The afternoon began with a dance step. which Sister Geni showed the participants the steps, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.
The main aim of the afternoon was to enable the participants to enter the synodal process. To achieve this, the afternoon sessions took up the three dimensions of the Synod of Bishops’ approach to synodality: participation, mission and communion. The aim of the first dimension was to help people become more aware of the existing practice of synodality in their own congregation, to welcome existing practices in other congregations and to discern together what the Spirit had to say, what the Spirit was inviting them to do. To facilitate this reflection and listening, a double question was put to everyone: How are you already living and practising synodality? How is synodality practised in your congregation? Among the fruits of the conversation in the Spirit that the participants expressed at the end of the exercise were: take time and have the inner availability to listen to one another; be present and participate actively; be ready to change, to learn….
As for the second dimension, mission, the following question was asked: what call(s) to conversion does the practice of synodality address to you and your congregation? The calls we heard were many and varied! They may be grouped as follows: personal calls to create an inner space for the Other and others, and to find a way to do so; community calls to move from multiculturalism to interculturality; and apostolic calls to live in solidarity with the Little Ones and give a voice to the voiceless.
For the third dimension, communion, the participants were invited to interiorize the symbols placed on all the tables, namely the lit candle, the bowls of rice, flour and corn, produce of the earth and the result of the human labor, destined to become ways to live solidarity and foster fraternity. The Word of God from Acts 4:32 was proclaimed in the four languages:
The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common. After a time of personal reflection, we recited the Our Father together. To conclude the process, we sang in Spanish “Vamos a hacer la Comunión”.
