Meditations on Synodality by Timothy Radlcliffe

NO ONE ever told me that they knew Timothy Radcliffe casually. He has a gift for communicating personal friendship, whether through his books or just by meeting him. He makes holiness possible for ordinary people and even for bishops.

Radcliffe’s speeches at the Synod of Bishops in Rome last October have now been published as Listening together: Meditations on synodalityThis Synod was part of a listening process in the Roman Catholic Church that began in October 2021 and will culminate in a second assembly in Rome in October of this year.

Radcliffe calmly states that this was “the greatest exercise in listening in the history of mankind.” That is a big claim. It implies that this assembly was different from other councils in the history of the Church, such as Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus and Chalcedon, or even the two Vatican Councils of more recent times.

This synod invited bishops and lay people to enter a different synodal mode: first listening to each other, listening a second time to check what you think you hear, and only then speaking again. This was unfamiliar to many participants and radically different from the General Synod of the Church of England. Participants were sent on a retreat, three days of prayer, silence and getting to know each other over meals, to learn how to practice this synodal listening.

This retreat was an opportunity to be close to the mystery of God’s presence, like the boy Samuel in the temple. Radcliffe’s talks encourage us to let God speak through the scriptures, through the worship of the church, and through one another, and to respond by saying, “Your servant is listening.”

In the six retreat talks and three from the Synod itself, Radcliffe immerses us in the Scriptures, especially the Gospels, to understand what it might be like to walk with Jesus. This immersion prepares us for difficulties and misunderstandings, reminds us of our limitations, of God’s patience, and of the transforming power of God’s beauty.

Another document from the Dominican life gives us a clue as to why Radcliffe makes holiness seem possible. The reason is that he speaks from his experience of seeing Jesus Christ in other people, especially those suffering on the fringes of power. They teach us the joy of faith in God and invite us to listen together as the Church takes shape in us.

Dr. Martin Warner is the Bishop of Chichester.

Listening together: Meditations on synodality
Timothy Radcliffe
Liturgical Press 11,99 €
(978-0-8146-8882-3)
Church Times Bookshop £10.79