When the Holy Father asked me to give this retreat, I felt enormously honoured but nervous. I am deeply aware of my personal limitations.
I am old – white – a Westerner – and a man! I don’t know which is worse! All of these aspects of my identity limit my understanding. So I ask for your forgiveness for the inadequacy of my words.
We are all radically incomplete and need each other. Karl Barth, the great Protestant theologian, wrote of the Catholic ‘both/ and.’
For example, Scripture and tradition, faith and works.
He is said to have called it the ‘damned Catholic “And”’, ‘das verdammte katholische “Und”’.
So when we listen to each other during the coming weeks and disagree, I pray we shall often say, ‘Yes, and…..’ Rather than ‘No’! That is the Synodal way.
Of course, No is also sometimes necessary!
“In the second reading at Mass today, St Paul says to the Philippians: ‘Complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing’. (Philippians 2.2).
We are gathered here because we are not united in heart and mind.
The vast majority of people who have taken part in the synodal process have been surprised by joy. For many, it is the first time that the Church has invited them to speak of their faith and hope.
But some of us are afraid of this journey and of what lies ahead.
Some hope that the Church will be dramatically changed, that we shall take radical decisions, for example about the role of women in the Church. Others are afraid of exactly these same changes and fear that they will only lead to division, even schism.
Some of you would prefer not to be here at all.
A bishop told me that he prayed not to be chosen to come here. His prayer was granted! You may be like the son in today’s gospel who at first does not want to go to the vineyard, but he goes!
At crucial moments in the gospels, we always hear these words: ‘Do not be afraid.’
St John tells us ‘Perfect love casts out fear.’
So let us begin by praying that the Lord will free our hearts from fear. For some this is the fear of change and for others the fear that nothing will change.But ‘the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.[1]’’
Of course, we all have fears, but Aquinas taught us that courage is refusing to be enslaved by fear. May we always be sensitive to the fears of others, especially those with whom we disagree.
Like Abraham, we leave not knowing where we are going (Hebrews 11.8). But if we free our hearts of fear, it will be wonderful beyond our imagination.
To guide us during this retreat, we shall meditate on the Transfiguration.
This is the retreat Jesus gives to his closest disciples before they embark on the first synod in the life of the Church, when they walk together (syn-hodos) to Jerusalem.
This retreat was needed because they were afraid of this journey they must make together.
Until now they have wandered around the north of Israel. But at Caesarea Philippi, Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ.
Then Jesus invites them to go with him to Jerusalem, where he will suffer, die and be raised from the dead. They cannot accept this. Peter tries to prevent him.
Jesus calls him ‘Satan’, ‘enemy’. The little community is paralysed. So Jesus takes them up the mountain. Let us listen to St Mark’s account of what happened.
“Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.
“And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
“Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
“He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
“Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
“Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus.” (9.2 – 8).
This retreat gives them the courage and hope to set off on their journey. It does not always go well.
They immediately fail to free the young lad from the evil spirit. They quarrel about who is the greatest. They misunderstand the Lord. But they are on their way with a fragile hope.
So we too prepare for our synod by going on retreat where, like the disciples, we learn to listen to the Lord.
When we set off in three days’ time, we shall often be like those disciples, and misunderstand each other and even quarrel. But the Lord will lead us onwards towards the death and resurrection of the Church.
Let us ask the Lord to give us hope too: the hope that this synod will lead to a renewal of the Church and not division; the hope that we shall draw closer to each other as brothers and sisters.
This is our hope not just for the Catholic Church but for all our baptised brothers and sisters. People talk of an ‘ecumenical winter’. We hope for an ecumenical spring.
We also gather in hope for humanity.
The future looks grim. Ecological catastrophe threatens the destruction of our home. Wildfires and floods have devoured the world this summer. Small islands begin to disappear under the sea.
Millions of people are on the road fleeing from poverty and violence. Hundreds have drowned in the Mediterranean not far from here. Many parents refuse to bring children into a world that appears doomed. In China, young people wear T-shirts saying, ‘We are the last generation’.
Let us gather in hope for humanity, especially hope for the young.
I don’t know how many parents we have at the Synod, but thank you for cherishing our future.
After a difficult time in South Sudan, on the frontier with the Congo, I flew back to Britain beside a child who screamed without interruption for eight hours.
I am ashamed to confess that I had murderous thoughts! But what more marvelous priestly ministry than to raise children and seek to open their minds and hearts to the promise of life.
Parents and teachers are ministers of hope. Read more
- Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, is an English Catholic priest and Dominican friar who served as master of the Order of Preachers from 1992 to 2001. This is Part 1 of the reflection he shared with those about to attend the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which began yesterday.