Chapter Talk – June 18, 2023
Fr. Michael Casagram
+LIVING AS A SYNODAL COMMUNITY 18 June 2023
Much is being said today about a more synodal Church. Awhile back I
suggested to Fr Elias that we have a guest speaker or do something to
raise our consciousness of what it means to be aware of synodality in
the Church. His response was something of the effect that, that is the
nature of our way of life. Then I came across an article by Fr Gregory J.
Polan who is the Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation,
formerly the abbot of Conception Abbey in MO. The article is called
the Synodal Elements in the Rule of St Benedict.
Abbot Gregory writes of how Pope Francis in this document Gaudium
et Spes:
“introduces us to the heart of synodality, a Church always in
dialogue, truly listening with an open heart as she heeds the signs
of the times, always led by the Holy Spirit… A goal proper to all of
us is that we become ambassadors of good will, seekers of truth,
and envoys of the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and guidance.”
Though Abbot Gregory draws mainly on chapter three of the Rule of St
Benedict that speaks of “Summoning the Community for Counsel,”
references to synodality appear in the Rule in numerous places. In
chapter three, St Benedict tells us that “as often as anything important
is to be done in the monastery, the abbot shall call the whole
community together and himself explain what the business is.” This
idea of consultation has a long history of its own from early on in the
Church, a reminder of how the Church saw itself from its very
beginnings. The role of leadership in the Church is to facilitate this
coming together of all its members though he or she may have “a
certain insight into such matters of community import.”
The reason St Benedict wants the whole community to come together
he tell us is:
“that the Lord often reveals what is better to the younger. The
Brothers, for their part, are to express their opinions with all
humility, and not presume to defend their own views
obstinately.”
One sees the great wisdom of St Benedict in these words and it looks
like Pope Francis sees this wisdom as valid for the whole life of the
Church today. We all have a tendency to tie things down, to reduce the
Church to a set of doctrines or a hierarchical structure whereas it is to
be a living and life-giving organism that is constantly growing so as to
meet the needs life and time. It takes a lot of humility to allow this to
happen, a readiness not to impose but to have listening hearts.
Let me quote from Abbot Gregory Polan as he points out:
“Today we live in a culture of many words; the situation can easily
arise in which, amid the many words that we hear a person
speaking, we fail to listen to what the person is saying. For St
Benedict, listening is a key element both to growth in the spiritual
realm and to the wellbeing of life in common. St. Benedict
counsels us to ‘listen with the ear of the heart’ (Prol.1). What a
beautiful image for us to ponder in the context of synodal
discernment!”
There are those who are saying that what Pope Francis is asking the
Church to pursue is impossible and there is no doubt that it is asking a
lot and not unlike what St Benedict is asking of a community under an
abbot. But isn’t this like so much of the gospel we hear each day, where
what us impossible for us human beings becomes possible through the
presence and action of the Holy Spirit among us.
Growth in our own lives, as well as in the Church today all depends on
attentiveness to the presence and working of the Holy Spirit. It is this
that enables us to work together for the common good and to become
the human family we are destined to become. Let me end with a final
quote from abbot Gregory’s article:
“When we can come to recognize and accept that the ideas and
values held by others are as important as our own, when we learn
to let go of our own wills, choices and hopes, when we come to
see that the viewpoints of others possess their own value—then
there is personal growth. It is a step toward advancement in
maturity, and a path toward greater openness to the movement
of the Spirit among us.”
Announcements:
1) There is some fine summary of what’s happening in the Church with
Synodality, by Bishop John Stowe of the Lexington Diocese in the recent
issue of Commonweal, that I would highly recommend.
2) Fr Elias is to return this coming Wednesday so please keep him and
the community of Awhum in your prayer