Twenty Ninth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: A Synodal Church: The Role of the Holy Spirit
Under the leadership of His Holiness Pope Francis, the Catholic Church is courageous enough in finding new paths to better survive and serve. Put it in another way, the Church is trying to rediscover the Lord’s way which is forever the Way to salvation. For centuries, the Church worked in a top down manner. Why not? After all, God is supreme and is way above us. As God’s appointed shepherds, it’s tempting for the clergy to work in a top down manner. For centuries, the Church saw herself as the “societas perfecta”. That is to say, she is self-sufficient and possesses all the necessary resources and conditions to achieve her goal of the universal salvation of mankind. By acknowledging the state as the perfect society in the secular realm, the Church tries to fend off governments’ encroachment. Like her counterparts, the Catholic Church is a hierarchical structure as well. One of the titles of the Pope is the Vicar of Christ on earth. Therefore, when he teaches, it is not the Pope but Christ who teaches. No Catholic would challenge that. When the Pope convokes synods for the bishops to put their heads together to deal with current issues, he has the final say in all decisions, hasn’t he? Therefore, for the majority of the laity and perhaps some priests, synods are bishops' business, not their business! I’m afraid this would be the typical reaction of the laity when they are told about this Synod.
Today, Pope Francis takes a slightly different approach. He wants the Church to work together and to walk forwards together. He coins this manner of operation “synodality”, a journeying together. It is more than gathering opinions from the ground up. He emphasizes “the sense of faith” among the faithful. He’s optimistic that the Holy Spirit not only guides him personally, but also all who were baptized. Thus, the laity are the eyes and ears, hands and hearts of Church officials who are not unable to get in touch with the people of the world. To be honest, the Church is regrettably too bulky to meet the needs of ordinary people and to share their joys and frustrations efficiently enough. Therefore, this upcoming Synod is not just a gathering of bishops for one or two months, but a journeying together of the whole Church, listening to each other about the agenda of their mission to evangelize. We firmly believe that there is unity in diversity and the Holy Spirit speaks through each one of us. Each one of us must have something to offer to the People of God for the service of the least of the little and disadvantaged ones in the world.
Let’s pause a little while and contemplate about it. Most of the laity have already received the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Holy Spirit is already dwelling in them. No matter how intelligent a theologian is, no theologian is able to surpass the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Have you not read “Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or instructed Him as His counsellor? Whom did He consult to gain knowledge? Who taught Him the path of judgment, or showed Him the way of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:13-14) Then, how can the clergy ignore the opinions of the laity? I’m sure the Holy Spirit is happy to speak through them because they are more in touch with the needy. The laity is a channel to convey God’s consolation and mercy to the frustrated and exhausted! One spirituality school emphasizes finding God in everything. Thanks be to God. Today, most of the laity are able to find God in their parish priests or among the clergy. They even idolize them and follow their shepherds wherever they are assigned. However, reciprocity is in short supply here. Extremely few clergy are able to find God among the laity, not to mention listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit among them. This is truly unfortunate.
On the other hand, many members of the laity would feel that they have nothing valuable to offer. They are typically anonymous people to be taken care of rather than taking care of other people’s business, such as the Church’s. But how can we say that we have nothing to offer when the poor widow was able to offer two mites to the Temple treasury and consequently praised by Jesus Christ (Mark 12:41-44)? Therefore, do not underestimate the Holy Spirit who works in us. The Holy Spirit is an inexhaustible source of blessings and graces. He is able to renew the face of the whole world (Psalms 104:30). Would it be impossible for Him to renew the timid spirit in us and to rekindle our hearts in zeal?
We invoke the Holy Spirit because without whose supports, it is impossible to live up the teachings of Jesus Christ, in particular the Sermon on the Mount. How would a sensible man living in this competitive commercial world choose to live in poverty? What glad tidings could we reasonably offer to the poor in the Hong Kong society today? It’s even suicidal not to work with/for the powerful and not to toe the party-line here ...
Let’s review what we have learnt from our catechists. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom which moves our hearts and enlightens our intellect thus enabling us to choose wisely and to choose God. He further gives us understanding of the scriptures, prayers and sacraments and how God provides and loves us. The Holy Spirit gives us counsel to discern and to make the right judgment on what righteous actions to take. With fortitude, we are able to withstand persecutions as a result of doing God’s will which in most situations are unpopular and go against the current. These four gifts are relevant and essential for our Christian practices in the modern world. That is why we need to invoke the Holy Spirit for this Synod, beg Him to infuse in us all these gifts so that we’ll be able to bear witness for Jesus Christ, to evangelize in this modern world.
We are not machines. We’ll soon burn out if our actions, however righteous, are not nourished by spirituality. What do we seek in spirituality? Knowledge in the biblical sense of God. From knowledge we make progress to piety/reverence and lastly awe/wonder of God. In other words, the fear of the Lord from which wisdom derives. We have come a full circle!
Brethren! Let’s journey together and listen to each other. Don’t forget the community dimension of the Church. Jesus pledges, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) We have Jesus Christ walking along with us as well. So, the whole Church, laity as well as clergy, is in synod. We are a Synodal Church. May the Holy Spirit enrich our life in Christ and in His spouse, the Church, and through us, renew the face of this sin-torn world.
God bless!
Picture Credit: Vatican
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