THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY – 4th /5TH NOVEMBER 2023

Dear Parishioners,

A SYNODAL CHURCH IN MISSION

Synthesis Report of the 16^th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

PROCEEDING ALONG THE JOURNEY

“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it”? (Mk 4:30)

The Word of the Lord takes precedence over words of the Church. The words of disciples,even those of a Synod, are only an echo of what the Lord Himself says.

Jesus chose to speak in parables in order to announce the Reign of God. He found images to speak of the mystery of God in the ordinary experiences of human life: the natural world, the work-place, elements of the everyday. In this way, he let us know that the Reign of God transcends us yet is not distant from us. Either we see God’s Reign in the things of this world, or we will never see it.

Jesus saw his own destiny represented in a seed falling to the earth, something of no value or significance destined to decay, yet possessing the dynamism of life, a dynamism that is unstoppable, unpredictable, Paschal. This is a dynamism destined to give life; to become bread for many; bread destined to become the Eucharist.

Today, in a culture where people struggle against one another for dominance and become obsessed with what is visible, the Church is called to echo the words of Jesus, to bring them to life again in all their potency.

“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?” Our Lord’s question throws light on the work that now lies ahead of us. It is not a matter of dispersing ourselves over several fronts, reducing everything to a logic of efficiency and proceduralism. Rather, it is a matter of grasping, among the many words and proposals of this Report, what appears as a small seed, yet one that bears the future, and of imagining how to bring it to the soil that will enable it to grow and mature for the benefit of many. “How will this happen?”, Mary asked herself in Nazareth (Lk 1:34) after hearing the Word. There is only one answer: remain in the shadow of the Spirit and allow yourself to be enveloped by his power.

As we look ahead to the period between now and the Second Session, let us thank the Lord for the journey thus far and for the graces with which He has blessed it. We entrust the next phase to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a sign of sure hope and consolation to the faithful People of God as they continue their journey, and to that of the Holy Apostles Simon and Jude, whose Feast we celebrate today. We are all invited to welcome the small seed that this Synthesis Report represents.

Adsumus Sancte Spiritus!

Rome, 28 October 2023, Feast of Ss. Simon and Jude, Apostles

A SYNODAL CHURCH IN MISSION – CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART 1 – THE FACE OF THE SYNODAL CHURCH

1. Synodality: Experience and Understanding

2. Gathered and Sent by the Trinity

3. Entering the Community of Faith: Christian Initiation

4. People in Poverty, Protagonists of the Church’s Journey

5. A Church “out of every tribe, tongue, people and nation”

6. The Eastern Churches and Latin Church Traditions

7. On the Road Towards Christian Unity

PART 2- ALL DISCIPLES, ALL MISSIONARIES

8. Church is Mission

9. Women in the Life and Mission of the Church

10. Consecrated Life and Lay Associations and Movements: a Charismatic Sign

11. Deacons and Priests in a Synodal Church

12. The Bishop in Ecclesial Communion

13. The Bishop of Rome in the College of Bishops

PART 3 – WEAVING BONDS, BUILDING COMMUNITIES

14. A Synodal Approach to Formation

15. Ecclesial Discernment and Open Questions

16. Towards a Listening and Accompanying Church

17. Mission in the Digital Environment

18. Structures for Participation

19. Groupings of Churches within the Communion of the Whole Church

20. The Synod of Bishops and Ecclesial Assemblies