Thanksgiving: “What comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped”

The final document from the Synod states: “what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.”

Today we write our Thanksgiving message with profound gratitude for the remarkable ways in which the Holy Spirit has been guiding each and every one of us to keep moving forward with the promise of synodality and the hope of growing women’s participation in our global Church.

This year has been filled with remarkable turns! After all, it was only five months ago in May when an unexpected U.S. interview with Pope Francis created confusion and uncertainty about both the synodal process and the discernment about women and the diaconate. Were his remarks the beginning of closing the door on this discernment, or something else? We just weren’t sure. But his comments surely raised new obstacles.

For the next five months, we continued to walk by faith – believing that the urgent call by the people of God in every continent to discern the diaconate for women was rooted in the Holy Spirit. We continued to tell the stories of women from Canada, U.S., the Amazon, Australia and more who are trying to respond to a call from God to love and service. We accompanied nearly 150 parishes, schools, congregations of women religious, and other Catholic organizations in celebrating the feast of St. Phoebe the Deacon in the month of September. We organized a pilgrimage to Rome during the global synod to bear witness to what the Holy Spirit is doing in and through women and men as we build the vision of a co-responsible, synodal Church.

Remarkably, by the end of October, the confusion of the spring was clarified. Synod members, with Pope Francis’ approval, voted to affirm the discernment in their final document (paragraph 60). They wrote: “Additionally, the question of women’s access to diaconal ministry remains open. The discernment needs to continue.”

For the clarity of these sentences, we give thanks. For the leadership of the synod members, including the 57 synod mothers, we give thanks. For Pope Francis’ decision to trust the three-year synodal process which he initiated, we give thanks. For our readers, supporters, friends and colleagues, we give thanks. It is because of your steady faith and good works that the participation of women will continue to grow in the coming months and years.

So what’s next?

Thursday is Thanksgiving, and on Sunday we begin Advent, a time of anticipating how Jesus will be born in our hearts anew and how we will participate in the reign of God in the coming year. You’re invited to participate in Advent with Discerning Deacons through our daily reflections and weekly prayer services.

We also are launching an Advent Appeal to raise $40,000 by Christmas Eve to support next year’s work. We have wonderful news to share. We have received a $20,000 lead gift from an anonymous donor. We are already halfway towards the goal!

We are so grateful for the tremendous support which we have already received this year from everyone in the Discerning Deacons community which made our work possible. We now invite you to prayerfully consider making an Advent gift to Discerning Deacons. Any amount — $10, $25, $50, $100 — makes a difference in our work and helps us towards our goal. And there’s still a little time left in 2024 to become a Founding Phoebe Patron for a gift of $1,000.

As you discern making a contribution, here are some broad strokes of what’s in store for 2025 which reflect our everlasting DD values to embrace, witness, and hope.

Embrace – We plan to do deeper dives in our storytelling about the call women are receiving to serve their Catholic communities as ordained deacons.

Witness – We will keep shining a light on the gifts and graces of women in diaconal ministry from around the world as we grow synodality and communion with our global Church.

Hope – We will launch a preaching certificate in 2025 to prepare more women to be bearers of hope in their communities.

Pope Francis believes there is more work to be done to “mature” the question about women’s access to the diaconate. With your support, we will continue to serve this process of maturation with diligence, resolve, creativity and faith.

If you can donate during this Season of Advent, please let us know in the comments section of the online donation form why the work of Discerning Deacons matters to YOU. We’d love to hear from you!