The ’Wizard of Oz’ is a classic, and an endless treasure trove of metaphor for many things. Might something also be learned by putting this timeless story into dialogue with the journey of synodality we are all on within the Catholic Church?
In August 1939 Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion were launched onto cinema screens, alternately skipping and stumbling their way down the yellow brick road. Not knowing what they would encounter with each twist and turn, they held each other up and urged each other on in the journey. As shaky as this motley group were on their feet, (Toto the dog being the only sure footed one), they were propelled by a shared sense of companionship and conviction in their mission. The journey involved unveiling vulnerabilities and strengths, it stretched them personally and collectively. It was a journey toward newness, compelling them to tap into collectively held gifts of courage, intellect and loving compassion. Relationships were forged, rough edges smoothed, and wisdom dropped slowly as they skipped and stumbled their way along. By maintaining forward momentum, fear and dislocation slowly gave way to adventure and new horizons.
I personally feel if we decide to see and experience synodality as an adventure, it will surely become one. Good and exciting things will happen. With every honest step taken, the Holy Spirit will unveil the immense potential of it all, and in glorious technicolour too! Parts of us may be inclined to imbibe the mean-spirited, fearful essence of the Wicked Witch of the West – the enemy of all progress. It is a tendency we can resolve to move beyond. The Holy Spirit is adventurous, ever evolving and deepening. It is that Spirit we are called to give life to.
This week I visited Knock Shrine – our national treasure and spiritual wellspring. The opportunity to spend time together with other pilgrims of the road is itself a gift. This time however, some experiences and conversations disturbed me. I heard men and women of faith, lay, religious and priests say clearly that they had no real engagement with synodality, and express no personal sense of agency or responsibility for this process. Where some admitted to having no knowledge of the synodal journey at all, others said they were waiting for the upcoming national assemblies, or their Bishop, to make decisions about what to do. Four and a half years into this process, it still feels like too many people remain unaware of it and remain detached from it.
In the Wizard of Oz, it was Scarecrow who recognised the spell cast by the Wicked Witch of the West which caused Dorothy and her companions to fall into a deep sleep in a field of poppies. It threatened to derail their journey. Are we also at risk of succumbing to sleep? Are we being lulled by the illusion that someone else has the key to unlocking synodality? Do we think that by giving way to sleep, we can avoid the journey altogether? Are we hoping to be magically restored to a predictable past life in black and white where all is well? These are illusions that threaten to derail us.
In Knock I had separate conversations with three lovely priests, curious to learn how synodality was being actualised in their parishes. Progress on article 60 of the final document on the synod on synodality regarding women also really interests me. The conversations were not what I expected. First, I was reminded that we must wait for the slow work of God. Then, told that women are already doing much of the work in the Church and therefore are already participating. Also, that more vocations to the priesthood was ultimately the key and where our prayer should be focused. I was even asked did I not know that Mary Mother of God is already given very high importance within the Church i.e. what more did I want? These were good-humoured encounters but gut wrenchingly disappointing.
The upcoming Irish pre synodal assembly in October 2025 and assembly in 2026 will provide important opportunities for reflection, decision making, and collective fuelling up for the road ahead. They must also courageously name the obstacles to synodality which exist and agree to tackle those in a decisive way. These assemblies will be important moments, engaging key figures in mapping the next phase. We cannot lean on them like crutches to provide all the solutions, absolving the rest of us from making our mark in the process right now. Simple things can and should be happening in each parish and ministry now to give effect to synodality and the essence of the final document. It now forms part of Church teaching. It is the responsibility of our Bishops to ensure, enable and support this by all means.
At the outset, Dorothy and her travelling companions believed they needed to access the great Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City to secure the treasures they were looking for. In fact, those treasures were already within. What was lacking was recognition and activation. It seems to me that synodality commits us individually and collectively to recognise and activate the Spirit in each other. It commits us to maintain forward momentum through simple but decisive action. Popes Francis and Leo have both called each person to definite action through synodality. Remaining static is antithetical to the Spirit. Succumbing to the worldly temptation of sleep, the temptation that tells us we have no agency, that someone else knows better, or that someone else bears the responsibility to ‘provide’ and to ‘act’ is not an option. Sleep is definitely easier, it was for Dorothy and her companions, but, it is not what we are called to.
If too many wait and pray that someone else may act, how can transformation ever come about? Storm clouds continue to accumulate over our world. Can we come together and become a Church that is more courageous, prophetic and committed to fully activating the Spirit in all – as a powerful response to the storms that threaten? That is the promise and potential of synodality, but only we can make it a reality. It will not magically appear over some distant rainbow.
I love Knock Shrine with all my heart. It is our National Marian Shrine. It stands at the centre of our Irish Catholic tradition and identity. For this reason, it too bears enormous responsibility to show unequivocal leadership in helping us all find our bearings and orienting toward synodality. It sits on the threshold of an amazing opportunity to help us go beyond the idealised Mary, to expand, deepen and rediscover her in service to our 21st century realities. I would love to see Knock Shrine challenging and enabling us to invoke Mary in the synodal journey, challenging us to give expression to the spirit of article 60 in our communities also.
The stunning mosaic of the Apparition at Knock in our basilica is a reminder of how women and men, girls and boys, of all ages and all abilities were touched on that sacred evening in 1879. Knock Shrine can be a midwife to birthing a new way of being Church which enables a balancing of the perspectives, participation and contributions of all. Contemplating the mosaic again and all of those bearing witness to the Apparition made me wonder how all the staff and volunteers at Knock Shrine are being engaged in shaping a vision for the expression of synodality in that sacred place?
Like Dorothy and her motley group of travelling companions we will stumble, and we will fall. We must do it together with a sense of adventure, eschewing the need for neatness, putting one foot in front of the other, enabling the Spirit to move in and through all.