We are the Body of Christ, sharers—whether lay or ordained—in a common baptism. All have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Our oneness as Christ’s Body is celebrated, manifested, and deepened when we gather for Eucharist. We are in this together, not as isolated individuals or as ideological “camps.”
We are to be humble in listening and courageous in speaking, open to conversion and change. Dialogue and discernment (not power struggles and partisanship) are to be the order of the day. And that dialogue needs to include others with whom we share a common baptism, those of other faiths or no faith at all, and, especially, those on the margins, whose voices are rarely heard.
We are a Pilgrim People, a people of joy and hope, a Church on “the Way.”
....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.
We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life
and not stray from the way of truth
and what is right.
All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen.
Our Diocesan Synod Report and Appendicies was published on June 29, 2022.
Bishop Zinkula led the Region IX (Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas) synthesis process. The Region IX Report was submitted to the USCCB by July 27, 2022.
The US National Synthesis was published on September 19, 2022 (Spanish).
“Synod” is not a familiar word for most Catholics. It’s a Greek word, basically meaning to “walk with,” or "journey together." Throughout our history, it’s been used to refer to gatherings of the Church to “walk with” one another and with the Holy Spirit, to read “the signs of the times” and discern in a spirit of prayer how the Church is being called to respond.
The Church is gathering around this question: A synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, “journeys together.” How is this “journeying together” happening today in your local Church? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together?”
“It is precisely this path of synodality that God expects of the church of the third millennium.”
Prayer to the Holy Spirit (multiple languages) [Adsumus disponible en varios idiomas]
Resources for Listening [see also below for diocesan resources]
Document for Community Discernment [Documento para el Discernimineto Communitario]
The Church on the Way: Pray for a Synodal Church
Pope Francis
Timeline
PDF of image above (or click on the image itself)
Update:
Reports to the Diocese are now due by April 30, 2022.
Reports to the USCCB are now due by June 30, 2022.
National reports are now due in Rome by August 15, 2022.
Synodal Spirituality: The Wisdom of Catholic Spiritual Traditions
Resources from the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
Letter to priests about the synodal journey (English) (Spanish)
Discerning Deacons
Video: From the Margins to the Center (A Webinar on LGBTQ Catholics & Synodality)
Newsletter:
Address of the Papal Nuncio to the USCCB - November Meeting, 2021
The Pentecost Vigil Project
Webpage
Facebook Page
Catholic Climate Covenant
Webinar: "Together in the Journey: The Synod, the Laudato Si' Action Platform and the Eucharistic Revival"
Catholic Mobilizing Network
Webinar: "Five Lessons from Restorative Practices for the Synod on Synodality"
Twenty-Third Publications
Liturgical Press