Next week, the Synod of Sydney will gather Catholics from different parishes, communities and chaplaincies alongside those from health, welfare, and education sectors within our archdiocese to respond to grass-roots longings that emerged over years of consultation.
The three repeated and Holy Spirit-inspired longings were for more prayerful liturgies, more Christ-centred communities, and a more mission-oriented church.
To guide members through the three longings at the Synod, the archbishop requested that the following speakers with relevant expertise in each longing be invited to present. Here are their hopes for the Sydney Synod, which begins next Thursday (30 April) and concludes next Sunday (3 May).
Prayerful Liturgies: Fr Bijoy Joseph STL
Fr Bijoy Joseph was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Sydney in 2022 and currently serves as assistant priest at St Joachim’s Parish in Lidcombe. He is a member of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission and teaches Liturgy and Fundamental Theology at the Catholic Institute of Sydney. Fr Bijoy holds a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL) and specialises in the theology of blessings, the history of liturgy, and pastoral liturgy.
- What are your impressions on the Synod ideas for prayerful liturgies?
My first impression was that there weren’t any radical ideas! At first, I was a bit disappointed, but, upon reflection, I thought perhaps that is for the best. There is a need, especially with things concerning the liturgy, for things to move slowly and for people to be formed in worship. All the six ideas are very reasonable ideas and, if I had my choice, should all be implemented in our archdiocese.
- How do you plan to engage synod members through your expert testimony at the Synod?
I will examine the six synod ideas for prayerful liturgies in light of the last Apostolic Letter on the liturgy, Desiderio Desideravi, released by Pope Francis in 2022. By examining what the pope has said about the liturgy, I believe it will help synod members, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, to choose the best ideas going forward.
- What is your hope for the legacy of the Synod, especially in contributing to more prayerful liturgies?
I hope it will give parishes and parish priests a push in moving towards greater reverence towards the liturgy. I hope it will contribute to a whole generation of Catholics in the Archdiocese being immersed in a deeper way in the mysteries of our faith and, as a result, bearing fruit in abundance for decades to come.
Christ-centred Communities: Kevin and Helen Wagner
Dr Kevin Wagner and his wife Helen are members of the Emmanuel Community. Their experience includes being Directors of the Emmanuel School of Mission in Rome where they oversaw the academic, spiritual, communal, and missionary formation of young Catholics from around the world. In addition to the work with their community, Kevin lectures in Theology at the University of Notre Dame and Helen is an Evangelisation Officer for the Parish Renewal Team at the Sydney Centre of Evangelisation.
- What are your impressions on the Synod ideas for Christ-centred communities?
Kevin: It seems to me that the Synod preparation committee has done well to identify key concerns and desires of Mass-going Catholics in Sydney. As a university lecturer who has spent more than a decade specifically designing and teaching courses to form teachers for Catholic schools, I can appreciate the need to better form those who develop and facilitate sacramental and RCIA programs.
Helen: Our archdiocese is already doing a lot. The Synod ideas reflect a desire for us to do better. They are not radical or dramatic; they merely reflect the yearnings of the human heart for union with God and for deeper relationships within the Christian community.
- How do you plan to engage synod members through your expert testimony at the Synod?
Kevin: My experience in the Emmanuel Community, Catholic schools, and at Notre Dame encourages me to speak about the need for a holistic approach to bringing people to Christ and thus, to building Christ-centred communities. Crucial too, is the need to focus on the fact that we are made for relationship. In our communities we realise this, but we don’t often act very intentionally to bring people together.
Putting on events is often good and necessary, but in our planning perhaps we could do better in considering questions like: Who do we want to reach? What is the best way to reach them? What do they need and desire? How can we help them? If old ways aren’t working, what new ways can we find to bring people to Jesus? That is, which byways and highways do we need to go to, and how can I best invite them to the Wedding Feast?!
Helen: Our parishes are definitely Mass-centred but are they Christ-centred communities? I would like to reflect on what we actually mean by ‘Christ-centred communities’ and why it is important that we foster these in our archdiocese.
Our experience has been that this does not just happen because we desire it, but that we need to be deliberate and intentional about it.
- What is your hope for the legacy of the Synod, especially in contributing to more Christ-centred communities?
Kevin: I deeply desire that our parishes and communities become places where we can all be nourished and built up by Jesus. I long for them to be places of welcome for the weak and poor – for sinners like me – that are open to the radical new life Jesus offers. I want them to be places where we get a foretaste of Heaven!
Helen: That the church in the Archdiocese of Sydney may joyfully and enthusiastically accept the outcomes of the Synod, and – with the power of the Holy Spirit – work to bring about genuine and lasting renewal in our church. In particular, I hope to see our communities bursting at the seams, filled with warmth, welcome and friendship, and a desire to grown in love of God and with each other.
Mission-oriented Church: Fr Christopher Ryan MGL
Fr Christopher Ryan MGL joined the Missionaries of God’s Love (MGL) in 1994, was ordained a priest in 2002, and currently serves as parish priest for St Declan’s Penshurst/St Joseph’s Oatley and Our Lady of Fatima Peakhurst. He has been involved in youth ministry leadership since 1993 and has a PhD which explored RCIA as a resource for youth ministry. Fr Chris is the Director of Areté Centre for Missionary Leadership which strives to form lay people as disciples, missionaries, and leaders in the Catholic Church.
- What are your impressions on the Synod ideas for a mission-oriented church?
I think that all of the ideas have a great deal of merit. They capture something of the breadth of the church’s mission, because they recognise the need for the evangelisation of those who have not yet encountered Jesus Christ, and also the need to love and serve Christ in service and outreach, especially to the poor and suffering in our midst.
They also speak to the importance of practical strategies for evangelising young people, the crucial role of those involved in Catholic education, and recognises the way in which the digital sphere is typically the first port of call for people searching for God. I do think it is important that the synod delegates focus upon the ‘idea’ and ‘why’ of each proposal before them, because the ‘how’ of each idea will no doubt unfold over time.
- How do you plan to engage synod members through your expert testimony at the Synod?
A more mission-oriented church makes sense when we have encountered Christ and want to follow him. Mission is not a recruitment strategy. It is the natural response that happens when someone has been gripped by Jesus; they want to share his love and saving power with others, and are motivated to love as he has loved, which especially includes loving the “least of our brothers and sisters” and meeting our neighbours in their need. The church’s mission is really about participating in the conjoined missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit.
From this perspective, becoming a more mission-oriented church is less about lamenting the lack of people’s presence in the pews but confidently going forward in the power of the Spirit to share the Gospel with our words, but also the witness of our lives.
- What is your hope for the legacy of the Synod, especially in contributing to a more mission-oriented church?
If we get mission ‘right’, everything else follows. The church is a pilgrim church, unfinished this side of heaven, and so things will never be perfect in our archdiocese. But if we prioritise mission, which is to prioritise Christ and frame our understanding of the church as a community of missionary disciples seeking to make missionary disciples, then we will more fully live out the church’s vocation to be the sacrament of salvation for a wounded and hurting world.
If the synod assists us to get our priorities concerning mission, liturgy, and community right, then it will have been a great success.
