Throughout our school years, for example, we’ve received graded report cards. Quarterly report cards provide a snapshot about where we’re headed, for better or worse, and to make decisions about what we need to do in the immediate future if we are to achieve our academic goals. Semester report cards provide an assessment about whether and to what degree we’ve achieved those academic goals.

The workplace also has its quarterly, mid-year, and final reports of progress toward corporate goals. Here once again, quarterly and mid-year assessments are important because they provide information about where we’re headed. Year-end reports are crucial because meeting corporate goals at year’s end can translate into a bonus, a raise, or even, a promotion to a much-coveted position. Failure to meet corporate goals can have devastating implications and not only in terms of lost jobs but also as this impacts many families.

As much as we take time to review our progress toward various academic and job-related goals, we oftentimes don’t take the time we know we should take to review our progress toward more important spiritual goals.

Think about your marriages, for example. What newlyweds haven’t started married life full of noble goals? Then, as time passes, little problems begin to crop up over some of the craziest stuff that---were the spouses to deal with it right now---those little problems would become things that spouses actually could laugh about. Those picky little matters wouldn’t become points of contention threatening to divide spouses from one another as well as from achieving their marital goals.

Years later, looking back upon those picky little matters, one spouse's "Do you remember how you used to _______?" is a good-natured question communicating one's love for a partner who has worked hard at marking the marriage work. And, as the love of the two spouses grows---precisely because of the font of love present in their hearts making it possible to forgive one another's shortcomings and failings---couples experience God’s abiding presence in their marriage.

All too often, however, spouses push these picky "little things" aside and deal with other matters which the spouses believe are more pressing. However, these problems don't recede but loom larger and larger becoming like one huge, stinking elephant perched inside of the living room. As marital problems grow into bigger issues, however, they expand geometrically in their power to devour the wealth of love each spouse has for the other. And, unless one or both of the spouses possesses the fortitude to deal with the now seemingly irreconcilable differences the couple has constructed by their freely-willed choices, these issues threaten to derail what once had all of the promise in the world of becoming a rock-solid, sacramental marriage.

In most cases when marital bliss goes awry, it’s quite obvious in hindsight that, had the spouses dealt with the little problems earlier on and refocused their energies upon their marital goals, they’d not now have to forgive all of the pain and hurt which they’ve engendered and inflicted upon one another because they chose not to deal with those little problems. In this situation, the question "Do you realize how you _______?" is not a loving communication about which spouses can share a hearty laugh. Instead, it is a dagger of contempt, hurled with the intention of inflicting the maximum amount of pain, anguish, and suffering. Sadly, these couples do not experience God's presence in their marriage, but not because God is absent. Rather, they feel God’s absence because they’ve chosen to allow the power of evil to banish the love from their hearts which they once vowed to one another.

It’s like that with families, too. Everyone wants to be part of a loving family whose members cherish one another and enjoy being together. But, with so many things going on in our lives, it’s very difficult to carve out some quality time periodically in order to be a family. And then, busy as we all are, problems crop up. Without a mechanism by which parents and kids can periodically assess whether the family is achieving its goals, more likely than not everyone will drift his or her own way. The goal---what could have been a rich and loving family life---slips, like water, right through our fingers and, before we know it, there’s nothing left. God is not absent from these families; rather, they’ve chosen to busy themselves about everything except that which has brought the family into existence, namely, love of God.

For many marriages and families that choose not to deal with their problems before they become issues, it’s normally when a crisis emerges that these people grope about and look for satisfying answers. But, more frequently than not, these people feel guilt rather than remorse and point a finger of blame rather than develop a firm purpose of amendment. Spouses, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters will say, "If only I had...." Yes, that’s true, "If only I had...taken the time to deal with those little problems, I probably would not have allowed myself to become alienated and estranged from my spouse." And yes, it’s equally true, "If only I had...taken more time for my kids when they were growing up, I probably wouldn’t feel so lonely now that they are all grown up, out and about on their own, and not interested very much in me."

To take time periodically to reflect upon life's goals is a sign of spiritual maturity. Only spiritually mature people---people who have the requisite humility to appraise themselves and their progress toward their life's goals---invest the quality time it takes to assess how well they are progressing. But, it also takes fortitude to be open to criticism and to withstand the searing heat of scrutiny, that is, if one is to redouble the energy it will take to meet those lofty and elusive but life-giving goals. On the other hand, spiritually immature people---those who fear what they will learn or might hear about themselves---are not willing to put themselves or their choices into question but instead question everyone else.

In today’s gospel, the people criticize Jesus three times. First the leaders; then, the soldiers; and, finally, the unrepentant thief. They are unanimous as they jeer: "Let him save himself." Unwilling to take the time to reflect upon what Jesus had taught them and what his teaching meant for their life’s goals, the leaders, soldiers, and unrepentant thief could not see God standing right there in their very midst. To them, Jesus was neither a king nor God. He was simply a pathetic loser in life’s lottery. "He could save others," they sneered. And, now, nailed to the Cross, they felt perfectly free to jeer, "Let him save himself."

In his humiliation, however, Jesus revealed his true dignity. In the face of ridicule, Jesus showed forth his true splendor. When put to the crucible, Jesus willingly confronted what humans most fear: death. And, because of his obedience unto death, God vindicated His beloved son. Confronted by the power of Jesus' perfect obedience to his Father's commands, the powers of sin and death showed themselves to be powerless. Meanwhile, as the leaders, soldiers, and unrepentant thief jeered, they allowed the power of sin and death to ensnare their souls and to blind them to the Mighty One present in their midst. "If only…," those onlookers now must surely wonder. Imagine having to live, as they do, in the eternal realization that God was present but having chosen instead to forsake God!

Just like spouses and families need to take time periodically to reflect upon how they are meeting their goals, so too, it is important periodically to examine how our Archdiocese is fulfilling its mission. For several weeks now, parishes throughout the Archdiocese have been praying that the upcoming 10th Archdiocesan synod will enable the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to evaluate how it is fulfilling its goals and to prepare for its future.

For most of us, it's really easy to respond "Lord, hear our prayer" each Sunday after the commentator reads the petition for the Archdiocesan synod. But it’s an altogether more difficult matter to demonstrate the commitment we made in our Confirmation by participating actively in this very important Archdiocesan endeavor. Perhaps part of our unwillingness may be due to the fact that we're too busy with other non-spiritual matters or perhaps because many don’t even know what a "synod" is or how to participate in it.

Simply put, a synod is a gathering of a diocesan community or its representatives to pray, talk, and listen to God and one another about their how well they are living out their vocation. It’s sort of like a Marriage Encounter weekend for spouses or an annual retreat for individuals. But, the purpose for this synod is for members of the Archdiocese to spend "quality" time praying, talking, and listening so that the Archdiocese may learn how to respond more effectively to God's’ call today and into the future.

Even though this Archdiocesan synod will be its tenth, the last synod was held in 1934---in the midst of the Great Depression and prior to World War II---when Cardinal Dennis Dougherty gathered representatives of the priests and religious to pray, talk, and listen to Christ and one another so that they could respond better to God's ’s call in the circumstances of their day. One outcome of that synod was the construction of many of the high schools, hospitals, and social service centers that we take so much pride in today.  In 1934, the Archdiocesan synod determined that God was calling His People to provide education, health care, and social services from a distinctively Catholic ethos. In fact, Philadelphia built so many Catholic institutions after the 1934 synod that Cardinal Dougherty soon became known as one of "God’s bricklayers."

And now, 67 years later, Cardinal Bevilacqua is convening a synod for Catholics of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to better understand God’s call to share in Jesus’ mission and to carry out his work in today’s world.

So much has changed since 1934, some of it for the better and some for the worse. The marvels of science have provided new technologies that have eradicated many miseries while, at the same time, they also have wrought new miseries that we oftentimes don’t consider but one day must deal with. Vatican II opened the Church to the modern world but, at the same time, openness was interpreted by some as a one-way street which meant turning one’s back on the Church’s collective wisdom and embracing secular culture. As the Third Christian Millennium dawned, we proclaimed "Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Now our challenge is to discern what God is calling Jesus' disciples in Philadelphia to be in the Third Christian Millennium. That requires careful discernment.

What sets this Archdiocesan synod apart from its predecessor in 1934 is that the laity is to be an integral part of the synod. And today, on the Solemnity of Christ the King---what has been named "Synod Sunday" in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia---the Archdiocese takes the first step in that process. Today, Cardinal Bevilacqua invites every Catholic to take an active role in preparing for this synod. In practical terms, this means completing a "synod consultation form."

Wherever Pope John Paul II travels, he always meets with Catholic youth. At those meetings, the Pope reminds his youthful audience that their hope, enthusiasm, and idealism is a gift to the Church and one for which Catholic youth bear profound responsibility. And so, I ask our youth today: What do you believe God is calling the Archdiocese to do today so that it will be capable of providing for your temporal and spiritual needs when you are a Catholic adult? I especially want to encourage every teenager and young adult to participate actively by completing a synod consultation form because, after all, this synod will be setting goals that will shape the Church of your adult years, when you will marry, when you will have families, and when you will die.

On the synod consultation form, give voice to your interests and concerns. Share any practical advice you believe would assist the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to share better in Jesus’ mission and to carry out his work in today’s world. Please don’t just "complete" the form like you’d complete a public opinion survey. Instead, take some quality time to pray, talk, and listen to what God is calling the Catholic community of Philadelphia to be and become. Allow the words that you place on your form to express what God is saying to you and wants you to say for all of us to hear. Then, after completing the synod consultation form, return it by placing it in the collection basket any Sunday before Christmas. All of the comments will be collated into broader themes which will frame the agenda for the synod next year.