Fr. Timothy Radcliffe OP has asked the participants in the second session of the Synod of Synodality to be seekers of truth and to overcome their own fears in two meditations proposed during the first day of previous prayer.
Pending the inauguration on October 2 of the second phase of the Synod of Synodality, who was master of the Order of Preachers between 1992 and 2001, is in charge of directing the retreat that will be celebrated this Monday in Rome.
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His reflections are based on the Gospel according to Saint John and focused on four scenes around the resurrection that he has titled Searching in the dark, The closed room, The stranger on the beach y Breakfast with the Lord and that, in various ways, they shed “some light on how to be a missionary synodal Church in our crucified world.” On this Monday morning, he presented the first two.
Recently, the 79-year-old Dominican asserted in an article published in L’Osservatore Romano that “desires” for same-sex attraction, like all desires, are “given by God” and need to be “educated” rather than denied. .
Complementarity in the search for truth
In the meditation titled Searching in the darkFather Radcliffe began by expressing his hope that those participating in the synod “will begin to see those with whom we disagree not as opponents, but as fellow disciples, companions in search.”
The beginning of the resurrection story places Mary Magdalene searching for the Lord in the night. With this framework, the preacher has pointed out that “we can also feel in the dark. Since the last Assembly, many people, including participants in this Synod, have expressed doubts about whether anything will be achieved.”
In the place where the resurrected Lord is, there are three characters: Mary Magdalene, Saint John and Saint Peter: “Each one seeks the Lord in his own way; Each one has their own way of loving and each one their own emptiness. Each of these seekers has their own role in the dawn of hope. There is no rivalry. Their mutual dependence embodies the heart of synodality,” the Dominican said.
Just as they have questions within themselves, Father Radcliffe has pointed out that “we must dare to bring to this Synod the deepest questions of our hearts, disconcerting questions that invite us to a new life”, in such a way that, “ If we listen to the questions of others with respect and without fear, we will find a new way of living in the Spirit.”
Thus, he predicted that the Synod of Synodality will be a moment of grace “if we look at each other with compassion, and see people who are like us, searching” instead of seeing “that horrible conservative cardinal” or “that scary feminist.”
The three modes of search represented by Mary Magdalene, Saint John and Saint Peter “correspond to three voids in our lives: tender love that seeks presence; the search for meaning, light and forgiveness.”
In Father Radcliffe’s opinion, each of them represents “a group that felt in some way excluded at the last Assembly” (women, theologians and parish priests) who should not compete “to be seen as victims” because “the search in the darkness for the Lord needs all these witnesses, as the Synod needs all the ways in which we love and seek the Lord.”
Holiness is being alive in God
During his second meditation, The closed roomFr. Radcliffe has drawn on the fears of the disciples locked up before receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Thus, he pointed out that “the challenge for us is to help each other breathe deeply the rejuvenating Holy Spirit.” In this sense, he invited us to think “about the fears that can prevent us from becoming alive in God.”
“We all know the fear of being hurt. Some of us come to this Assembly nervous about not finding recognition and acceptance. Our hopes for the Church can be despised,” shared the Dominican, who pointed out that “living in God means not being afraid of wounds.”
Even more, he stressed: “One of the brothers can change sex, the bursar can run away with the money, the Church can be blown up! But Christ has died, Christ has risen and Christ will return.”
Next, Fr. Radcliffe explained that “the peace of God does not mean that we feel at peace” and that for many of those present perhaps “the deepest challenge is to be at peace with ourselves.”
Following his argument, he has described the fear of many that the Church they love will change or not change in certain aspects: “Our fierce love for the Church can also, paradoxically, make us narrow-minded: the fear that it will be harmed by destructive reforms that undermine the traditions we love. Or the fear that the Church will not become the open home we long for. It is deeply sad that the Church is often hurt by those who love the Church.”
After highlighting that “the gates of Hades will not prevail,” the Dominican warned that “our very love for the Church, in totally different ways, can lock us in a narrow world, looking at our ecclesiastical navel, observing others, ready to detect their deviations and report them.”
Thus, he denounced that “sin locks us in prisons of narcissism and partisan politics”, in contrast to which he proclaimed that “this synod is not a place to negotiate structural changes, but to choose life, conversion and sorry”. He has also called to overcome during the Synod of Synodality “all the violence that is in our hearts.”
Finally, Fr. Radcliffe addressed the theologians who “also sometimes retreat to the closed room of the academy for fear of conversation with the People of God.”
After recognizing that his work is necessary to “keep us in what Saint Paul calls ‘the obedience of faith’”, he has emphasized that “this hard discipline of study is, ultimately, at the service of the conversation with our contemporaries , to accompany you on the journey towards the infinite mystery of divine love.”
Nicholas de Cardenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish husband and father and journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specializing in sociopolitical and religious information. I have worked for more than 10 years in defense of human rights and have accreditations in Journalism and Comprehensive Communication. Since July 2022, I have been a correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.