What is a Synod?
The Church by her very nature is synodal, she is communion, she is assembly. And in the Church, we have all received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which makes us prophets. We are all called to prophesy and express what the Spirit is saying today to his Church, for ourselves and others.
Now, it is the Holy Spirit who speaks in us. And this is where the misunderstanding can arise, as some mistake the Holy Spirit for their own opinions. Discernment is necessary. We need to examine the spirits to see whether they come from God or from the Evil one. The Devil is skilled at disguising himself as an angel of light and making us accept as evangelical and of God what actually comes from selfishness, what destroys and kills.
We must therefore listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to his Church today. And we must discover this by exercising discernment.
1. Our first criterion for discernment is THE WORD OF GOD. In it, God continues to speak to His people today, and to our hearts. Thus, it is necessary to cultivate an attitude of listening to the Spirit through prayer, silence, and contemplation. When we pray, we are not wasting time but aligning ourselves with God, who wants to guide our lives and history. If synods and assemblies lead us to pray more, to commune with God, to open our hearts to His Word and His will, and to convert our lives to Him, then they are blessed. However, if they result in mere words and meetings without true conversion, then they are not from God.
2. A second criterion for discernment is to consider what the Church has lived and taught throughout the centuries. We refer to this as TRADITION, with a capital letter. We cannot invent the Church and the mission that Christ has entrusted to her. The Church is a gift from the Heart of Christ. She is the beloved Bride for whom Christ gave His life, purifying her through the waters of baptism and the Word, presenting her to Himself without blemish or wrinkle.
3. Within this living Tradition, the saints are like pure water that has revitalized the Church. To learn about the lives of the saints, their stories woven with the love of God and the countless human sins, is to approach the witnesses of that love. Sometimes, these witnesses have even sealed their testimonies with their own blood, always giving their lives to the extreme for love. It is this encounter with the saints that brings vitality to the Church in her assemblies and synods. If we do not emphasize, in each assembly, the CALL TO HOLINESS and the worthiness of dedicating our lives to this pursuit, then the synods and assemblies will be sterile, like a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
4. The MAGISTERIUM OF THE CHURCH consists of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him, as well as all the faithful who continue the development of doctrine that has been accumulated over the centuries for the salvation of the world and the people of our time. This Magisterium is an integral part of our living Tradition. Straying from this path leads to wandering and renders one barren. The Holy Spirit cannot contradict Himself and tell us something contrary to what He has said before. The Holy Spirit does not make mistakes or deceive us. What the Spirit has spoken to His Church at one time, He does not contradict at another time. Therefore, Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium are interconnected, as Vatican II teaches us (Dei Verbum, 10).
For instance, Pope John Paul II qualified as definitive the doctrine that the Church can only ordain men to the priesthood. And he did so by virtue of the infallibility with which the Spirit assists the Church and her Magisterium “in docendo.” It makes no sense to contradict what the Spirit has said to his Church at a given moment or to make proposals that do not flow from this listening to the Spirit. The same applies to priestly celibacy, the use of direct contraceptives, the blessing of same-sex unions, abortion in all circumstances, respect for life until natural death, and so on.
Synods and assemblies are not tools for contradicting what the Spirit reveals to His Church, as if the Church were a civil parliament that changes laws based on popular demand. The Holy See has cautioned the Synod of the Church in Germany that it 'does not possess the authority to compel bishops and the faithful to adopt new forms of governance and new approaches to doctrine and morality.' This principle applies to the entire Church. As a result, certain irregular proposals have been rejected because they do not originate from the Spirit and have not been integrated into the final documents. Some of these proposals, put forth by a small minority, have been included in the concluding documents without proper discernment.
May God assist us during these turbulent times in both society and the Church. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever; do not be carried away by various strange teachings" (Heb 13:8-9).
Excerpts from Bishop Demetrio Fernández.
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