“Synodality means listening to the Holy Spirit”

Priests, deacons, sisters and consecrated lay people of our diocese got together to enjoy an evening with great food, drinks, and a keynote speech. Hosted by the Knights of Columbus, the Annual Clergy and Religious Appreciation Banquet is a beautiful tradition that honors all those who gave their lives to God to serve the Church.
 
MC Victor Garcia, Chapter President and Diocesan Deputy, welcomed the guests and expressed their gratitude for the service that priests, deacons and religious are offering in the diocese. Bishop Mulvey, who is still recovering from his knee surgery but is back on his feet, thanked everyone for their prayers for his recovery. He came to the dinner to show his appreciation for the clergy and religious and to thank the Knights of Columbus for their service, too. The Knights presented a check over $20,895 for charity to the bishop, which will serve Catholic Charities, Mother Teresa Shelter, the ARK and Fazenda da Esperanza (Farm of Hope).
 
Keynote speaker Fr. Clint Ressler, a priest from Texas City (Diocese of Galveston-Houston), was invited by Pope Francis to attend the Synod for parish priests in the Vatican at the beginning of May. During Covid-19, he visited his parishioners with a bicycle and got to know them much more, opening his heart to “the sheep that don’t come to Church.”
 
He shared about the potential that synodality has in store for parishes and dispelled the misconception that synodality introduces democracy in the Church: “It is not a democracy, but a ‘pneumocracy’ – the Holy Spirit leads the people to Christ.” It is a call to be Church and build genuine relationships.
 
The parish incarnation of the Synod on Synodality is challenging, but Fr. Clint shared three ways that he found helpful in his parish, St. Mary of the Miraculous Medal. “We started to hold Parish Ministry synods,” he said. All ministry leaders would come together, share their vision and goals and listen to one another. An annual Parish Summit reunites the faithful, starting with breakfast, prayer based on scripture and sharing on specific questions. “We have to be present for one another.”
 Fr. Clint ResslerHis second novelty w is “tactical discernment.” Some people would pray with him every week and help him discern how to implement the vision, strategies and goals that the Pastoral Council developed. “We still make a lot of mistakes, but now we can blame the Holy Spirit,” he joked.
 
Using synodality for conflict resolution and problem-solving turned out to be beneficial in his parish, too. “Sometimes, we just need to hit the pause bottom and look at the situation.” He recalled a moment with a very dedicated and loving parishioner who would hold back when she had a different opinion than he, the priest.” Sitting down with her and listening, he found out that he had hurt her unknowingly; she felt that her ideas were ignored, and he would not really listen. “I have realized how hard it is to listen when I need to let myself be changed.” Synodality means to be open to personal conversion.
 
In his middle-sized parish, he discovered several times how communal discernment helped him and his staff understand the following steps and come up with solutions they wouldn’t have thought of before. “Conversations in the Spirit offer a model to discern and make decisions,” he said.