As we proceed through Lent and life, we might do well to take cues from some church leaders of the past, like Pope Francis, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and Jesus.  The way of proceeding through synodality is like the Ignatian Way of Proceeding.  They are both based in prayer that listens to the Holy Spirit and acts according to the Spirit’s promptings.  This inspires us to also listen more intently to others, reverence their sentiments, presume their good intent, help reframe their words that might be off-putting or offtrack, seek nuggets of wisdom that can be presented as building blocks for the common good, and find positive methods to move forward together. This way of proceeding honors Christ’s way.

More than once, Pope Francis pointed out that among the sins of the church is its procedures, or ways of proceeding, that are self-referential and arrogant.  They result in policies that get indoctrinated as divine and produce ways of proceeding that reference them as deity.  This is very different from the message of Jesus and different from the message of the Second Vatican Council that called Catholics to go to the source, to turn to Jesus rather than to ecclesial policies or procedures to guide us in faith.  Jesus chastised church leaders in His time because they proceeded according to doctrines and laws rather than the ways of God.  He challenged them to think differently, much as He challenged the fishermen to fish differently: “Cast your net to the other side…Go deeper!”  They knew the procedures that worked for them, but the Disciples were open to following His way.  Doing so changed their lives.

Jesus is The Way and He offers us opportunities to proceed down His path, to accompany Him, and to make His way our way.  Many families, churches, and other communities or institutions are like the Pharisees and fishermen who think they know what works and want to do things the way they’ve always done them.  But their way of proceeding sometimes gets off-putting or offtrack.  Our diocese, like many corporations, has established policies and procedures that cause them to proceed out of fear: fear of IRS policies, threats of litigation, government regulations or stipulations…  But Jesus discouraged fear.  He spoke of it often: “Fear is useless—what is needed is trust…Fear not, little flock…Be not afraid…”  He encouraged us to replace fear with love.  

Saint Ignatius is often associated with the Ignatian Method or Way of Procedure.  It is a spiritual outline that guides us in daily prayer to incentivize us toward a culture of encounter with the world and with people we meet each day.  It leads to Ignatian Conversation, or a way to proceed with others that mirrors Christ’s accompaniment with those He met along the way.  As Ignatius’ spiritual son, Pope Francis, once said, “Christ’s love in us will spark initiatives and empower others in positive ways.”  While we proceed in the current implementation phase of the church’s synodal process and move forward through our annual Lenten journey to enhance our lives, let us consider how the Ignatian Way aligns with Jesus’ way of proceeding.  It moves us from fear and self-preservation to love and surrender to God’s goodness.

As Yoda from Star Wars wisely stated: “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”  No one benefits from self-imposed suffering; it, too, is useless.  In this Season of Lent, in this time of synodality, let us proceed according to the ways of Jesus because, when we move from fear to love we will find a way of proceeding that unites us more closely to Christ and one another.