FaithFaith in Focus

Six New Year’s Resolutions Inspired by the Synod

America StaffDecember 22, 2023

Photo Courtesy of iStock

The Synod on Synodality has a lofty goal: bringing together the perspectives of Catholics from around the world to listen, pray, and discern a path forward for our church. But the lessons of the synod aren’t just for the institutional church; they can provide valuable insight about moving forward as Catholics. As many of us set resolutions for the new year, it may be wise to look to the synod for inspiration. America’s writers have a few suggestions.

Let go of rigid timelines.

In his column for Religion News Service, Thomas Reese, S.J., explained why the Synod on Synodality has consistently puzzled U.S. Catholics, calling Pope Francis’ approach to synodality and listening “absolute nonsense to results-oriented Americans.” I admit that I have found Father Reese’s assessment to be true in my life these past few years, both as a Catholic in the pews and also in my work at America, trying to contextualize this major church event for a largely American audience.

Americans tend to be uncomfortable with such an open approach, one that is more focused on the process than the outcome. It’s often said that the church works slowly, over centuries, and the synod’s lack of a bulleted agenda seemed to suggest that church leaders were in no rush—and that perhaps nothing “real” would actually get done.

Results, policies and schedules are our ways of operating, but they are likely much too small for the Holy Spirit. There’s nothing wrong, of course, with small, human steps toward the changes we hope for. But we won’t give credit to the sheer scale of Pope Francis’ dreams for the church if we expect them to be achieved in one month of meetings in Rome.

In this new year, may we give God’s dreams for our lives plenty of time to unfold. The Holy Spirit isn’t in a rush.

Molly Cahill is an associate editor at America. She was a 2020-2021 O’Hare Fellow.

Results, policies and schedules are our ways of operating, but they are likely much too small for the Holy Spirit.

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Ask for feedback.

So much attention has been focused on the discussions that took place at the Vatican during the synod that it is easy to forget how the whole thing began: Leaders in the church asked for the input of people in the pews. Has the process been messy, at times? Yes. Is it necessary for the church? Also yes.

In our daily lives, it is easy to get caught up in just moving forward, simply looking ahead to what's next without really taking the time to stop and think about how we got where we are or what direction is best. The new year is a good time to stop and reflect deliberately on our path and to ask for advice, help or feedback from those who know us well. Could the process be scary or messy? Sure, but it might also be just what’s needed to help us discern the next steps in our lives, or to figure out how to be more present to others, or maybe even to help us realize that all those things we are already doing are appreciated more than we realized.

The good thing is that we don’t need a global meeting to get this sort of personal feedback. A conversation over coffee might suffice. But being able to hear and respond to the needs of our loved ones, and to feel seen and known in these conversations, may be the inspiration we need to chart a move into the new year with a renewed sense of energy, direction and intention.

Kerry Weber is an executive editor for America.

Listen carefully.

One of the most important parts of the synod meeting in October, which I was privileged to participate in, was the way that we were all encouraged to listen—actually, forced to listen!

You may have heard about the practice known as “conversations in the Spirit,” which was used at the synod in October as a way of helping our discussions be truly participatory. Here’s how it worked (in brief): Groups of 12 delegates were seated around tables in the Paul VI Aula at the Vatican and each person was given four minutes to speak on a topic—and everyone had to listen, with no interruptions. In the next round, we were able to speak again on what moved us in the first round—again, with no interruptions. There was even a facilitator who would stop us if we interrupted! Finally, in the third round, we could have a free-flowing conversation.

It’s hard to listen attentively. So many of us are listening conditionally, you might say—just biding our time, waiting for the other person to finish so we can jump in and respond. But listening carefully sometimes means setting aside your need to respond, to correct, to be right. It’s also important to ask “What do you mean?” if a person’s message is unclear or, even more importantly, when someone disagrees with you. In many conversations with people who held opinions different than my own, I wanted to say, “Please explain!” It helps to build friendships and break down walls.

Listening is a gift we can give to one another. And ourselves.

The Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author and editor at large at America.