At the same time, I think the process of listening, learning, talking and sharing is more valuable than we will ever know. At the same time, they had different ways of talking about our faith, different ways of sharing it, and different approaches to bringing the message of Jesus to the world. I’ve lived through seven popes, all of whom loved and believed in the Church. I believe strongly in the Church, its teachings, and the pope as its leader, guided by the Holy Spirit from the time Jesus handed the keys of the kingdom to Peter ( Matthew 16:19). I’m not even hoping for changes, just that we do a better job of talking and listening to each other. I don’t know what will happen at the synod or what if anything will come of it. In areas where we seem to divide ourselves, Jesus starts with an openness to mercy and compassion toward all we meet. Jesus was and is open to everyone – men and women of different color, background, sexual orientation, education level, career choice, financial well-being and more. He said simply: “ The banquet table is open to everyone who is open to everyone.” One of my favorites quotes I recently discovered comes from theologian and author John (Jack) Shea. ![]() We should ask ourselves if we are falling behind in our openness to what the Lord wants of us. ![]() I pray those at the synod – and the rest of us as well – remember that it’s always about Jesus, where he fits in our lives, and how he guides what we do. The Church is taking hold in new places and new ways, and I think it’s healthy to bring together people from all over the world to discuss these issues. It’s also accurate to say that while the Catholic Church in the United States is shrinking in its percentage of the total population, in other places like Latin America and Africa the Catholic population is growing substantially. It pays to listen to others whose experience of Jesus may be different than our own. We may be right, but we also could be wrong. Sometimes I think we feel we know what’s right for the entire Church right now for the future. The United States has only about five percent of the world’s Catholics. I also think it’s helpful to hear viewpoints from all over the world. Wouldn’t it be better to find ways to listen, talk, share, grow and love? I believe this is what the Church needs to do in a world where there is much division and even outright destruction of each other’s ideas. Some fear where all of this might lead because the issues are difficult with widespread disagreement, but I accept the stated purpose that the synod is a time to talk, listen and learn. About 450 participants have gathered, including priests as well as lay men and women, to listen and discuss important issues that we as a Church – and country – deal with almost every day. ![]() I think this is what Pope Francis hopes to accomplish with the Synod on Synodality currently going on in Rome. ![]() You must get around behind him and see what he has been looking at.” There isn’t much honest and loving discussion in which we truly listen to one another – not just hear each other but try to understand each other’s viewpoints and experiences.Īs Will Rogers once said: “You can’t tell what a man is like or what he is thinking when you are looking at him. Issues fester unresolved because so many of us seem locked into what we see as the right answers for not just ourselves but for everybody in our country and our Church. There is much rancor and disagreement between Democrats and Republicans, left and right, liberals and conservatives, and many other labels we could come up with. It’s a rare day when we don’t talk about or experience the division in both our country and our Church.
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