It’s hard to believe that the Synod Assembly is finally upon us. I am looking forward to this Pentecost weekend more than I ever remember in the past. With and through your prayers, I am confident that there will be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this local Church as approximately 500 delegates from around our archdiocese gather at Cretin-Derham Hall high school for our first Synod in more than 80 years.
In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus stresses for his Apostles that he needs to return to the Father so that the Spirit, the Advocate, could be sent to them, noting that “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth.” Given our efforts to listen to the Holy Spirit throughout the Synod process, I trust that the Spirit will indeed be leading us toward the “complete truth” about who we are and about how our God both desires to love us in this archdiocese and calls us to serve lovingly our sisters and brothers. At this point, the work of the Spirit will be most obviously manifested in the Synod voting, as the members prayerfully discern and indicate their priorities among the 40 Synod propositions, drawn from the extensive discussions that we have had these past three years. I will always be grateful for your robust participation in this effort.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda
We have relied heavily on the intercession of the saints throughout this process, often seeking the intercession of our patron, St. Paul, as well as that of St. Joseph, the patron of the Universal Church, and the Blessed Mother, under the title of “Mother of the Church.” They have been great companions as we have walked together on our synodal journey.
As we now proceed to the Synod Assembly weekend, however, I’m calling as well for the intercession of three “Blesseds” who have connections to our archdiocese: Blessed Stanley Rother, the martyred diocesan priest whose ancestors settled near New Trier when they came from Germany and whose relatives continue to populate that part of our archdiocese; Blessed Solanus Casey, the wise Capuchin friar who was confirmed at St. Michael in Stillwater and who served as a prison guard at the prison there; and the martyred Christian Brother, James Miller, who once lived and taught at the very school where we will be gathering.
While all three of them have touchpoints in each of our three focus areas, it seems to me that Blessed Stanley Rother, as a diocesan priest, pastor and missionary, will have a special connection to our discernment about our first focus area, forming parishes at the service of evangelization. I love how he models the importance of humble listening in forming a faith community that responds to the needs of God’s people.
Likewise, Blessed Solanus Casey seems to have a particular connection to our second focus area, forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call. I find it significant that his time in our archdiocese as a young layman was a time of personal discernment for him and the beginning of the development of his remarkable interior life. He was blessed with deep insights into how the call to discipleship that he heard in his prayer led him to value the opportunities that he was given to share his faith with others in the ordinariness of daily life.
An icon of Blessed James Miller created by local artist Nick Markell is displayed at Cretin-Derham Hall High School. Blessed James is among the “blesseds” Archbishop Bernard Hebda is asking to intercede for the Synod Assembly June 3-5. COURTESY CRETIN-DERHAM HALL
Blessed Brother James Miller, finally, seems to be an ideal intercessor for our third focus area, forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young. Imbued with the spirit of the Christian Brothers, Brother James committed his life to the LaSallian mission of “providing a human and Christian education to young people.” Both at Cretin and in his work in Nicaragua and Guatemala, Brother James gave his life to teaching not only Spanish and English but also the faith, modeling for his young students what it meant to be a follower of Jesus, as convincingly on the soccer pitch as in the classroom.
I hope that you will join me in both praying for the success of the Synod and seeking the intercession of these three remarkable Blesseds. While the Synod sessions are only open to those who are formally designated to represent their parishes or otherwise named to the Synod, all are especially welcome to join us for the Synod’s celebration of the extended Vigil of Pentecost on Saturday evening, June 4, in the Cathedral of St. Paul. Following the 7 p.m. Mass, there will once again be an opportunity for Spirit-inspired prayer and praise, directed by leaders drawn from groups and organizations affiliated with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Office here in the archdiocese. Recalling the amazing outpouring of the Spirit that we experienced at St. Peter in 2019 and at St. Bonaventure last year, I hope that you will be able to join us this year on June 4.
Recent Comments