In a group conversation during the synod retreat for the clergy of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago two concepts and insights related to the synodal journey emerged. The first is historical listening. This type of listening is an awareness of the historical wisdom of the Church that it passes on throughContinue reading “Synodality – Historical Listening and Kairos”
Author Archives: donalddeanchambers
Synodality and Trust
Writing in The Sunday Gleaner, September 25, 2022, Cedric Stephens remarks on the trust deficit as a big problem in Caribbean and Latin American societies. His source is the 2022 book published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) entitled Trust: The Key to Social Cohesion and Growth in Latin America and The Caribbean. Quoting theContinue reading “Synodality and Trust”
Morning after Ian
It’s early morning.Ian’s tail is in the distant horizon,On its onward Caribbean pilgrimage. Ian unlocked the vaults of heaven,With a cavalcade of waterCaressing and slapping the face of the earth. The morning is now incredibly silent,The orchestral sound of birds silent,Few fine-tuning their vocal cords. Leaves of trees like statuesDripping with remnant water,Overwhelmed by hoursContinue reading “Morning after Ian”
Contemporary Crucified Mother and Aunt
The reward for unconditional love is suffering and ‘death’. It’s a hard pill to swallow. The lead newspaper story of the Jamaica Gleaner, September 23, 2022, reports on the sentencing of Rushane Barnett. According to the article, Rushane Barnett and his brother were unemployed and in a financial bind when they telephoned their aunt, GwendolynContinue reading “Contemporary Crucified Mother and Aunt”
Building a Synodal Church
In building magnificent engineering structures such as bridges, skyscrapers, ocean liners, and bullet trains, human beings have learnt and applied some fundamental lessons. One such basic lesson is that development is a painstakingly slow-moving process devoid of shortcuts. Furthermore, the journey towards completion entails challenges that, once embraced, stimulate creativity and innovation. Throughout history we’veContinue reading “Building a Synodal Church”
Mindfulness
Most of our lifetime is spent swimming on the surface of the ocean of life, unaware of what lies beneath and the significance of it. We swim in and out of relationships, the life of others, political and religious institutions, programmes and projects, countries and cultures, as tourists without or with minimal impact on themContinue reading “Mindfulness”
Belonging and Diversity
Uniformity is learnt ideology to control. Belonging not to the Divine intention. Pause for a moment! Wisely observe the space around you! Creation is absent of uniformity. Human living is devoid of uniformity. Uniformity is a false construct Design to dominate, dictate, and judiciously direct. Religious institutions. Partisan Politics. Racial ideology. Ethnic groups. Encircling usContinue reading “Belonging and Diversity”
Silent Giving
There are several rivers in Jamaica, but some are more inviting and popular than others. There are the slow-moving rivers such as the Black River, St. Elizabeth and the Rio Cobre, St. Catherine… ignored and forgotten rivers. Then there is the vibrancy of the Y’s River, St. Elizabeth and Dunn’s River, St. Ann…both attract largeContinue reading “Silent Giving”
Synodality – Individual’s Contribution to the Whole
The heart is used metaphorically as the centre. For example, a son or daughter is referred to as the heartbeat of parents. The rhythm of the heart indicates the quality of our overall health. By using a stethoscope, medical doctors listen to the heartbeat. Positioning it in their ears, the stethoscope drowns out external noiseContinue reading “Synodality – Individual’s Contribution to the Whole”
Synodality and Reception of Ideas
One of the frustrating experiences in the synodal journey, a journey of dialogue, discernment and decision-making by the People of God, is the immediate shooting down of a proposed idea, concept, or recommendation. Someone offers a proposal and it’s instantaneously thrown in the garbage. There may be good reasons for rejection, but the manner inContinue reading “Synodality and Reception of Ideas”
Beloved Reflections 