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”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Birthday Dream
On this day of the celebration of my birth, September 29 I have a DREAM. I DREAM, Amid personal unfathomable emotional pain I DREAM for friends, families, and fraternities Marred by division, deafness, disagreement, discord, disharmony, and disunion. I DREAM of healing and reconciliation . . . among friends . . . among family membersContinue reading “Birthday Dream”
Unbridled Independence
“When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine” (John 2:3). My family gathered to celebrate the September-born members which include me. There was the customary Jamaican food, alcohol, laughter, teasing, and jiving. Three friends of my eldest niece, who were visiting from St. Maarten, joined briefly onContinue reading “Unbridled Independence”
Synodality and Fustrations
The feeling of frustration is one of the many emotions that were either expressed by the People of God or intuited in their stories during the consultation phase of the synodal journey. I invite you to sense the frustration in the following testimony extracted from a synod synthesis. “Some of the priests are very thin-skinnedContinue reading “Synodality and Fustrations”
Ancestral Tears
Queen Elizabeth – A grandmother A great grandmother A mother A person A woman – Has died. There are overflowing tears Pouring from social, print, and electronic media eyes, Usurping news of global war, famine, drought, violence. Tears filling the cups of the United Kingdom Violently stirring the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. But,Continue reading “Ancestral Tears”
Synodality and Conflict Transformation
The synodal journey of the People of God fundamentally involves the initiation and development of quality relationships. Relationship building is like the proverbial saying “getting under someone’s skin”. One of the consequences of such attachment is conflict. There’s no synodal journeying without conflicts. Due of our differences – different personalities, experiences, perspectives, opinions, ways ofContinue reading “Synodality and Conflict Transformation”
Synodality and the Human Family
Why does the journey towards building a synodal Church appear like the ascent up a steep and rugged hill? Some years ago, four friends and I agreed to hike up a steep mountain. On the way to the starting point, I observed a bottle of whiskey and few glasses in the car. At the footContinue reading “Synodality and the Human Family”
Synodality and the Aged
We have a natural attraction for youthfulness – the fat cheeks of toddlers, the smooth silk-like skin of children, the exuberance and aliveness of adolescence, the sculptured body of athletes, and the full head of hair of young men and women. These images splatter the pages of fashion magazines, occupy the storyline of movies, shapeContinue reading “Synodality and the Aged”
Synodality and Ecclesial Bunkers
Within community life, we have been injured by the bullets of persons’ tongues, writings, or inactions. Perhaps, a parish priest has failed to visit during an illness; parishioners have exercised inhospitality at Mass; gossiping tongues have exposed my inner world; or hierarchical infighting plots against upward mobility. When we are emotionally injured, sometimes the humanContinue reading “Synodality and Ecclesial Bunkers”
Synodality and Waiting
Have you ever had the experience of waiting for a response from someone? It may have been waiting on your boss’s response to a project proposal, or a response to a request to your parents, a challenge or critique to a friend, a love note to a girl or boyfriend, a submitted application form, orContinue reading “Synodality and Waiting”
Beloved Reflections 