Bishop Cozzens assures Synod Assembly that God has a plan in the face of challenges: ‘It’s you’

Invoking the Holy Spirit and seeking the intercession of three “blesseds” on the path to sainthood with ties to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, two other bishops, dozens of priests and deacons, and about 500 lay faithful celebrated the opening Mass June 3 of the Archdiocesan Synod Assembly.

Celebrated at Holy Spirit Church in St. Paul, next door to Cretin-Derham Hall High School where the Synod Assembly was taking place, the Mass included Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, who was auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese when Synod preparations began three years ago, delivering the homily.

An image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove was above the altar, which was decorated with blazing red gladiolas. In the sanctuary were images of Blesseds Stanley Rother, Solanus Casey and James Miller, as their intercession was sought in evangelization, missionary discipleship and reaching today’s youth.

Processing in with the bishops and priests were the Rev. Ann Svennungsen, bishop of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Jerad Morey, pastor of United Methodist Church in Northfield and director of strategic relationships at the Minnesota Council of Churches, who were acting as observers of the Synod Assembly.

Bishop Cozzens noted that 30 Prayer and Listening Events at the outset of Synod preparations were a critical part of gathering information from people across the archdiocese about strengths and challenges in the local Church.

Energy, prayer and engagement were strong at those events, Bishop Cozzens said. But so was a sense of angst, “a common groan,” as many people discussed their concerns about a growing disaffiliation with the Church, particularly among young people, Bishop Cozzens said.

“I know this pain, too,” Bishop Cozzens said.

The fact the Synod Assembly has evangelization and reaching young people as areas of focus is a sign of hope, because it demonstrates a willingness in the archdiocese to face the challenges head on, “to give a real response in the Holy Spirit to the needs of our Church today,” Bishop Cozzens said.

The response must be centered on the unchanging truth of Jesus and applying it to the needs, he said. “The Holy Spirit will be with us, he will guide us. He will teach us everything we need if we listen.”

The problems are great, but “God is not afraid of our times,” Bishop Cozzens said. “God knows what he is about.”

He has a plan, the bishop said.

“It’s you,” Bishop Cozzens said of the plan. “You are his plan. I am his plan. Jesus wants to complete his plan through you.”

God wants to work through people in their fragility and weakness, calling them to holiness and to live with him, the bishop said.

“That’s why your holiness, my holiness, is so important,” he said. Return to the Lord, with all heart and soul, complete Christ’s joy, be of the same mind and one heart, Bishop Cozzens said.

Today’s challenges are not the first struggles the Church has seen, he said, and in response, God renews his Church through saints like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare in the 12th century, as people answer God’s call to radical holiness. In the same manner, “God calls us,” the bishop said.

The Synod Assembly will include people thinking, discussing and planning, he said. “But we also need to pray. This will allow the Holy Spirit to use us.”