We have heard the story of Pentecost so often and it has become so familiar, that it may cease to amaze us.  But what if we are living in a Pentecost moment?

“When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting;…
Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, and each one was bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language.”

Consider: During last year’s Synod gatherings at Christ the King, we asked ourselves if we were truly a welcoming community.  “Some expressed a concern that their experience of the CTK community is one of exclusion and marginalization, specifically, but not limited to: non-Catholics, divorced members, those without families, members of the LBGTQ community, all of whom struggle to feel welcomed here,” our parish report stated.

In October, the Vatican released for the Synod a document summarizing the synod sessions from around the world.  Its title? “Enlarge the space of your tent,” an echo of Isaiah 54:2, "Enlarge the site of your tent, and let your tent curtains be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your ropes, and drive your pegs deep.”

In short, the words spoken at Christ the King on Belmont Boulevard in Nashville, Tennessee, or the words from St. Joseph parish in Bogota, Argentina, were the words spoken in parishes in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America.  “…and each one was bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language.”

One can go through the Christ the King Synod report and, time after time, the concerns, the hopes, the longings, the wounds expressed in our parish are the same as those of Synod participants from around the globe.

A final document has now been published: “Instrumentum Laboris.”  It follows the reports from parishes, like Christ the King; the reports from dioceses, like Nashville: the reports from national episcopal conferences, like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; the continental reports, like that of North America’s.  Think of it like a layer cake, each deepening the flavor of the one before.

Or in the words of the “Instrumentum”: “In effect, this rich diversity is the gift of each local Church to all the others …, and the synodal dynamic is a way to appreciate and enhance this rich diversity without flattening it into uniformity. Similarly, we have discovered that there are shared questions, even if synodality is experienced and understood in a variety of ways in different parts of the world on the basis of a common inheritance of the apostolic Tradition.”

In October the Synod will begin.  Gathered will be some 450 participants: the pope, 273 bishops, 67 priests, 37 non-ordained men and women religious, and 70 lay men and women.  The “Instrumentum” will be their guiding document, and noticeably it poses questions, not answers.

“Part of the challenge of synodality is to discern the level at which it is most appropriate to address each question. Equally shared are certain tensions. We should not be frightened by them, nor attempt at any cost to resolve them, but rather engage in ongoing synodal discernment. Only in this way can these tensions become sources of energy and not lapse into destructive polarizations,” the document counsels.

Thomas Reese, a Jesuit, put it this way recently: “What is most confusing for Americans is that for Francis, the process may be more important than the results. The voyage may be more important than the destination. For Francis, synodality is a spiritual experience, a way of being church. It is a way of experiencing the Spirit as a discerning community. It is a way of being the community of the disciples of Christ. It is being church.”

“… and each one was bewildered…”  as at Pentecost.

Keep your eyes on this space come October to see how what is happening in Rome picks up on or challenges our conversations at Christ the King.

Bob O’Gorman and Jim O’Hara
August 7, 2023

 

What is the Synod?

In the summer of 2021, Pope Francis kicked off a global process called a synod, itself an ancient Greek word meaning "journey together". Francis is calling the global Catholic community to be a church that listens and learns from all of God's children—and that means everyone.

How did this synodal process work at Christ the King?

In March and April, Christ the King responded to Pope Francis’s call by offering numerous listening sessions where we welcomed everyone in our community to share their experiences of what the Catholic Church has been for them and what they hope it might become.  We submitted a full report to the Diocese of Nashville on April 29, 2022. This report includes our methodology along with all the notes that were taken during the listening sessions. 

Download the CTK Synod Report

Read CTK's full report to the dioceseRead the Diocese of Nashville's Report
 

What happens next?

The bishops are gathering for the  first session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops this fall (October 4-29, 2023.) To help guide their synodal process, Rome has released a working document called the instrumentum laboris. About this document, Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Synod, had this to say:

"The IL is not a document of the Holy See, but of the whole Church. It is not a document written at a desk. It is a document in which all are co-authors, each for the part he or she is called to play in the Church, in docility to the Spirit. [...] You will not find in the text a theoretical systematic explanation of synodality, but the fruit of a Church experience, of a journey in which we have all learnt more by walking together and questioning ourselves on the meaning of this experience. I can say that the IL is a text in which no one's voice is missing: that of the Holy People of God; of the Pastors, who have ensured ecclesial discernment with their participation; of the Pope, who has always accompanied us, supported us, encouraged us to move forward. The IL is also an opportunity for the entire People of God to continue the journey that has begun, and an opportunity to involve those who have not been involved so far."

Download the Instrumentum Laboris

Participation:

Do you find it easy to get involved in the life of the church? What about other people? If yes, how so? If not, why not?

Communion:

Do Christ the King’s Sunday liturgies and other sacramental/liturgical celebrations help you feel connected to God? Do they help you feel part of a spiritual family? If yes, how so? If not, why not? What would help?

How is Christ the King reaching those who might be at the periphery of the community (i.e. marginalized, disabled, disadvantaged, and neglected)? How does the parish provide a space that is inclusive to those of different cultures, racial identities, socio-economic statuses, or sexual/gender identities? How can we build community?
 

Mission:

Do you feel encouraged and equipped to share your faith with people with other faith backgrounds and listen to their stories? 

Do you think Christ the King engages with social justice issues facing the wider community?