Synodality is a spiritual practice. Prayer, both individually and communally, creates space to listen for and hear the Holy Spirit, to be open to what other people have to say, and to discern well. Prayer prepares us for commitment and action, and sustains us through difficulty, tension, and disagreement.

The Prayer for Communal Discernment and Prayer as well as other prayer resources are available for adaptation in the Regional Assemblies.

Global Synod Prayer and Spirituality Resources.

Listening is at the heart of synodality. significant portions of the 2021 and 2022 Diocesan Assemblies, as well as the consultation processes developed for the Plenary Council and Global Synod, focused on formation for listening well.

To be a participant in the Regional Assembly is an invitation to create space in your life for the ‘moment’ of the Regional Assembly. This is an invitation to feel excited about this space – the Regional Assembly will be a time out of the ordinary circumstances of your life. Therefore, you are invited to prepare yourself, heart, mind and body, for this experience.

Each of us brings to the Assembly our own experiences. We each bring a yearning, and we each bring an intention. This is one of the most important things to be aware of because we all have an intention to have our voice heard, to share our views, to be listened to and to be satisfied. So it is important to spend time thinking about our yearnings and intentions because our intentions influence or thoughts and therefore our behaviour.

• Come ready to participate fully in the sessions, prayers, listening, discussions, and discernment.

• Arrive early to the sessions.

• Get to know other members of our Regional family.

• Listen and dialogue with openness and respect in your discussion groups.

• Be curious.

• Be open to the movements of the Holy Spirit in the Regional Assembly.

The Assembly is not designed to be a debating space, or a platform to promote a particular agenda. Instead, the emphasis on listening creates space for reflective dialogue. Rather than preparing to say something while someone else is speaking, this kind of dialogue seeks to listen deeply and prayerfully to what the other is saying; allows space and time for reflection; and if necessary, a response is offered in order to expand the dialogue, ask questions, and come to mutual understanding.

Any time there is opportunity for dialogue, such as in the discussion group, it becomes a sacred space. In the group we have an opportunity to be honest, authentic and open with one another. This is only possible if we can agree to:

• Respectful listening and feedback – when someone is speaking, we are listening, not asking questions, critiquing or challenging.

• Honour one another’s experiences and opinions

• Treat one another with generosity and compassion

• Withhold judgement

• Keep the contents of our discussion confidential once we leave the session.

The recommendations and outcomes of the discussion groups should result from prayerful discernment. Discernment is a process of listening to God and arriving at answers in a prayerful way.

How do we know that we are listening to God and following the movement of the Spirit within ourselves or in a group? A good discernment process brings clarity and inner peace. If there is unease or anxiety, personal issues may be getting in the way.

The freedom to follow the Spirit of God moving in the group means having an open mind and heart. Group discernment requires a commitment to listen attentively and to trust the intentions of others, together with a willingness to share our own experience and insights, and let go of our assumptions or biases.

Plenary Council Resource: Introduction to Discernment

Simply talking about things won’t change things. We must commit to meaningful action. However, action without proper strategic planning and discernment will end up as ineffective or short-lived.

Commitment to action must also come from individuals, communities and the institution. It is not enough to say, ‘the Church needs to do X.’ We are the Church, so the responsibility to action rests on each one of us.

Action must also be followed by further prayer, reflection, and discernment.