Synod Retreat – Day 1: Homily by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe

By Mgr Timothy John Costelloe, SDB, Archbishop of Perth (Australia)

It is certainly very appropriate, and we might even say it is a gift of Divine Providence, that we begin our work together in this “Synod on Synodality” by meeting in retreat on the day when the Church recalls life and the testimony of Saint Jerome. He was, we are told, a passionate and difficult man, someone who did not easily tolerate what he saw as the faults of others. At the same time, he was someone who knew how to recognize the flaws and failures of his own approach to people and who was tormented by the fact that his fiery approach to others sometimes caused him great offense and suffering. He would perhaps have been a difficult character to manage if he had been a member of a Synod which calls us to listen deeply and respectfully to one another!

Among the many things for which he is remembered, perhaps we can cite his famous saying that “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ“, is the precious gift he gives us as we tackle all that awaits us in the next three or four weeks. We cannot afford to ignore Christ, or forget Him, as we seek to discern together what God is asking of the Church at this time.

In one sense we have the answer, or at least an idea of ​​the answer, in the assurance that Pope Francis offers us that God calls us to be, together, a synodal Church on mission. The path we have traveled so far has led us to a deeper understanding of the meaning of synodality. Now, at this point in the journey, we are asked to reflect not so much on what synodality is, but rather on how we must live it at all levels of the life of the Church: as individual Christians, certainly, but always as Christians. people called to come together, in communities large and small, to be living signs and instruments – living sacraments – of communion with God and unity among all men.

In the book of Genesis, when God created the first man, God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so God created the first woman and gave them one to other so that they enter into a relationship – to form a community. Our experience of the synodal journey has confirmed to us this profound truth: that in God’s creative design, we are made for each other, that we are meant to depend on each other, and that it is in and through our relationships that we get to be the people God created us to be.

The synodal journey has deepened our appreciation of the importance of our relationships with one another. Our engagement in “Conversations in the Spirit” has opened our eyes to the possibilities that deep, respectful, unhurried attention to others holds for us all. These are precious gifts for the whole Church.

As we understand more clearly the importance of our relationships with our sisters and brothers in the faith, we might recall the words that St. Paul addressed to the first Christian community in Philippi: you must have the same spirit that was in Christ Jesus. This spirit, and we could add this heartare revealed to us on every page of the gospels. As we see Jesus engaged in so many different relationships and caught up in so many different encounters with people, we begin to get a glimpse of what truly and deeply human encounters look like. We can think of the infinite patience that Jesus showed towards those, especially his closest disciples, who failed to understand him and who so often disappointed him, as today’s Gospel account reminds us, and how his patience keeps them from giving up. We can think of the extraordinary sensitivity that Jesus shows toward those who seem burdened by the burden of their own sin, and how that sensitivity sets them free. We can think of Jesus’ compassion for those who are lost, confused, or pushed to the margins, and how that compassion gives them hope.

And as we reflect on Jesus’ patterns of engagement with so many different people and in so many different ways, it would be important for us to remember that the words he spoke to his disciples at the Last Supper are words that he also tells us: I am the Path; I am the Truth; I am Life. If you want to know how to be a welcoming and hospitable Church, learn from me, because I am the path. If you want to know how to be a poor and humble Church, learn from me, because I am the way. If you want to know how to be a church on mission, learn from me, because I am the path. If you want to know how to be a listening Church, learn from me, because I am the path.

As, in the days to come, we will grapple with the question of how to be a synodal Church on mission, we must keep our eyes fixed on Christ. Sometimes what we see will comfort us, sometimes it will confuse us, and sometimes it may even confront or frighten us. But ultimately, to paraphrase a famous phrase from Pope Saint John XX111, the Church is Christ’s, not ours. He is the one we follow, no one else.

Let us therefore continue to pray that the Spirit of Christ may indeed guide us and be at home in our hearts; that despite our weakness and sinfulness, the Spirit will enable us to promote not disorder but harmony; that in the Spirit of Christ we will find our unity and together become a living sacrament of communion with God and unity among all men.

And may Mary, Mother of the Church, accompany us with her prayers for us all.