Synod Message, October 9, 2022
The Holy Spirit is indeed alive and at work within and among us! Each Sunday we gather to celebrate and renew the commitment to discipleship that we share.
The heart and meaning of our Synodal work is growing in fidelity to our mission to BE Christ’s Body. It calls us to embrace a permanent way of listening and discerning that deepens our unity, expands our outreach, and strengthens our faith.
This IS the work of the Spirit leading us to new, fuller life!
To carry out this mission, in fidelity to the call of Pope Francis, six synod teams composed of students, permanent community members, and staff, are developing concrete ways to support our growth in the areas of our Community life, Prayer, Service and Advocacy, Education in Faith, Small Groups and Spiritual Accompaniment, and Communications.
Each of us, All of us, as members of the CC@S, share in this journey. To help us walk this path together, periodically as we enter into the Prayer of the Faithful, a Synod leader will share actions emerging from the work of one of the Synod Teams and invite us to unite in prayer for the Spirit’s blessing upon. After Mass on those Sundays, information and an invitation to become engaged in our varied Synod actions will be made available.
Stay tuned, there is much good news to share and be part of!
So let us pause and unite our hearts in our prayer of the faithful:
Our response will be “Help us journey together in faith.”
Come Holy Spirit, bring support, strength, and hope to all those impacted by the devastations of HURRICANE IAN and the war IN UKRAINE, pause……we pray:
Come Holy Spirit, bless our students and the entire Stanford academic community with your gifts of wisdom, understanding, creativity, and fortitude as we embrace this new academic year, …pause… we pray…
Come Holy Spirit, bless our Synodal journey, guide our initiatives to bring our faith closer in touch with our daily lives and to strengthen our unity and outreach to those in need,…… we pray…
Come Holy Spirit, bless our student and community leaders and all those committing themselves to service within our CC@S this year, pause…….we pray…
Come Holy Spirit, Bless Father Gerard, the Master of the Order, and bless the Dominican Family throughout the world with zeal for our shared mission to live and preach the Truth and Love of Christ Jesus, pause……we pray…
Come Holy Spirit, bless all of the needs and prayers of our hearts, of our community this day pause…., we pray
We conclude with A prayer OF POPE FRANCIS for the success of the synod:
Holy Spirit, come among us, so that in this SYNodal experience we will not lose our enthusiasm, dilute the power of prophesy, or descent into useless and unproductive discussions…Open our hearts to hear your voice…Renew the holy and faithful People of God and renew the face of the earth. AMEN
A Pentecostal Update on Synodality at CC@S
How appropriate on this Pentecost Sunday that we bring to this celebration our journey of Synodality, a new way of BEING Church.
Pope Francis’s Synod gives us an opportunity unique in our lifetimes to listen to each other -- and those outside our faith-- express their sense of the Church, and reflects the Vatican II charge to meet people as they live now, especially the young, the marginalized, and the vulnerable.
CC@S has taken up and now made permanent our journey into Synodality to a new awareness of peoples’ experiences of the Church, both joyful and painful: the fruit of this work belongs to us all. Synodality infuses CC@S with agency and accountability to shape our identity with the help of the Holy Spirit.
CC@S will welcome and offer a sense of belonging and inclusivity to all; seek and inspire all Catholic students and others on campus we do not yet serve; reject insidious discrimination; and make full use of all our talents. We will put aside any cautious anonymity for a joyful identity as Catholics at Stanford.
Over the summer, Synodal Action Teams will discern concrete steps to take in six areas:
Liturgy, Sacraments & Prayer
Outreach in Service & Justice Advocacy
Community & Social Life
Spiritual Accompaniment & Small Groups
Education on Core Faith Concepts
Communication
If you have any questions, please contact us at: stanfordcatholicsynod@gmail.com
Together in the Spirit, we can combine our rich historical tradition and our new Synodal awareness to be the Church we want and need.
Excerpt from the Prayer for the Synod:
We stand before You, Holy Spirit,
as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go
and how we are to pursue it.
The Synod Team:
Carol Schaffer, Catherine Wolff, Gloria Jones, OP, Jane Elizabeth Lord-Frause, James Mumby, Joseph Matthew Sarmenta, Lowell Price, M’Lis Berry, Terry Connelly, Thomas Slabon, Xavier Lavagetto, OP
Listening Circles Synthesis
The Synthesis of the 19 CC@S Listening Circles captures our unity and diversity, and most importantly, the wealth of faith, vision and hopes we hold as the CC@S.
We encourage you to reflect on this Synthesis and as you do ask yourself:
What insights does it hold for you and for our CC@S?
What invitations/challenges for growth do you find personally, within our CC@S and in our engagement with the wider community?
Synodality – Revolution in Listening
Pope Francis has called the Universal Church to unprecedented two-year process of listening to the People of God in the firm belief that God speaks through them.
The 2022 Synod of Bishop was postponed to 2023 to give Bishops time to listen for the Spirit’s voice in the People of God. This is not a parliament, but a discernment of the Spirit’s call for our times.
Handout: The Revolution of Synodality >> [PDF file]
Our First Step: Gathering Stories & Topics for our Synodal Groups
In preparation for our small group meetings in mid-January, we are gathering through December what you learn from your conversations with family members and friends.
For more info, see the linked document: Our First Step! >> [PDF file]
Report Form: Gathering Stories & Topics for our Synodal Groups >> [Google Forms]
Becoming a Listening Church: Tips for Listening
We have asked you to begin the process by having conversations with family members and friends, and then to report what you have heard. Those responses will provide the initial themes, topics, experiences, and stories for small group discussions.
Have a cup of coffee and a conversation with devout Catholics and lapsed, former Catholics and non-Catholics, with the spiritual but not religious, and with anyone who wants to share their experience of people’s lives with the Church as blessing or challenge.
See the linked document: Tips for Listening >> [PDF file]
Join Our Synodal Listening This New Year: Tips for Discernment
Bring the Synod Home. Have individual conversations with family and friends. The Pope wants to hear from you. Some suggested discussion questions:
What is your experience of the Church?
How has it blessed you? How could it have been better?
How can the Church better respond to the crying need of the people?
What might the Holy Spirit be asking of us, our parish and the Church?
Our latest handout includes a description of praying the Examen, discerning God in your daily life. See the linked document: Tips for Discernment >> [PDF file]
