“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” (2 Cor 13)
These words from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, which we often hear as a greeting at Mass, speak directly to our call to conduct a synod in our archdiocese.
We are a Church centered on Christ. Our identity comes out of the grace and gift of Eucharist. Yet when we find ourselves fostering division and discord rather than seeking a communion that not only brings us closer to Christ but also to His Body, the Church, we have lost our way. We need a synod to assist us in recentering ourselves in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are a Church who in her Baptism encounters the love of God. Our mission, given to us in that Baptism, is to proclaim the love of God to the ends of the earth.
In the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 28:19), Jesus commands us, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”
Yet, while we have been commissioned out of God’s love for the world, our mission does not always reflect that love. We find so many, from those yet to be born to those who walk among us, whose lives are viewed as lives unworthy of life and unworthy of love. We need a synod to assist us in recommissioning ourselves in the love of God.
We are a Church who depends on the unifying strength of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 5, Jesus tells a discouraged Simon Peter to put out into deep water and let down his nets into the Sea of Galilee. Peter complied, and the disciples caught such a massive quantity of fish that their nets began to tear. Yet, we find ourselves fearful of a Church whose embrace is so wide as to welcome others from different cultures, traditions, and devotional practices. When we find ourselves comfortable with “just ourselves” at the altar, we need a synod to assist us in re-surrendering ourselves to the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
The synod that we convoke this evening is not simply the dream of Archbishop Casey. The synod that we convoke this evening is not only for the benefit of those gathered here in prayer with me. The synod we convoke this evening is a call from God, a mandate from Christ, and a directive from the Holy Spirit. And its benefit will not simply be for those gathered here.
Let us pray this evening that, as our Church sets out to conduct this synod, we may find ourselves on a course that will take us into deep water and into numerous grace-filled encounters with one another and with God.
We pray that the Archdiocese of Cincinnati may find herself recentered in the grace of Christ Jesus, recommissioned in the love of God, and surrendering anew to the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. So that, in the diverse communities of our local church – whether they be urban, rural, or suburban – we may find ourselves renewed and ready for the work of discipleship and the worship of our Good and Gracious God.
