Of synods and synodaling

The Church being "synodal" or becoming "synodal" or seeking to be more "synodal" is something you hear all the time these days. As most of us know by now, in essence, being "synodal" means "walking with" one another. So, as Church, as God's pilgrim people, we walk together. What seems to sometimes be lost is that our walking together as pilgrims indicates we have a destination, a place we're heading towards. Even if they veer off the path, pilgrims are distinct from wanderers. As Christians, we know "the Way."

It's also easy to overlook and underappreciate all the various synodal instruments the Church already has. These have largely emerged since the Second Vatican Council: parish and diocesan finance councils, pastoral councils, presbyteral and diaconal councils, bishops conferences, liturgical committees, diocesan review boards, vocations committees, admissions and scrutiny committees, etc. Yet, during this era, we rarely see these instruments of synodality named.

Being completely overlooked means that there is no mention, insistence, or even suggestion that these be strengthened. Each of the above instruments are means of co-responsibility. Synodality as presently constituted runs the risk of the making the Church more, not less, self-referential.

Despite Pope Francis explicitly and publicly indicating otherwise, synodality to a lot people has come to be synonymous with something akin to a Church parliament. All this is a lead up to the increasing controversy surrounding the synodal report of Study Group 9. Study Group 9 is rather inelegantly named "Theological Criteria and Synodal Methodologies for Shared Discernment of Emerging Doctrinal, Pastoral, and Ethical Issues." This report alone could very well (if it hasn't already) undermine the credibility and integrity of the synod and synodality. I will get to why in a moment.

Specifically, Annex A of Study Group 9's report contains testimonies from two male Catholics who are homosexual. One of these testimonies contains a harsh criticism of Courage International. Of particular concern in his critique is the accusation that Courage engages in "reparative therapy," sometimes called "conversion therapy." The further claim is made that Courage's approach "separates faith and sexuality."

Courage is an approved Catholic apostolate. So grave were the criticisms that Courage has publicly responded. In their response, they insist that the testimony that appears in an Annex to the report engages in both "calumy and detraction." One might ask, is mandatory priestly and religious celibacy an exercise in separating faith and sexuality?

Now I come to the matter that may really undermine the credibility of the whole synodal process. When it comes to machinations like this, it doesn't matter what the issue is, what study group it emerged from. Diana Montagna writes about what happened on her Substack: "Fr. James Martin: The 'Mastermind' Behind the Two Testimonies in the Vatican’s Synod Report on Homosexuality."

Montagna, relying on and even reproducing in translation an article that appeared in the Spanish online publication Página Católica, is that Father James Martin was the sole force behind the inclusion of these testimonies. Of note, there is no testimony from a female nor from a same-sex attracted Catholic of either gender who is endeavoring to live accordance with what the Church teaches. Aiding those who desire to do just that constitues the raison d'etre of Courage.

Montagna writes: "The revelations even further erode the credibility of the Synod on Synodality, long presented by the Vatican as an exercise in listening to the whole Church with broad ecclesial representation." As a result of this, the General Secretariat of the Synod is seeking to place some distance between itself and the group reports, especially that of Study Group 9.

To my mind, the most salient criticism of the synodal way up to now is that it is not broadly representative of the Church. I have voiced similar reservations from the beginning. I am in no way opposed to synodality. What we're seeing is something else entirely.

Having read more in-depth about Pope Leo, it strikes me that these are the kinds of things he's good at engaging. His comments on the German bishops' liturgical text for blessing same-sex unions indicate that he is not one to shrink back from challenges. Even Pope Francis ferquently noted that, as a son of the Church, he fully embraced with the Church teaches on these matters.

If the Study Group 9 report weren't enough, we have the German conference of bishops seeking to act in direct contradiction of Fiducia Supplicans as written as well as to subsequent clarfications by the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith. See Larry Chapp's "The German Gambit" and Luke Coppen's "Where is the Rome-Germany blessings battle heading?"

Coppen's article highlights the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith's 2024 letter, mentioned by the Prefect in a recent interview. In the same interview, Cardinal Fernandez made a point of stating that the DDF's negative 2024 judgment not only applied to the draft sent to Rome but the final form as well. The forthrightness and heading off at the pass seems to me pure Pope Leo.

In all honesty, I have to admit that the point of Fiducia Supplicans remains a mystery to me. Prior to its promulgation, people asked for and received spontaneous blessings from bishops, priests, and deacons. I surmise that such blessings were readily given without probing moral inquiries into the lives of those requesting them. I've never interrogated anyone asking me for a blessing. So, why muddy the waters?

In his introduction to a recently published French book, Homos Et Cathos: L’Église à l’épreuve du réel, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, O.P. wrote: "For my part, I do not believe that the intention of this text was to permit only a 'hush-hush' blessing of same-sex couples, as has sometimes been understood." The "text" to which His Eminence refers is Fiducia Supplicans.

In light of section 5 of "this text," I have a hard time ascertaining how Cardinal Vesco can arrive at the conclusion he does. This is not some ideological or editorial point. I seriously don't see how the Cardinal's belief can persist in light of what Fiducia Supplicans actually says.

Cardinal Willem Eijk of The Netherlands issued a strong response to the report (see "Cardinal Eijk: Same-Sex Synod Report Must Be Forcefully Refuted"). He, too, engages the testimonies. His Eminence gets to the heart of the matter, theologically speaking, when he insists:

The deeper problem lies in the report's entire methodological framework. The authors subordinate everything to describing a “synodal process” focused on people’s practices and experiences. They explicitly reject what they call “abstractly proclaiming and deductively applying principles that are set out in an immutable and rigid manner.” Instead, they advocate for maintaining a “fruitful tension between what has been established in the Church’s doctrine and Her pastoral practice and the practices of life”

To be clear, virtually no one would dispute the last assertion about needing to maintain such a tension. But what is set forth, far from maintaining tension, is giving sole priority to the "the practices of life," which radically relativizes the Church's moral doctrine. Just as one should not let the practices of life side go slack, one should not drop the Church's moral doctrine.

In any case, it seems clear that in addition to the need to reflect the Church more broadly, there needs to be much more robust discussion and even arguing in the synodal process. The latter would largely be accomplished by the former. Also, the competency of the study committees needs to be much better defined. A small group of likeminded people is not an exercise in synodality.

The main point of this post isn't really even to take sides in any specific debate. It is simply to highlight that, at least thus far, the synodal process needs to be much more robust. Also, the Church needs to be less, not more, self-referential. To be missionary disciples, we must be clear about our mission: proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, with all that entails.

Deacons extended

Reading: Acts 8:5-8.14-17

Today finds me in rural Pennsylvania. Liberty Township, to be precise. I am here to lay my father-in-law to rest. He died in late January. It's beautiful and peaceful here. Now that I'm here, I find myself wishing our trip wasn't quite so short.

In any case, in our first reading for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, we hear more more one of the seven men who the Church holds to be her first deacons. Of the seven men set apart and consecrated for service in and to the primitive Church, there are only two we hear more about: Stephen and Philip.

There is of course Stephen, who, in addition to serving the Jerusalem community that held all things in common by ensuring what was held in common was distributed justly, began to boldly proclaim Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, God's anointed. As a result, at the behest of one Saul of Tarsus, he was stoned to death.

Acts also informs us about Philip, also one of the seven men chosen by the community and consecrated by the apostles. After the martyrdom of Stephen, the Church, which, at this early stage, only existed in Jerusalem, experienced (likely also at the hands of the same Saul), a terrible persecution. It was due to this persecution that Philip and his daughters fled northward to Samaria.

Once in Samaria, like Stephen in Jerusalem, Philip "proclaimed Christ to them," that is, proclaimed Jesus as Messiah to the people of Samaria (Acts 8:5). Not only did this deacon proclaim the Gospel of salvation through Jesus, who is the Christ, he performed signs and wonders. He healed those who were physically handicapped and paralyzed.

As people responded to his proclamation of the kerygma, Philip baptized them. In short, the Holy Spirit, working through Philip, accomplished something of a mini-Pentecost in Samaria. Philip then went back to Jerusalem to retrieve Peter and John. These two apostles then went and "confirmed" the baptism of the Samaritans who had placed their faith in Christ. For those, like me, with some charismatic inclinations, baptized them with the Holy Spirit.

Saint Philip in Samaria

In our passage, taken from the Lord's Last Supper Discourse in Saint John, Jesus tells His closest disciples that when He goes, He will send them the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, "another Advocate." The Holy Spirit is the mode of Christ's resurrection presence among, in, and through us. These days, it seems, we are falling back into more of an institutional posture at the expense of a charismatic one. Noting this, Pope Francis sought to create some much-needed tension.

This kind of tension energizes the Church. When it comes to the institutional and charismatic, we need to grasp the Catholic et/et (i.e., both/and). It is the Holy Spirit who allows us to avoid and overcome our tendency to create false dilemmas. The Church should neither be a lifeless institution nor an antinomian free-for-all.

Let's not forget, hearkening back to last week's reading from Acts, the threefold criteria for those considered the Church's first deacons was clearly set forth: men of good reputation, who are filled the Spirit, and with wisdom. Wisdom, of course, being one the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Given its ministerial flexibility to serve the Church and the world, the diaconate is itself a charismatic office. It should be understood and exercised as such.

Year 2 Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Readings: Acts 15:22-31; Psalm 57:8-10.12; John 15:12-17

Along with “thy will be done,” having no greater love than laying down one’s life for a friend, is perhaps the most overused and misused of Jesus’ words.¹ We can probably also include “judge not” on this list, a different topic for another day.² When it comes to dying for another, we must keep in mind the unique efficacy of Christ’s sacrificial death.

Recognizing the unique nature of Christ’s sacrifice is vital to grasping what Jesus is saying. God’s love, given to us in Christ and poured out by the Holy Spirit, remains even when we fail to do what the Lord commands. These are what keep us from using Jesus’ words in vain.

What is it that the Lord commands us to do that, if and when we do it, we are His friends? Love one another as He loves us.³ But let’s not fall into the trap of separating these two things. To love others, to love your neighbor, to make yourself a neighbor, especially to those in need, is to lay your life down for them. In this passage, “love” translates the Greek word agape, which denotes self-giving, sacrificial love.

In our Gospel passage, Jesus is not talking about two separate things. He is not even talking about two different but related things, one following from the other. He is saying you lay down your life for others more by how you live than by any willingness to die. You lay down your life by loving them the way Christ loves you.

In his Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul noted that “only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.”He went on to state, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”⁵

The Cistercian monk, Father M. Louis, more famously known by his birth name, Thomas Merton, in a letter written to Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day, summarizes Jesus’ teaching very well:

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy⁶

This is how you become a friend of Jesus.

---

1 Matthew 26:42; Luke 22:42; John 15:13.^↩
2 Matthew 7:1.^↩
3 John 15:12.^↩
4 Romans 5:7.^↩
5 Romans 5:8.^↩
6 Cited in Catholic Voices in a World on Fire, by Stephen Hand, pg 180. Lulu Press, 2005.^↩

Reflection on the Blessed Virgin Mary

May and Mary differ by only one letter. Since May is traditionally the month dedicated to our Blessed Mother, maybe we should just call it “the month of Mary,” as in January, February, March, April, Mary, June. Well, it’s easier than somehow trying to derive “Rosary” from October, right?

May is a beautiful month. Along with October, it is a transitional month. It is in May that the annual cycle of nature, coming alive during Spring, reaches completion. It is generally a time of blue, sunny skies and generally mild temperatures. A time before the heat of summer begins.

May is a colorful month. A month when nature produces vivid colors: blue sky, green grass and trees, red, white, yellow, purple, and orange flowers. May also feature clear, rushing streams, the snow of winter melting into water. Most years, like this one, most of Mary's month falls during the sacred season of Easter.

It’s odd that the Blessed Virgin Mary has become a stumbling block to Christian unity. She has been venerated in a unique way since the beginning of the Church. An example of this is the Glorious Assumption, which is celebrated each year on 15 August by both Catholic and Orthodox Christians. The major Protestant Reformers- Luther, Calvin, and Cranmer- all continued to venerate our Blessed Mother.

Like praying for the dead, seeking the maternal assistance of holy Mary, Mother of God, is a fundamental Christian practice. How could the woman chosen to give birth to God’s only Begotten Son not somehow stand out? Just as the Son is consubstantial with the Father as to His divinity, through His Blessed Mother, He is consubstantial with us pertaining to His humanity.

Just like I can’t pass up the opportunity to use the words “penultimate” or “juxtapose,” I can’t do a reflection on our Blessed Mother without at least mentioning hyperdulia. It’s a cool word. One reason why some non-Catholic Christians question devotion to Mary is that they mistakenly believe that we worship her.

Commandment one bids us worship God and God alone. In Greek, this is called latria. Far from worshiping the saints, we venerate them. The Greek word for this is dulia. The Blessed Virgin Mary falls into her own special category, one that lands somewhere between latria and dulia. This category does not rise to the level of worship but remains higher than veneration: hyperdulia. The prefix hyper means over, beyond, or even excessive.

So, during the month of Mary, let us rely on her maternal care, asking her to intercede for us daily through her Holy Rosary, during Easter by reciting the Regina Caeli. And by frequent use of her Memorare:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known
that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help, or sought thy intercession,
was left unaided

"But they were looking for a king to conquer and to kill"

Not sure why I am not inclined to deal with today's Gospel, which takes us back to Saint John's Last Supper Discourse. I think perhaps it's because it's one of those passages that compacts a lot into a relatively few verses- though still a fairly long Gospel reading. Maybe it's because our first and epistle readings are post-resurrection I am drawn to them. Heck, I don't know.

Since I haven't been posting a Friday traditio, I thought today I would post a Sunday traditio

As it pertains to the Gospel, Rich Mullins' "That Where I Am There You May Also Be" came to mind. This is one of those songs Rich was working on at the time of his death. This is why I am posting the demo version. What was entitled The Jesus Record was recorded by the Ragamuffin Band with various Christian artists after Rich's death.

Since I did my reflection on the reading from Acts 6:1-7, which is taken to be the institution of the diaconate, our Sunday traditio arises from our reading from 1 Peter (1 Peter 2:4-9). In verse 8, the Greek noun skandalou is used. In the NABRE, this noun is translated as "A stone that will make people stumble." Literally, the English word "scandal" is something that causes others to stumble and finds its root in the Greek skandalon.

Both then, in the early Church being persecuted, and now, even (maybe especially) in a comfortable culture, Christ is a skandalon. So, Michael Card's "Scandalon" is our Sunday traditio. Tying this to today's Gospel, it is the cause of no little scandal that Jesus insists, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Now, without watering down His words, understanding what this really means requires some unpacking and unfolding. But I am not going undertake that here.

Good shepherds to good deacons

Acts 6:1-7

Our first reading for the Fifth Sunday of Easter is what the Church, at least since Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, has taken to be the scriptural account of the institution of the diaconate (See Against the Heretics, Book III, Chapter 10). Hence, as a deacon, it seems appropriate to reflect on this today. Following, as it does, Good Shepherd Sunday, which is usually employed, and rightly so, to talk about priestly ministry, it seem fortuitous to reflect on the diaconate.

If we take Acts 6:1-7 seriously as the inspired account of the institution of the diaconate (exegetically, there are a few issues with doing so unreservedly), we see that there are three fundamental criterion: men of good reputation, who are "filled with the Spirit and wisdom" (Acts 6:3). At least in part, being a man of good reputation means being a just man.

The diakonia in which Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, were set apart to engage in was ensuring that within the primitive Christian community, which held all things in common, that Greek-speaking widows received their fair share of the daily distribution of food. Since this diakonia was table service, we can stretch this to perhaps entail both the ministries of charity and of liturgy a little anachronistically.

What about the diakonia of the word? Well, there is a reason that Stephen, followed by Philip, is the first of the seven men named. As a reading of the rest of Acts 6 and then Acts 7 shows, it wasn't long before at least Stephen joined with the apostles in proclaiming the kerygma. It was for this that he was made the Church's first martyr.

Not long after that, when the primitive Church fell under heavy persecution in Jerusalem, causing many to flee, including Philip along with his daughters, that the second of the seven named preached the Gospel and baptized in Samaria. His most famous convert being the Ethiopian eunuch. It was Philip who went and brought Peter and John from Jerusalem to Samaria to impart the Holy Spirit on those whom he had baptized (see Acts 8).

As the ones who proclaim the Gospel in the liturgy, is important for the deacon to always keep in mind the exhortation received from his bishop during ordination as the bishop placed the evangelary in his hands: "Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach." Selflessness is at the heart of all Christian ministry, especially ordained ministry.

Saint Peter consecrating the Seven Deacons (Saint Stephen is shown kneeling), by Fra Angelico, in Niccoline Chapel, 1447

Through ordination one receives the sacramental grace necessary to serve like Christ. Just as there are uncommitted, half-hearted, and even bad priests, there are those kinds of deacons as well. Jesus Christ is the model deacon. When He told the twelve, "I am among you as the one who serves," what He said, when translated more literally, is, "I am among you as the deacon" (see Luke 22:27).

I think the best way to end this is with what might be called the magna carta of the renewed diaconate, the restoration of which as a permanent office was called for by the Second Vatican Council and realized a few years later. It is the section twenty-nine of the Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. I am going to italicize and embolden parts that I feel need to be much better grasped by everyone, including deacons:

At a lower level of the hierarchy are deacons, upon whom hands are imposed "not unto the priesthood, but unto a ministry of service." For strengthened by sacramental grace, in communion with the bishop and his group of priests they serve in the diaconate of the liturgy, of the word, and of charity to the people of God. It is the duty of the deacon, according as it shall have been assigned to him by competent authority, to administer baptism solemnly, to be custodian and dispenser of the Eucharist [an ordinary minister of Holy Communion], to assist at and bless marriages in the name of the Church, to bring Viaticum to the dying, to read the Sacred Scripture to the faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside over the worship and prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, to officiate at funeral and burial services. Dedicated to duties of charity and of administration, let deacons be mindful of the admonition of Blessed Polycarp: "Be merciful, diligent, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who became the servant of all."

Since these duties, so very necessary to the life of the Church, can be fulfilled only with difficulty in many regions in accordance with the discipline of the Latin Church as it exists today, the diaconate can in the future be restored as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy. It pertains to the competent territorial bodies of bishops, of one kind or another, with the approval of the Supreme Pontiff, to decide whether and where it is opportune for such deacons to be established for the care of souls. With the consent of the Roman Pontiff, this diaconate can, in the future, be conferred upon men of more mature age, even upon those living in the married state. It may also be conferred upon suitable young men, for whom the law of celibacy must remain intact.

Belated Short Reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday

Each year, the Fourth Sunday of Easter is observed as Good Shepherd Sunday. Understandably, this Sunday often used to encourage young men to consider whether God might be calling them to be priests. All priests, but especially those who serve parishes as pastors, are shepherds. "Pastor" is more or less synonymous with "shepherd."

While all pastors and all priests (and all bishops) should strive to be good shepherds, there is only one Good Shepherd: Jesus Christ. This realization is vital, critical, essential for God's people as a whole and for each of us individually, including those who serve as shepherds. One of the beauties of being Catholic is that a parish is not built on the charisma of single priest, thus running the risk of collapsing when he is transferred, retires, or leaves for some other reason. Don't get me wrong there are some wonderfully charismatic priests. There are also some manipulatively charismatic priests.

I thank the Lord for the many steady, stable, well-adjusted, emotionally mature priests who take their calling seriously by engaging in their ministry diligently. I know one of the struggles of many such priests after they retire is how quickly and completely they seem to be forgotten by those they served so wholeheartedly. Yet, their consolation, too, the spiritually mature ones know, comes from the Good Shepherd. Whether we want to face it or not, contemporary U.S. culture, when it comes to relationships of virtually any kind, is very transactional.

One of the oldest representations of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, made around 300 AD., original painted in Crypt of Lucina, Rome

When a priest isn't a good shepherd, perhaps a half-hearted, not fully committed, or even negligent one, this shouldn't cause you to lose faith. Go ahead and be disappointed, discouraged, even a bit dismayed. Also, deeply appropriate the first verse of Psalm 23: "The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack." Now, for a time, you may lack a good shepherd. But you always have the Good Shepherd. Lean into Him. Draw close to Him. Let Him draw you close. In terms of faith, this is a matter of life and death!

Despite everything that's happened over the past quarter century, there still remain wolves disguised, not as sheep, but as shepherds. Maybe the better term, being a lifelong Westerner, is there are rustlers, or, to quote Jesus, "thieves." Moreover, there are no few hirelings seeking to fleece the flock.

It is the Good Shepherd who pursues you with goodness and mercy your whole life through. He sets the banquet of the Eucharist before you. He can even do this through the ministry of a not so good shepherd. It is the Good Shepherd who brings you to lush, verdant pastures, sets you beside still waters, and who restores your soul.