Is it NORMAL for a lay Catholic to have a bishop who thinks he is asking for unity as he makes his authority felt, and ends up out of unity with the Universal Church by opening a synod one week later than expected; still this synod can unite his diocese if he can give up his desire for uniformity and allow some to follow Jesus more explicitly by experiencing the fidelity of discipleship, others to be invited to return to their ordinary lives, and all to testify to the power of the faith that has saved them (cf. Mt 15:28)?
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need
Today is the 9th day since the solemn opening in Rome of the 2021-2023 Synod entitled “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission” . Today is the day the Diocese of Amarillo was expected to open the process; however, Bishop Zurek (who is clearly prominent among those who follow Jesus, the figure of the apostles, whom Jesus himself calls from the beginning, having given them the task of mediating authoritatively the crowd’s relationship with Revelation and with the coming of God’s Kingdom.) is still lording it over us and making his authority felt by delaying the start of the synod until October 24, yet “a few” believe that the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through Him, despite of him…
…the third (the first being Jesus and the second the crowd) actor’s (the bishop’s) entrance (although delayed in our case) on the scene of the synodal process occurs not thanks to a cure or a conversion, but because it coincides with Jesus’ call, and therefore “a few” call out Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you…
…the election of the apostles is not the privilege of an exclusive position of power and separation but the grace of an inclusive ministry of blessing and fellowship that derives from a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. “I underline this because sometimes there is an elitism” among priests and bishops “that causes them to separate themselves from the laity,”…
Pope Francis greets people during a meeting with representatives of bishops’ conferences from around the world at the Vatican Oct. 9, 2021. The meeting came as the Vatican launches the process that will lead up to the assembly of the world Synod of Bishops in 2023. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
…Thanks to the gift of the Spirit of the Risen Lord, the bishop is to serve as Jesus did, while guarding the place of Jesus, without replacing him: not putting filters on his presence, but making it easy to encounter him.
…my prayer is that Bishop Zurek chooses to drink the cup that Jesus drank, stops making his authority felt over the Diocese of Amarillo and becomes a slave of all in this synodal process!
If Bishop Zurek truly wants to become a servant to all he must give up his aversion to social media.
