A Listening Church

Pope Francis opens in Rome, October 10, the path entitled, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission”. He hopes for “a maximum inclusion and participation, reaching out to involve the greatest number of people possible, and especially those on the periphery who are often excluded and forgotten.” Today, October 17, all dioceses throughout the world opens synod path.

If asked whether this is something new, the answer is both “no” and “yes”. No, because the Church has always been a “journey together” of God’s people with the Lord. In the history of salvation, God always manifested Himself as a God-with-us. He has appointed apostles and ministers to continue His abiding presence in the journey of man to grow in his faith, hope and love. The Scriptures and the experience of the Church tells us of the beauty of this challenging journey of not leaving out any member but carrying each other’s burdens.

Yes, because many of us in the Church, especially the laity are not so aware of this reality. A new opportunity is offered to us to deepen our insight of this constant challenge. A new chance is given to us to reflect more by seriously listening to each other in order to grow in communion, participation and mission. New realizations will certainly lead to new actions to that same direction towards God’s kingdom.

Henri Nouwen once wrote: “Without silence, words lose their meaning; without listening, speaking cannot heal; without solitude, community cannot save.”