In all, we were sixteen readers, one for each deanery of the Archdiocese of Dublin. It was a beautiful spring afternoon when we met for the first time. Although unsure of what we were to do exactly, we were all keen to play our part. We were to be given the reports of parishes and other groups gathered during the synodal process to read and synthesize. Or so I thought. In fact, we were invited into something far deeper: to listen prayerfully and discern the common threads across many heartfelt conversations.