The push for synodality

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THAT  gospel episode where Christ with his 12 apostles journeyed from one town to another preaching, and accompanied by some women, one of whom was Mary Magdalene who had a colorful past, and the others who were generous enough to share their resources for the mission of Christ, (cfr. Lk 8,1-3) somehow reminds us that as much as possible everybody should be involved in keeping the life and mission of the Church going.

This is what, I believe, synodality, as is now pushed in the Church, is all about. It’s a welcome development that should be sustained all the time. It surely will help the Church vibrant as it should be, and focused on its true mission.

Of course, involving everyone as much as possible does not mean that everyone has the same function and role. It does not take away the hierarchical character of the Church which is fundamental in its life and nature, since the Church as founded by Christ was established that way.

The Pope, the bishops and the clergy have the chief function as head of the Church, holding the office of Priest, Teacher and King in the very person of Christ. The rest of the faithful somehow participate in these offices in their own way as members of the body of the Christ, the Church.

Synodality may arouse more the charismatic character of the Church as it would stimulate the different charisms and gifts that the different members of the Church may have. These charisms and gifts, bestowed by the Holy Spirit for some specific purposes, should be properly recognized and used as fully as possible.

Definitely, to sustain the spirit of synodality, constant pastoral care should be made. A program of reaching out to everyone should be in place. In fact, an appropriate structure in the different levels of the Church should be established.

Let’s remember that we are all meant to be apostles of Christ with the lifelong concern for doing apostolate, taking advantage of all the occasions and situations in life to do so. This truth of our faith, I believe, would be highlighted in this push for synodality.

As Vatican II teaches us, “The Christian vocation is by its very nature a vocation to the apostolate.” (Apostolicam actuositatem, 2) So, anyone who wants to be truly consistent to his Christian identity should realize ever deeply that he is called to help others get closer to God. Synodality can reinforce this truth on everyone.

Given the state of affairs of the world today, we have to understand that while we always have to give special apostolic attention to the traditional mission lands which usually are far-away places with primitive cultures, we should not forget that today’s peripheries are the mainstream society that is drifting away from God and religion.

In this regard, it behooves us to truly immerse ourselves in the complexities of the lives of these new peripheries and new mission lands. We have to disabuse ourselves from the thought that to be missionaries, we have to be priests or nuns. Everyone, especially the laity, has to be a missionary.

Today’s missionaries should be in the world of business and politics, in the fields of the sciences, arts and technologies, in the academe, offices, streets and farms, in sports, fashion and recreation, etc. In other words, where the people are they should also be there, tackling with everyone else the spiritual and moral issues and challenges of the times, finding ways of sanctifying everything and leading everyone and the world to God.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com