Soon, my 10-week vacation will end as I prepare to return to my parish and diocese in Ghana on September 20. I use this opportunity to thank the pastor, Fr. Anthony Sorgie, who has been my friend and mentor since meeting him in 2002 at St. James the Apostle Church in Carmel, for allowing me to spend my vacation here. I also thank my other brother priests in this parish for their friendliness and support while I stayed here. In fact, the brotherliness and joy in this parish rectory enriches my priesthood with happiness and fulfillment. God richly bless you all, Frs. André, Novio, Dinesh, and Antoine.

This vacation has been so restful for me, giving me the opportunity to reflect on my priestly vocation after 25 years. I also did some work on the brochure for my diocese for the climax of its Silver Jubilee celebrations which began in October last year. I will also have a Thanksgiving Mass for my Silver Jubilee on November 4, 2023, in my parish. Please continue to pray for me.

I would like to reflect on the Synod of Bishops which will take place in Rome from October 4-29, 2023, with a second session in October 2024. It was launched by Pope Francis on October 21, 2021, under the theme, “For a Synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission.” “Synod” is an ancient and venerable word in the Tradition of the Church; its meaning indicates the path along which the People of God walk together. Equally, it refers to the Lord Jesus, who presents Himself as “the way, the truth, and the life,” and to the fact that Christians, His followers, were originally called “followers of the Way.”

First and foremost, synodality denotes the particular style that qualifies the life and mission of the Church, expressing her nature as the People of God journeying together and gathering in assembly, summoned by the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Synodality ought to be expressed in the Church’s ordinary way of living and working. Pope Francis said, “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium. What the Lord is asking of us is already in some sense present in the very word ‘synod.’ Journeying together — laity, pastors, the Bishop of Rome — is an easy concept to put into words, but not so easy to put into practice.”

For this reason, the theme of this year’s Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is “For a Synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission.” Indeed, synodality refers to the very essence of the Church, her constitutive reality, and is thus oriented towards evangelization. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ.” In a similar way, St. Augustine speaks of the Whole Christ, head and members who form an indivisible and inseparable unity. Only in union with Christ the head, is it possible to understand the plurality of the members of the body, which enriches the Church, overcoming any temptation to uniformity. Since this is a unity in plurality in the power of the Spirit, the Church is called to open new paths while embarking on that same journey.

The Synod of Bishops is the dynamic point of convergence that calls for mutual listening to the Holy Spirit at every level of the Church's life. It is not just an event, but also a process that involves in synergy the People of God, the College of Bishops, and the Bishop of Rome, each according to their proper function. The three key words for the synodal process, Communion, Participation, and Mission, which are interrelated, must be understood.

Communion

By His gracious will, God gathers us together as diverse peoples of one faith, through the covenant that He offers to His people. The communion we share finds its deepest roots in the love and unity of the Trinity. It is Christ who reconciles us to the Father and unites us with each other in the Holy Spirit. Together, we are inspired by listening to the Word of God, through the living Tradition of the Church. We all have a role to play in discerning and living out God’s call for His people.

Participation

This is a call for the involvement of all who belong to the People of God – laity, consecrated, and ordained – to engage in the exercise of deep and respectful listening to one another. This listening creates space for us to hear the Holy Spirit together and guides our aspirations for the Church of the third millennium. Participation is based on the fact that all the faithful are qualified and are called to serve one another through the gifts they have each received from the Holy Spirit. In a synodal Church, the whole community, in the free and rich diversity of its members, is called together to pray, listen, analyze, dialogue, discern, and offer advice on making pastoral decisions which correspond as closely as possible to God's will. Genuine efforts must be made to ensure the inclusion of those at the margins or who feel excluded.

Mission

The Church exists to evangelize. We can never be centered on ourselves. Our mission is to witness to the love of God in the midst of the whole human family. This Synodal Process has a deeply missionary dimension to it. It is intended to enable the Church to better witness to the Gospel, especially with those who live on the spiritual, social, economic, political, geographical, and existential peripheries of our world. In this way, synodality is a path by which the Church can more fruitfully fulfill her mission of evangelization in the world, as a leaven at the service of the coming of God’s kingdom.

It is therefore imperative for us to offer our prayers to this all-important event for the growth of the Church as the Church gathers in Rome. It will be a time of intense consultation, deliberation, and prayer. May our Mother Mary intercede for us on this journey of faith for a fruitful Synod.

Greetings from Ghana!

I am very happy to be back at Immaculate Conception and Assumption of our Lady Parish in Tuckahoe, with it being four years since I last came here for my vacation. It is always refreshing to spend time here, away from the heavy schedule back home in Ghana, West Africa. My ten-week stay here is a period of rest, reflection, and re-invigoration for me to bounce back to life when I return.

It is a period of rest! I am the pastor of an average parish of about 800 families, who live in the main parish town and seven towns and villages, with the farthest being eight miles away. There are two churches in the main town of Tepa, with a third community having been started two years ago in a convent of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus, who run a vibrant basic school. I have a very hard-working parochial vicar, who has been so helpful, and who is now holding the fort with another priest in residence in my parish while I take my vacation. We try to celebrate Masses for all the parishioners in their churches during the week and over the weekends. The parishioners are mostly farmers and traders, with others being employed as teachers and civil and public servants. They are very generous with their time and resources to help the growth of the church.

It is a period of reflection! I will be 25 years a priest on July 18, and my stay here for these weeks offers me the opportunity to reflect on my priestly journey over the years. I am very grateful to God for my vocation. The journey has been very interesting, with ups and downs. A little over a year after my ordination, I lost my pastor, and I was challenged to take care of a very big parish, with 32 outstations (villages), alone. What a challenge! However, with the grace of God and the encouragement and prayerful support of my bishop, some priests, and my family, I was able to work as a young pastor till 2003 when I was transferred to teach in a Catholic Girls’ High School in the same parish. I met Fr. Sorgie in 2002 at his former parish, St. James in Carmel, when I first came to the United States for a vacation. Since then, Fr. Sorgie has been a father and a mentor, and I celebrate him for all that he has done for me.

In 2006, my bishop asked me to go to Rome to study for my Licentiate in Canon Law for three years. Those years were very important for me, as I was in the classroom again after eight years. I met new friends, encountered different cultures, went through the stress of learning the Italian language and studying with it, but through it all, God’s grace was with me.

Back home in 2009 till now, I have been a pastor, a chaplain to one of the biggest hospitals in my diocese, and now, in addition to being the pastor of my parish, I am the Chancellor and Judicial Vicar for the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal of my Diocese. I share my time and energy among these offices.

It is a period of re-invigoration! My stay here, after all this reflection, will also help me reinvigorate for the task ahead of me. I will return to Ghana to continue my work as enumerated above, and, in addition to that, help organize the celebration of the Silver Jubilee of my Diocese in October. I will also have a big celebration of my silver jubilee in November this year.

I ask for your prayers so that God continues to fill me with His Holy Spirit, as He did for the apostles on the day of Pentecost.

Pray for me, pray for my Bishop, pray for my parishioners, and pray for the Catholic Church in Ghana.