From the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales:

A simple and accessible ‘take-outs’ resource has been published to help Catholics engage with the Synod on Synodality’s Final Document.
Produced by the Diocese of Westminster, the resource is particularly useful ahead of the ‘Implementation Phase’ that Pope Francis has recently commissioned the Church to move into as we journey to the celebration of an ecclesial assembly in the Vatican in October 2028.
Read/downloadThe resource is titled: How to be a Synodal Church in Mission. Take-outs from the Final Document: ‘An Informal Reaping of the Fruits’.


Synodal Journey – Final Document Take-outs
Synod on Synodality – Final Document

Each section of the Final Document (FD) is numbered, and this ‘take-outs’ resource takes a particular topic or key point and explores it with reference to the FD’s more in-depth text.
Several aspects of synodality are explored in the resource including exactly what synodality is, what it calls for, how we can walk alongside people in all their joys and challenges, and how to have a ‘Conversation in the Spirit’.
It also looks at how a synodal Church places the poor at its centre, and how Mary, Mother of Christ, is at the heart of a synodal, missionary and merciful Church.
Among many other points, the take-outs look at participatory decision-making, and how the FD advocates for bishops and priests to listen to laypeople and vice-versa.
Please download this accessible 8-page PDF resource, using the link above, to better understand the Final Document of the Synod.

Implementation Phase

The ‘implementation phase’ we are now entering was outlined in the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio. The principal aim is to ensure that “synodality is increasingly understood and lived as an essential dimension of the ordinary life of local Churches and the entire Church.”
We currently stand at the start of a process of accompaniment and evaluation of the implementation phase by the General Secretariat of the Synod.
Timeline
March 2025
Announcement of the accompaniment and evaluation process
May 2025
Publication of the Support Document for the implementation phase, with guidelines for its conduct
June 2025 – December 2026
Implementation paths in local Churches and their groupings
24-26 October 2025
Jubilee of synodal teams and participatory bodies
First half of 2027
Evaluation Assemblies in Dioceses and Eparchies
Second half of 2027
Evaluation Assemblies in national and international Episcopal Conferences, Eastern hierarchical structures, and other groupings of Churches
First half of 2028
Continental Evaluation Assemblies
June 2028
Publication of the Instrumentum laboris for the works of the ecclesial Assembly in October 2028
October 2028
Celebration of the ecclesial Assembly in the Vatican.

In this Jubilee Year '24 Hours for the Lord', a Lenten initiative of prayer and reconciliation introduced by Pope Francis, will be celebrated in dioceses around the world on the eve of the Fourth Sunday of Lent. This year's motto is 'You Are My Hope'.
​At Holy Trinity there will be an extended period of Adoration from after the 10am Mass until 6pm on Friday 28th March. We need parishioners to sign the list committing to watch before the Lord for half an hour during this period. At those times when one of our priests is available to be in church, there will be an opportunity for Confession.
 

Richard Howell is undertaking a pilgrimage run on the eve of Saint Joseph's day, from Saint Mary's in Leek to Saint Ann's well in Buxton via Saint Joseph's Shrine – a very hilly course of around 25 miles. He has kindly offered to donate any sponsorship money to the parish towards the replacement of the heating system. Please see https://gofund.me/b3d94e19 to make a donation.

The Rite of ElectionThe First Sunday of Lent always marks a significant moment in the lives of those preparing to be baptised and received into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil, as they gather at St Chad’s Cathedral to celebrate the Rite of Election.
 
Over the last few months, Catechumens and Candidates have embarked on a journey of discernment and discovery regarding their relationship with Christ. Supported and accompanied by their sponsors and family members, together with their catechists and parish clergy, they have been enabled to grow in a deeper understanding of faith and growing friendship with the Lord.
 
During this Rite of Election, Catechumens and Candidates are presented to the Church and invited as ‘the elect’, so called because the Church’s acceptance is founded on their election by God, to enrol their names so that they may continue in the final stages of preparation over the days of Lent before reception into full communion with the Church at Easter. 
 
As we know, every journey made is not without its challenges or uncertainties, so it is also an opportunity to gather and pray with them and for them as the focus of their journey now looks toward the paschal mystery and the joy of Easter.
 
The openness to God in the lives of those preparing to be received into the Church is a cause of great joy and hope. As these days of Lent unfold, their journey reminds us of the joy of faith as we recommit our lives to God, particularly in this Jubilee Year as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
 
Pope Francis shares with us an important truth, that we are each God’s hope, his treasure and his glory. If in this season of Lent we allow ourselves to be shaped by the hands of God, then as Pope Francis also reminds us ‘we shall become something wondrous’.
 
Fr Dominic Cosslett
Archbishop’s secretary