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Thank you for answering my call to participate in synodal listening sessions in parishes and communities. Over 500 small groups throughout the Diocese gathered to pray, listen, discern and share with one another what was most important and urgent in their hearts - a desire to grow closer to Christ and His Church. Hundreds of rich and heartfelt responses have been shared with me. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is breathing new life and hope into the weariness that we have been experiencing in these past few years.
On Saturday, June 4, 2022, I invite you to join me for a special day of prayer, reflection and celebration as we mark the completion of the Diocesan Phase in preparation for the 2021-2023 Synod. We will reflect on our experience of the synod encounters, and listen to what the People of God have shared with their Shepherd. As my co-workers in the vineyard, this is what the People of God also wish to share with you. We will celebrate the Holy Spirit and renew our life in Him who fills our hearts and rekindles in us the fire of God's love. +William T. McGrattan Bishop of Calgary 
All are welcome! Let us gather in the presence of the Holy Spirit, and invite the Lord to bless our journey together as we celebrate the closing of the Diocesan Phase in preparation for the 2021-2023 Synod.
You are invited to join representatives from throughout the Diocese for a day of prayer, reflection on the synodal experience, sharing of the Diocesan Synthesis, BBQ lunch and Eucharistic celebration with Bishop McGrattan. When: Saturday, June 4, 2022 from 10 am to 3 pm. Where: St. Michael's Catholic Community (800 85 St. SW, Calgary)
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"Synodality is the way of being the Church today according to the will of God, in a dynamic of discerning and listening together to the voice of the Holy Spirit." |
Pope Francis
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The Church exists to evangelize
During the synodal consultations, we gather around the Word of God, rooted in prayer, to listen to one another as we respond to the Synod Fundamental Question, and to provide the Bishop with individual or group feedback, our discerned ideas, reactions and suggestions on how we can help foster communion, renewal, and grow a missionary heart within the Church, to better witness to the Gospel, especially with those who live on the spiritual, social, economic, political, geographical, and existential peripheries of our community. |
Process of Consultation
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The Fundamental Questions of the SynodThe Gospels frequently show us Jesus “on a journey”; he walks alongside people and listens to the questions and concerns in their hearts. Jesus shows us that God is not distant but he walks at our side and meets us wherever we are, often on the rocky roads of life. This is the “style” of God who travels the paths of history and shares in the life of humanity.
A synodal Church, faithful to Jesus in announcing the Gospel, “journeys together”:
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What is a Synod?
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The word “synod” has its roots in Greek means “journeying together.” A Synod is thus an ecclesial event that involves the laity, religious and clergy listening and speaking, praying and discerning together, and placing the hopes and concerns of the People of God at the foot of the Bishops, who, united with the Pope, decide matters of faith, morals and disciplines in order to preserve the faith and strengthen the mission of the Church in the world.
At the centre of the Synod is Jesus Christ, not the Church. A Synod, therefore, is not a parliament, a game of parties, or an opinion poll where one who has more strength subjects the other. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, there will be no Synod. |
The heart of the synodal experience is listening. Listening requires us to empty our minds of pre-conceived notions or opinions which may not be of God. It requires faith – do we truly believe that God wishes to speak to us in the depth of our being? It requires resilience – the Holy Spirit will reveal things to us in God’s time and as the Spirit wishes. It requires obedience – our entering into this exercise will demonstrate our humility and our desire to be true disciples of Jesus.
The first phase of the Synod on Synodality (October 2021 to April 2022) involves an extensive consultation and listening phase at all levels in each Diocesan Church. This will be followed by consultations on the continental level, leading up to the Synod of Bishops in October 2023 in Rome. Vertical Divider
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Get involved in the Synodal Process
We are in the early stages of the local Synodal process. For more information and to sign up for updates on the Synod on Synodality in our Diocese |
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Preparing for the Synodal Listening
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Synod Preparatory Documents
Diocesan Resources
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Important Terms
Live in Communion: By his gracious will, God gathers us together as diverse peoples of one faith, through the covenant that he offers to his people. The communion we share finds its deepest roots in the love and unity of the Trinity. It is Christ who reconciles us to the Father and unites us with each other in the Holy Spirit. Together, we are inspired by listening to the Word of God, through the living Tradition of the Church, and grounded in the sensus fidei that we share. We all have a role to play in discerning and living out God’s call for his people. Achieve Participation: A call for the involvement of all who belong to the People of God – laity, consecrated and ordained – to engage in the exercise of deep and respectful listening to one another. This listening creates space for us to hear the Holy Spirit together, and guides our aspirations for the Church of the Third Millennium. Participation is based on the fact that all the faithful are qualified and are called to serve one another through the gifts we have each received from the Holy Spirit. In a synodal Church the whole community, in the free and rich diversity of its members, is called together to pray, listen, analyse, dialogue, discern and offer advice on making pastoral decisions which correspond as closely as possible to God’s will. Genuine efforts must be made to ensure the inclusion of those at the margins or who feel excluded. Open to Mission: The Church exists to evangelize. We can never be centred on ourselves. Our mission is to witness to the love of God in the midst of the whole human family. This Synodal Process has a deeply missionary dimension to it. It is intended to enable the church to better witness to the Gospel, especially with those who live on the spiritual, social, economic, political, geographical, and existential peripheries of our world. In this way, synodality is a path by which the Church can more fruitfully fulfill her mission of evangelization in the world, as a leaven at the service of the coming of God’s kingdom. |
Pastoral Discernment Advisory Committee (PDAC)
The Committee has been established by the Bishop to facilitate and sustain the pathways for consulting the People of God during the Diocesan Phase of the Synod and for the continuing renewal of the Diocese.
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