2024-11-01-eEdition

NOVEMBER 1, 2024 THE CATHOLIC WEEK PAGE 3 APRIL 14 Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini November 13 ynodality has become a bit of a buzz word in the church. Pope Francis has been talk- ing about synodality since the beginning of his pontificate. He believes it is “the path that God expects of the church in the third millennium,” a “constitu- tive,” or essential, element of the church. The pope’s focus on synodal- ity is a call to deepen our roots as the People of God journeying together in a common mission. The Synod on Synodality is a multi-year, worldwide under- taking in its preparation and Catholics were invited to par- ticipate by submitting feedback to their local dioceses on how they believe the Spirit is urging us to grow in our “journeying together.” Vatican officials report a robust participation in this effort with 112 out of 114 of the world’s Catholic bishops’ conferences contributing to the diocesan listening phase of the Synod.The second and final ses- sion of the Synod is taking place this October at the Vatican. I recently had a unique op- portunity to participate in an experience of synodality at the motherhouse of my Congrega- tion, the Little Sisters of the Poor. At the recommendation of the Vatican office that guides institutes of consecrated life, in 2021 all the Little Sisters around the world participated in a process of discernment and dialogue aimed at updating our Constitutions, our foundational code of holiness. The revised texts were ap- proved by the Vatican after our General Chapter of 2022 and then each Sister received a copy of them last December on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Since the beginning of this year, groups of about 50 Little Sisters at a time have been going to our motherhouse in France to deepen our under- standing of these new Constitu- tions. I was invited to participate in one of these sessions in September 2024. The centerpiece of this pro- gram is a series of “conversations in the Spirit,” a specific form of dialogue derived from the methodology being used at the Synod in Rome. Two Spanish Jesuits recently penned a book on conversation in the Spirit. Pope Francis wrote the preface for their book. “Conversation in the Spirit, discernment and synodality consist, above all, in listening,” the pope wrote. “The synodal path undertaken by the church is a path of in-depth listening. The attitude …of ‘open and vulnerable listening,’ is funda- mental and very necessary, in fact it allows the Spirit to move us and make us change …to lead us to concrete decisions.” Pope Francis asserts that if we remain locked in our previously-held positions, we will be unable to engage in true conversation, to learn anything from others or to welcome deci- sions that require change. “It is only when we truly listen to each other that we emerge enriched and deepen our communion and mission,” he wrote. Listening to the Spirit requires of us certain internal attitudes. To fill ourselves with the Spirit, the pope wrote, we need to empty ourselves and “loosen our material, ideological and emotional moorings, allowing the Spirit to guide us more ef- fectively.” We need to cultivate within ourselves attitudes of humility, hospitality and welcome, rid- ding ourselves of self-sufficiency and self-referentiality. In other words, we need to dislodge ourselves from the center of our lives and allow God, through his Spirit, to take center stage. By entering into the spirit of synodality during my stay at our motherhouse, I was able to receive much more than I could have ever imagined from my fellow Sisters, who represented a variety of ages, cultures and experiences. I realized the difference between listening to buttress my own preconceived ideas and listening to truly understand the other and where they are coming from, with a view to expanding my own perspective. At our motherhouse, I learned that when we are willing to let go of our own judgments and priorities, we can, together with others, dream of new pos- sibilities and discern the path to greater fruitfulness in the Spirit. This was such a beautiful and unexpected experience! There is so much polarization and discord in the world around us, even in the life of the church. You may have read about the Synod on Synodality in skepti- cal or politicized terms. But regardless of where we stand on certain hot-button issues in the church and the world, I think we could all benefit from adopting a synodal approach to listening to God and others with an open mind and heart that seeks his will for our world. — Sister Constance Veit is the communications director for the Little Sisters of the Poor in the United States and an occupational therapist. NOVEMBER 3 - NOVEMBER 16 DAILY READINGS Sun., November 3 Dt 6:2-6 Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 Heb 7:23-28 Mk 12:28b-34 Mon., November 4 Phil 2:1-4 Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3 Lk 14:12-14 Tues., November 5 Phil 2:5-11 Ps 22:26b-27, 28- 30ab, 30e, 31-32 Lk 14:15-24 Wed., November 6 Phil 2:12-18 Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14 Lk 14:25-33 Thurs., November 7 Phil 3:3-8a Ps 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 Lk 15:1-10 Fri., November 8 Phil 3:17—4:1 Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5 Lk 16:1-8 Sat., November 9 Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17 Jn 2:13-22 Sun., November 10 1 Kgs 17:10-16 Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 Heb 9:24-28 Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44 Mon., November 11 Ti 1:1-9 Ps 24:1b-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 Lk 17:1-6 Tues., November 12 Ti 2:1-8, 11-14 Ps 37:3-4, 18 and 23, 27 and 29 Lk 17:7-10 Wed., November 13 Ti 3:1-7 Ps 23:1b-3a, 3bc-4, 5, 6 Lk 17:11-19 Thurs., November 14 Phmn 7-20 Ps 146:7, 8-9a, 9bc-10 LK 17:20-25 Fri., November 15 2 Jn 4-9 Ps 119:1, 2, 10, 11, 17, 18 Lk 17:26-37 Sat., November 16 3 Jn 5-8 Ps 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 Lk 18:1-8 www.catholicinamerica.com Nov. 3 ........................................................................ The Rise in Demonic Possession Nov. 10.........................................................What Benedict XVI Did For The Church Nov. 17........................................................................................................... Ralph Martin WJTC UTV 44 Mobile/Pensacola—6 am Sunday • WTVY CW 3 Dothan—11 am Sundays LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR A synodal approach to listening to God, others S Archbishop’s Schedule October 27-November 14 Sun Oct 27 9:00 a.m. St. Jude Parish,Montgomery,Mass for 90th Anniversary of the Parish Sun – Tue Oct 27-29 Annual Convention of the Archdiocesan Council of CatholicWomen,Montgomery Fri Nov 1 10:52 a.m. St.Michael Catholic High School, Fairhope, All Saints’Mass Sat Nov 2 10:00 a.m. Catholic Cemetery,Mobile, All Souls’ Mass Sun, Nov. 3 9:30 a.m. St. Catherine of Siena Parish,Mobile, Procession and Mass for Parish All Saints Cultural Festival Wed Nov 6 6:30 p.m. St. Lawrence Parish, Fairhope, Catholic Charities Appeal Meeting Thu Nov 7 5:00 p.m. Our Lady Queen of Mercy Parish, Montgomery,Mass Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Parish Sat-Thu Nov 9-14 Annual National Bishop’s Meeting, Baltimore Sister Constance Veit, l.s.p. 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