Lockdown and Gospel - Day 2, January 11 (Monday of the first week in ordinary time)

 (How does the Gospel of today's Mass call me to live the lockdown here at home? Allow me to share with you my humble reflection.)

Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” … Immediately, [Peter and Andrew] left their nets and followed him. (Mark 1:15.18)

This is the gist of Jesus' message, according to Mark: the time is ripe for God to come and reign in our hearts and in the world, we just need to welcome God’s intervention. Peter and Andrew, James and John believed him, they left everything to follow him.

Very nice, but I have two objections. First, a lockdown doesn’t seem a ripe time for anything, it rather seems dismal to me. I can't see anyone, I can't do anything, not even go to Church to pray a little. And second, even though, like the apostles, this lockdown obliges me to give up many things, I have no choice, it is forced upon me. They were free, unlike me.

Abba, Father, help me to overcome these negative reactions. Make me understand that times are never ripe in themselves, that it is I, rather, who must turn them into a propitious moment. And teach me to freely accept the situations imposed on me, so that they become opportunities for growth and renewal. Your reign comes today, I only have to open my heart to welcome it.

Lockdown and Gospel -- Day 1, January 10 (Baptism of the Lord)

(Here is a short reflection on how I see the Gospel of today’s Mass calling me to live the lockdown here in Quebec.)

“People from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to John, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.... In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan."(Mark 1, 5,9)

The evangelist Mark relates how the people of Israel responded with one heart to John the Baptist's invitation to come and be baptized. Jesus joined this movement discreetly, without drawing any attention to himself. He mingled with the crowd of sinners and accepted to be immersed in the water with them. He joined his people as they sought to distance themselves from evil in all its forms.

The solidarity shown by Jesus in this scene invites me to be in solidarity with those around me during this lock-down. I also am a member of a people that seeks to avoid the physical evil of the coronavirus. This effort isn’t easy for any of us, and I might be tempted to think only of my own well-being. Yet, the Gospel invites me to follow Jesus in striving for the common good, the good others share with me.

Abba, Father, help me to recognize this lockdown as an opportunity to contribute to the good of my brothers and sisters by being patient, persevering and courageous. Teach me to follow the example of your Son Jesus, make me aware that we are all in this together.

The Mass, Unconfined (5) - Supporting Texts

In anticipation of the 49th international Eucharistic Congress held in Quebec in 2008, a Basic Theological Document was prepared under the direction of Cardinal Marc Ouellet. During the congress, nearly 400 delegates participated in reflection workshops whose considerations, taken up by a special committee, gave rise to a document entitled Reflection and recommendations. Here are some excerpts from these two documents.

Basic Theological Document

• The Church, the risen Lord’s partner, lives because of this gift of God and, united to Jesus Christ, the high priest, gives this gift to humanity. The world benefits from the love of Christians and the Church’s worship that glorifies God by interceding for the world. Whether the Church dialogues with God in worship or in her mission to the world, the Church does not live for herself, but for the one who came “that they may have life, and have it abundantly”
• The Church witnesses among humanity to the gift given for the life of the world. Thus the Eucharist is an ongoing challenge to the quality of life and love that the disciples of Christ experience. What have I done for my brother or sister? What have you done for me? “I was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, in prison” (See Matthew 25.31-46). Is what we celebrate compatible with our social, familial, racial and ethnic relationships, with our political and economic life?
• We consider the paschal mystery as the central event of human history; celebrating its memorial discloses our inconsistency each time we tolerate some form of misery, injustice, violence, exploitation, racism, or lack of freedom.
• The Eucharist summons Christians to participate in the ongoing restoration of the human condition and the world’s plight; if we do not do this, then we are invited seriously to live the gospel call to conversion, “leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5.23-24).

Reflection and Recommendations

• The development of a Eucharistic spirituality must be encouraged in all baptized persons. This spirituality links the liturgical action of the Mass – prolonged in Eucharistic worship outside of Mass – to Christian commitment at the heart of the world. It is fully centred on the paschal mystery accomplished once and for all in Jesus and continuously actualized in the Church of all time.
• True Eucharistic spirituality is present when the celebration of the Mass engages the full participation of all the baptized – internal as well as external participation – and when the desire to give glory to God is combined with a strong awareness of the world he invites us to transform.
• For our celebrations and our prayer to be real, they must send us on mission to the world by inspiring, nourishing and supporting our Christian commitment at the heart of the world.

The Mass, Unconfined (4) - Supporting Texts

The XIth General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops was held in Rome in 2005 under the theme: “The Eucharist, source and summit of the life and mission of the Church”. Inspired by the reflections and recommendations expressed during the synod, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a post-synodal exhortation entitled "The Sacrament of Charity". Here are some excerpts of his text.

• The love that we celebrate in the sacrament is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with all. What the world needs is God's love; it needs to encounter Christ and to believe in him. The Eucharist is thus the source and summit not only of the Church's life, but also of her mission: "an authentically eucharistic Church is a missionary Church."… At the Last Supper, Jesus entrusts to his disciples the sacrament which makes present his self-sacrifice for the salvation of us all, in obedience to the Father's will. We cannot approach the eucharistic table without being drawn into the mission which, beginning in the very heart of God, is meant to reach all people. Missionary outreach is thus an essential part of the eucharistic form of the Christian life. (no 84)
• The wonder we experience at the gift God has made to us in Christ gives new impulse to our lives and commits us to becoming witnesses of his love. We become witnesses when, through our actions, words and way of being, Another makes himself present. (no 85)
• Each celebration of the Eucharist makes sacramentally present the gift that the crucified Lord made of his life, for us and for the whole world. In the Eucharist Jesus also makes us witnesses of God's compassion towards all our brothers and sisters… Our communities, when they celebrate the Eucharist, must become ever more conscious that the sacrifice of Christ is for all, and that the Eucharist thus compels all who believe in him to become "bread that is broken" for others, and to work for the building of a more just and fraternal world. (no 88)
• Precisely because of the mystery we celebrate, we must denounce situations contrary to human dignity, since Christ shed his blood for all, and at the same time affirm the inestimable value of each individual person. (no 89)
• Finally, to develop a profound eucharistic spirituality that is also capable of significantly affecting the fabric of society, the Christian people, in giving thanks to God through the Eucharist, should be conscious that they do so in the name of all creation, aspiring to the sanctification of the world and working intensely to that end. (no 92)

Synod on Youth III - Francis Speaks

Yesterday, Pope Francis inaugurated the Synod of Bishops on "Youth, Faith and Discernment of Vocations" by celebrating the Eucharist in St Peter's Square. Later in the synod hall, he presented his vision in a remarkable opening speech. My reflexion today limits itself to simply presenting of a few sentences from this speech centered on the idea of synodality.

- The Synod we are living is a moment of sharing. I wish, therefore, at the beginning of the Synod Assembly, to invite everyone to speak with courage and frankness (parrhesia), namely to integrate freedom, truth and charity. Only dialogue can help us grow.

- Humility in listening must correspond to courage in speaking. It is this listening that creates space for dialogue. 

- The Synod must be an exercise in dialogue, above all among those of you participating. The first fruit of this dialogue is that everyone is open to newness, to change their opinions thanks to what they have heard from others. 

- Let us feel free to welcome and understand others and therefore to change our convictions and positions: this is a sign of great human and spiritual maturity.

- The Synod is an ecclesial exercise in discernment. Discernment is not an advertising slogan, it is not an organizational technique, or a fad of this pontificate, but an interior attitude rooted in an act of faith. 

- Discernment is the method and at the same time the goal we set ourselves: it is based on the conviction that God is at work in world history, in life’s events, in the people I meet and who speak to me.

- Discernment needs space and time. This attention to interiority is the key to accomplishing the work of recognizing, interpreting and choosing.

- This Synod has the opportunity, the task and the duty to be a sign of a Church that really listens, that allows herself to be questioned by the experiences of those she meets, and who does not always have a ready-made answer.

- It is therefore necessary, on the one hand, to decisively overcome the scourge of clericalism. Clericalism arises from an elitist and exclusivist vision of vocation, that interprets the ministry received as a power to be exercised rather than as a free and generous service to be given. This leads us to believe that we belong to a group that has all the answers and no longer needs to listen or learn anything. 

- Clericalism is a perversion and is the root of many evils in the Church: we must humbly ask forgiveness for this and above all create the conditions so that it is not repeated.

- May the Synod awaken our hearts! The present moment, and this applies also to the Church, appears to be laden with struggles, problems, burdens. But our faith tells us that it is also the moment in which the Lord comes to meet us in order to love us and call us to the fullness of life.

- The Synod’s purpose: to plant dreams, draw forth prophecies and visions, allow hope to flourish, inspire trust, bind up wounds, weave together relationships, awaken a dawn of hope, learn from one another, and create a bright resourcefulness that will enlighten minds, warm hearts, give strength to our hands, and inspire in young people – all young people, with no one excluded – a vision of the future filled with the joy of the Gospel.

Synod on youth II - The Importance of the Preparatory Phase

Yesterday, I wrote of the challenge of achieving truly effective synodality in the Church, synodality that would allow all members to listen to each other as they discern together the paths the Spirit is showing us. Of course, in this process of discernment, bishops and pope have a special role to play: that of ensuring that this discernment is always faithful to the Gospel and to the living Tradition that interprets and enriches it over the years. centuries.

In this perspective, Pope Francis has recently renewed the legislation surrounding the Synod of Bishops, as well as its bylaws (which were published this morning). He seeks renewal in continuity: he did not shake everything up but adjusted aspects of the process in order to free up a space of mutual listening and collective discernment that should typify any synodal process.

To do this, he strengthened the framework surrounding the preparatory consultation for the synod. In the past, this consultation was primarily aimed at the bishops of the world who were invited to give their opinion on the chosen theme. Above all, it was an "episcopal" approach. In theory, it was open to wider consultation but most often remained a matter for bishops.

From now on, the synod will be integrated in a longer process of reflection, of speaking and listening by all the people of God. We had our first experience of this approach during the special assembly of Synod on Marriage and the Family in 2014. This time, the method having been honed, the consultation was even more dynamic and richer.

• An online questionnaire allowed thousands of young people to share their experiences and express their views on the Church.
• In dioceses, bishops listened to young people. I myself attended a interesting session that allowed me to listen to students and young workers share their anxieties, their hopes and their thirst for God.
• The bishops of Quebec organized a 48-hour mini-forum with young people representing the entire territory.
• In Rome, an important pre-synodal gathering of young people from all over the world helped develop a document that largely inspired the working instrument of the present synod.

Thus, the month-long meeting that will be inaugurated tomorrow in Rome will not begin from scratch. An impressive work of consultation and reflection has preceded it.

Likewise, in the Archdiocese of Gatineau, the Diocesan Pastoral Council wanted a broad consultation to enable us to accurately paint the portrait of our parish and community reality, to express our hopes and fears and to surface the questions that we need to study. We will also publish an online questionnaire (starting October 11th) so that everyone can express their point of view. Focus groups will be organized to listen to the voices of those who might not otherwise be heard. Meetings will be held in all parishes in October and November to gather the convictions and questions of all the faithful.

The Synod of bishops in Rome ... our own diocesan synodal process in Gatineau ... these are signs that the Church want to listen to the Spirit who through the communities and in the hearts of all the baptized.

Synod on Youth I - The Challenge of Synodality

This Wednesday, Pope Francis will preside at the opening mass of the fifteenth synodal assembly of bishops since the founding of the synod more than fifty years ago. The theme of this meeting is "Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment". It will last three and a half weeks until Sunday, October 28th.

During this time, I will try to share with you regularly my reflections on this major event in the life of the Church. I will do so thinking of the diocesan synodal process that I recently announced and which will be inaugurated on Thursday, October 11 on the occasion of the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, patron of our Archdiocese of Gatineau.

Although the theme of the synod of bishops and that of our diocesan synodal process differ significantly, the approach that the bishops will follow may inspire ours. In this regard, I draw your attention to the effort made by Pope Francis to make the Synod of Bishops more ... synodal.

This may seem paradoxical: is not the synod of bishops, by its very nature, synodal? Is it not the perfect example of what is meant by the expression “a synodal Church”?

In fact, many bishops who have participated in the synods of recent decades have complained about the method and spirit that seemed to prevail there. Some felt that everything was settled in advance, that they did not have the right to raise certain issues or to propose certain solutions. The preparatory consultations were rather superficial and limited; the working papers abounded in generalizations and commonplaces.

Francis started changing this situation with the two synodal assemblies on marriage of 2014 and 2015. The first assembly, labelled as extraordinary, gathered a smaller group than usual: a hundred bishops from across the world (presidents of episcopal conferences) plus the cardinals of the curia. This first assembly "prepared" the second by clarifying issues and suggesting ways to move forward. It itself was preceded by a vast consultation of the people of God, explicitly desired by the pope. At the first session of this special assembly, he invited the participants to speak openly, with courage and conviction ... and to listen with humility and attention. In other words, he sought to free up the participants’ interventions.

During the second synodal assembly on marriage, we celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of this institution. (I had the grace of attending both Synodal Assemblies as President of the CCCB and then as a delegate of the Canadian Episcopate.) On this occasion, Pope Francis shared his vision of the synod.

Here are some key phrases from this speech:

• A synodal Church is a Church which listens, which realizes that listening “is more than simply hearing”. It is a mutual listening in which everyone has something to learn. The faithful people, the college of bishops, the Bishop of Rome: all listening to each other, and all listening to the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:17), in order to know what he “says to the Churches” (Rev 2:7).
• For Blessed Paul VI, the Synod of Bishops was meant to reproduce the image of the Ecumenical Council and reflect its spirit and method. Pope Paul foresaw that the organization of the Synod could “be improved upon with the passing of time”. Twenty years later, Saint John Paul II echoed that thought when he stated that “this instrument might be further improved. Perhaps collegial pastoral responsibility could be more fully expressed in the Synod”. We must continue along this path.
• It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.
• The sensus fidei prevents a rigid separation between an Ecclesia docens and an Ecclesia discens, since the flock likewise has an instinctive ability to discern the new ways that the Lord is revealing to the Church.

Let me explain this last sentence. The sensus fidei is the intuitive flair of believers for what, in life and in history, corresponds to the Gospel or, on the contrary, contradicts it. It is a collective flair shared by women and men who follow Jesus and open themselves to his Spirit. Bishops and priests cannot monopolize this flair or pretend to dictate it: their role is to discern it, to recognize how the Spirit speaks to the Church today through its members.

Pope Francis affirms that this sense of faith, shared by all the faithful, prevents us from seeing the Church as being composed of two groups: a first (the clergy) in charge of teaching (the Ecclesia docens) and a second (the laity) whose role is to listen and obey (Ecclesia discens). On the contrary, the clergy must listen to the Spirit who speaks to the Church in the life of the laity. This conviction brings about a radical change in how to discern the voice of the Spirit in the Church. This change, desired and encouraged by Francis and many bishops, causes great resistance in others: hence the interest of following this new synod, whatever its theme.

In my next comment, I will examine how Pope Francis framed these principles in the new legislation for the synods of bishops published recently under the title of Episcopalis communio. I will show how this new legislation already informs this fifteenth assembly of bishops. And I will indicate how his principles also inspire the synodal process that we are undertaking in our own archdiocese of Gatineau.