what is beginning, to give oneself unreservedly, to renew oneself and to set out again for new conquests. As for the young Samuel, so too for every man and every woman vocation, while it may have strong and privileged moments, involves a long journey. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a council as: "An assembly of ecclesiastics (with or without laymen) convened for the regulation of doctrine or discipline in the church, or, in earlier times, of settling points in dispute between the ecclesiastical and civil powers.". It is already clear that, The digital environment is not a parallel or purely virtual world, but is part of the daily experience of many people, especially the young (Benedict XVI, Message for the XLVII World Day of Social Communications). These represent a fundamental experience of interaction and gradual independence from the family context of origin.Friendship and debate, often within more or less structured groups, offer the opportunity to strengthen social and relational skills in a context in which one is neither valued nor judged. 17. Being present, supporting and accompanying the journey towards authentic choices is one way for the Church to exercise her maternal function, giving birth to the freedom of the children of God. Missionary synodality does not merely apply to the universal dimension of the Church. 7. This conscience is not about immediate and superficial sentiment, nor about self-consciousness: it testifies to a transcendent presence, which each person discovers in his own interiority, but which he does not control. Young Catholics are not merely on the receiving end of pastoral activity: they are living members of the one ecclesial body, baptized persons in whom the Spirit of the Lord is alive and active. Often the young are sensitive to the dimension of diakonia. Chapter 3: Renewed Missionary Vigour Chapter 4: Integral Formation. The origin of the term accompany points to bread broken and shared (cum pane), with all the symbolic human and sacramental richness to which it refers. Priests, men and women religious, while they do not have a monopoly of accompaniment, have a specific task which arises from their vocation and which they must rediscover, as they were asked to do by the young people present in the Synodal Assembly, in the name of so many others. The Synod recognizes the need to help families arrive at a clearer understanding of life as a vocation. Preparatory Document published for 2023 Synod on Synodality He had the courage to confront the religious and political authorities of his time; he had the experience of feeling misunderstood and rejected; he experienced the fear of suffering and he knew the fragility of the Passion; he turned his gaze towards the future, entrusting himself into the Fathers safe hands in the strength of the Spirit. Experiences of this kind are found in many local Churches and should be supported and strengthened. No one should be put aside or put themselves aside. Catholic educational institutions should be the subject of particular reflection. The Church knows that this is due to the fact that Jesus has a deep bond with every human being because Christ, the new Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to himself and makes his supreme calling clear (cf. 107. As far as seminaries are concerned, the first task is obviously the assumption and putting into practice of the new Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis. We may refer, for example, to catechetical courses in preparation for sacraments, a task that many families delegate entirely to the parish. Only a united and diversified community is able to present itself in an open way and to shine the light of the Gospel upon the concerns of society that challenge us today:ecological questions, work, support for the family, marginalization, renewal of politics, cultural and religious pluralism, the quest for justice and peace, the digital environment. The Mystery of Vocation The search for vocation, Vocation, journey and discovery Vocation, grace and freedom Creation and vocation Towards a vocational culture, The attractiveness of Jesus Faith, vocation and discipleship The Virgin Mary, Vocation and mission of the Church The variety of charisms Profession and vocation The family Consecrated life The ordained ministry The condition of singles, Chapter III. This is a duty of justice, which draws inspiration both from the way Jesus related to men and women of his day, and from the importance of the role of certain female figures in the Bible, in the history of salvation and in the life of the Church. 10. Their contribution was essential, just as in the account of the loaves and the fish: Jesus was able to perform the miracle thanks to the availability of a young man who generously offered what he had (cf. In this way, gently but firmly, the Lord enters their dwelling, he stays with them and he shares the bread of life: it is the Eucharistic sign that permits the two disciples finally to open their eyes. In intercultural and interreligious contexts. In spiritual accompaniment, it is crucial to begin with prayer and the interior world, learning discernment above all in their own lives, not least through forms of renunciation and asceticism. In this Synod, we have experienced how the collegiality that unites the bishops cum Petro et sub Petro in care for the people of God is called to express itself and enrich itself through the practice of synodality at all levels. The Church has always taken particular care of vocations to the ordained ministry, in the knowledge that it is a constitutive element of the Churchs identity and is necessary for Christian life. 99. A number of interventions pointed to the need for the Church courageously to side with them and to help build alternatives that eliminate exclusion and marginalization, while strengthening acceptance, accompaniment and integration. 82. They often reject attractive work proposals that are not in line with Christian values and they make their choice of career by asking how best to offer their personal talents in bearing fruit in the service of the Kingdom of God. The experience they shared has made the Synod participants aware of the importance of a synodal form of the Church for the proclamation and transmission of the faith. 125. Valuing body language and affective participation, popular piety brings with it the desire to enter into contact with the God who saves, often through the mediation of the Mother of God and of the saints.
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