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I’ve been reflecting on the Gospel of Luke 5 1-11, which depicts the call of the first disciples. After getting into Simon's boat, Jesus tells him to “Put out into deep water, and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon argued at first but then did as Jesus commanded.
Jesus is also encouraging us to listen to him, to obey him and to trust him as we enter into deeper waters together and cast a wide net to become fishers of all God’s people. Jesus was in the boat with Peter, and he’s in the boat with us as he continues to say “do not be afraid.”
At this time in the Catholic Church and here at St. Ambrose, we are being asked to go into deeper waters - to listen to people from all walks of life - people who don’t necessarily look or think like us. In this space, we are being invited to listen to the Holy Spirit in the voices of one another.
In October, Pope Francis called a worldwide Synod, which he describes as an exercise in mutual listening involving the entire People of God. With synod meaning “journeying together,” we are all being invited to open ourselves up in mutual respect, to share in earnest and with honesty, as we reflect on how the church is living out its mission in the world.
Here on campus, the synodal process is open to all of you - our students, our faculty and our staff. Bishop Zinkula has asked that we, as a St. Ambrose community, prayerfully consider what it is that fills our hearts about the Catholic Church, and what it is that breaks our hearts about the Catholic Church. The responses from those two questions will be recorded and submitted to Bishop Zinkula, who will then present them to the Vatican. This synodal process has the potential to open us up, as an entire campus, to seeing the ways in which we can learn and grow as a Catholic university.
This process takes honesty, and it takes courage. We will say things and hear things that are hard to say and that are hard to hear. We will say things and hear things that need to be said and need to be heard. It is my prayer that when we take the risk to go deeper, our hearts may be expanded, and we will come to a better understanding of the sufferings and joys of all God’s people, finding a way to respond with genuine compassion and love instead of fear and hatred.
Have a question about a program or event going on in Campus Ministry? Got an idea for something you'd like to see happen? EMAIL US at ministry@sau.edu.
