by Archbishop Shawn McKnight
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the central belief of the Christian faith. Likewise, the feast of Easter is the center of the entire liturgical year, which begins with the Advent and Christmas cycle and concludes at the end of Ordinary Time with the church’s contemplation of the return of our Risen Lord at the end of time. Our constant mission is to confess Christ crucified and risen from the dead to the whole world, in word and deed.
On the holiest of nights during the Easter Vigil, we are renewed in our own faith as we witness others born again through water and the Holy Spirit, and as they share in Holy Communion for the first time with us. Bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ is central to who we are as a church. The church invites those who do not yet believe to take their place at the eucharistic table, and she nourishes all of us on our journey as missionary disciples in the world.
The Mass readings during the 50 days of the Easter season highlight the themes of Divine Mercy, the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit, and our new life in Christ through baptism. This season is a fitting time to celebrate infant baptisms, confirmation, and First Holy Communion for our cradle Catholics. As it coincides with the hope and new life of spring, the Easter season is also a very busy time marked by secular observances pertaining to new beginnings, including the end of the school year, graduations, Mother’s Day, and the start of summer with Memorial Day weekend. The Easter season is also the time in which we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Orders. Thanks be to God, we will ordain one transitional deacon and three new priests for our archdiocese. Alleluia!
In this particular year, our local church is also busy responding to Pope Leo’s call to implement the Synod on Synodality. During Lent, thousands of parishioners throughout the archdiocese participated in Beatitudes from the Heartland small faith groups, helping prepare us for the synodal listening sessions taking place in April.
Pope Leo, using the Synod on Synodality, provides a path for discerning the will of the Holy Spirit as we take the time to review, assess, and contemplate new beginnings for our local parishes, Catholic institutions, and the archdiocese. How can we be more effective in our central mission to confess Christ crucified and risen from the dead to a world so desperately in need of this Good News?
Listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit coming from our pope and the College of Bishops has led us to this moment of desiring to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit coming from the laity. This is not a new approach. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read about its use in the early gatherings convoked by St. Peter and the apostles to discern answers to serious problems the church was facing. Yet, we don’t have a lot of “muscle memory” for this method in our parishes.
The synodal listening sessions being convened in April are not town hall meetings, and no decisions will be made. Church doctrine will not be up for debate. Participants in this prayerful experience will not be asked to say what they want, but to respond to what the Holy Spirit is moving them to say considering our mission to preach Christ in word and deed.
Our active participation in the Listening with the Heart synodal session will be more listening than speaking. And from my experience, while it is most appropriate for the clergy to really listen to what the laity is saying, it is also incredibly important for the laity to hear each other. Our experience of the synodal session is what will carry over into our regular process for pastoral planning, which occurs later in the year.
As the bishops of the United States consecrate our country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during our nation’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I look forward to launching a local pastoral initiative to enthrone images of the Sacred Heart in the homes and places of gathering in all our parishes. May our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus remind us of the depth of God’s love for everyone without exception, and may it fill our hearts with a hope of new beginnings for our local church.
