Synodality and Togetherness

The solar system is a planetary system

Not ‘cause of one planet

But a diversity of planets.

The beach is the beach 

Not ‘cause of one grain of sand 

But diverse sand grains together.

The ocean is the ocean

Not ‘cause of one droplet of water

But millions of diverse droplets together.

Trees are trees

Not ‘cause of one leaf standing alone

But scores of diverse leaves together.

The forest is the forest

Not ‘cause of one tree standing alone

But thousands of diverse trees standing together.

A football game is a football game

Not ‘cause of one spectator in a massive stadium

But thousands of diverse spectators cheering together.

A village is a village

Not ‘cause of one resident

But a diversity of residents living together.

Language is a language

Not ‘cause of one word

But, together, different letters forming different words,

Different words forming different sentences,

Different sentences forming different paragraphs,

Different paragraphs forming different stories.

The Caribbean is the Caribbean

Not ‘cause of one race and creed

But different races and creeds together intermingling

Forming a hybrid culture.

“Togetherness” is the God of creation.

“Togetherness” is the DNA of creation.

“Togetherness” is the heartbeat of peoples and cultures.

“Togetherness” is the engine of Jesus’ mission.

“Togetherness” is the algorithm of the Church’s mission. 

“Togetherness” is Synod. 

“Fostering participation leads us out of ourselves to involve others who hold different views than we do. Listening to those who have the same views as we do bears no fruit. Dialogue involves coming together across diverse opinions. Indeed, God often speaks through the voices of those that we can easily exclude, cast aside, or discount” (Vadamecum, 2.2).