Sensus fidei, signs of the times, synodality

mediations of the synodal method

Abstract

This article investigates how the Church can recognize the truth of faith in the present time through a communal discernment that articulates tradition, historical listening, and ecclesial participation. It proposes a theological-methodological approach centered on the triad sensus fidei, signs of the times, and synodality, understanding these categories as spiritual and operative mediations of ecclesial action. The aim of this article is to explain the mediations of the synodal method, aiming at the inclusion of the whole People of God in the Church’s discernment and mission, in view of a fully synodal Church. The reflection is grounded in recent magisterial documents, the tradition of the Second Vatican Council, the document Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church (2014), and dialogues with philosophical categories such as Hegelian dialectics (Volksgeist and Zeitgeist) and the methodological principles of Evangelii Gaudium. The article is structured around three main axes: sensus fidei as a spiritual and epistemic criterion, the signs of the times as a historical-pastoral mediation, and synodality as a method of participation and mission. The conclusion articulates these elements through four interpretative nuclei, affirming that synodality is today the privileged path for the discernment of faith, configuring an embodied, dialogical, and Spirit-oriented ecclesial epistemology.