Spirituality of the Church As Communion

(Msgr. Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G., Vicar General of the Diocese, continues his series of reflections on descriptions of the Church and their relevance for our Diocese and pastoral planning. This article focuses on the Church as Communion.)

Our Diocesan Mission Statement illuminates the Church from the perspective of Vocation, Communion and Mission. It begins with the vocational dimension of the Church: “We the Catholic faithful…are called…” Then it addresses Mission: “…to share in the mission which Jesus Christ has entrusted to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church…to proclaim the Gospel…to celebrate the sacraments…to witness…to promote…” It also views the Church from the perspective of Communion with the Blessed Trinity – a communion that we participate in through Baptism and Eucharist, and with members of the Church, the Body of Christ “in union with our Holy Father…under the leadership of our Bishop.”

Our Mission Statement reflects the insights of the 1985 Extraordinary World Synod of Bishops: “… the Church is sacrament, that is, sign and instrument of communion with God and also of communion and reconciliation of men with one another.” 

This insight is later expanded by the Synod when it says that the teaching of Vatican II must become alive and be life-giving: “The ecclesiology of communion is the central and fundamental idea of the Council's documents… much was done by the Second Vatican Council so that the Church as communion might be more clearly understood and concretely incorporated into life. What does the complex word "communion" mean? Fundamentally it is a matter of communion with God through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. This communion is had in the Word of God and in the Sacraments. Baptism is the door and the foundation of communion in the Church. The Eucharist is the source and the culmination of the whole Christian life (cf. LG 11) The communion of the Eucharistic Body of Christ signifies and produces, that is, builds up, the intimate communion of all the faithful in the Body of Christ which is the Church.”

What do we need to do to come to a deeper and clearer understanding of the Church as Vocation, Communion and Mission? 

In 1999, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States. This document recognized the importance of the parish in the life of Catholics. It noted that: “To foster this living climate of faith, pastors and those with whom they collaborate in pastoral ministry will want to assess and intentionally shape the culture and procedures of the parish, using questions such as: How are people encouraged to examine their basic assumptions about life and its ultimate meaning?”

At this time in our Diocese, we have been invited by Bishop Martino to reflect on the meaning and consequences of our Diocesan Mission Statement. We have been asked to prayerfully prepare for parish self-study; so that we can “assess and intentionally shape the culture and procedures of the parish” in the light of the Diocesan Mission Statement and the challenges and strengths of each parish and its culture.

Pope John Paul II anticipated the valuable insights in this document on adult faith formation when he was preparing his archdiocese for a synod. In his book, Sources of Renewal: The Implementation of Vatican II, the pope, in the words of the editor of the book, wanted “to concentrate on defining exactly what was to be put into effect.” He identified the need to enrich the awareness of people and from this enriched understanding to develop attitudes that would lead to the implementation of the teaching of the Vatican Council.

The purpose of parish self-study and pastoral planning initiated by Bishop Martino is for the sake of new attitudes, structures and activities for the mission of the Church and parish. Important questions must be raised and answered. What is the Church? What does it mean to be a Catholic? What is a parish? What is the mission or purpose of the parish? From our understanding will come attitudes, activities, structures and necessary change for the sake of the parish mission.

For effective pastoral planning, it is necessary to understand the nature and purpose of the Diocese and parish. It is also important that accurate and current information about parish population, finances, facilities and personnel be available to those involved in parish self-study and pastoral planning. How can useful self-study or pastoral planning take place without knowing the nature, mission and spiritual, human and financial resources of a parish?

A study of the dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, and ongoing study of the Scripture will help the parish to be anchored and focused on the Word of God. Such study will help a parish come to a deeper understanding of the Church as Vocation and help a parish develop a culture of vocations.

In Sources of Renewal, Pope John Paul II noted, “the self-awareness of the Church as people of God …is rooted first of all in the reality revealed by God, who in a free act of love turns to mankind…The essential point is that the whole reality of the people of God has its permanent source and origin in God ‘who reveals himself;’ while, in turn, man’s faith and that of humanity determines the reality of the People of God, since it constitutes a replay to God expressed in men’s minds and lives. ‘Hence the universal Church is seen to be ‘a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

The awareness of Revelation and Vocation finds a response in the awareness of Communion of the People of God. In fact John Paul II makes the connection explicit in these words: “… this classic quotation (a people brought together, etc.) derived from the Fathers of the Church… forms the keystone of the whole construction of Lumen Gentium (“The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church”). This mystical union with the unity of the Trinity finds its counterpart in God’s historical covenant with men, not only as individuals but as a people.” 

When we turn our attention to the Church as Communion, our study needs to focus on the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the modern world. 

Pope John Paul II, in Sources of Renewal, used these two documents as the focus of his book and related the other documents of the Council to them. A failure to understand the nature and mission of the Church and parish will lead to a failure in pastoral planning; the failure will be as serious as a failure to have available recent and correct data on parish population, finances and facilities.

When reflecting on the Church as Communion, Pope John Paul II focused on the need to keep our attention on the horizontal and the vertical aspects of life and the Church. Over-emphasis on one aspect will lead to a distortion. John Paul noted “…we must constantly maintain the vertical orientation required by the transcendent reality of God, and the reality of creation, salvation and redemption; while at the same time we must also extend our minds horizontally towards man in the world, in whose nature the personal and the communal element are profoundly intertwined and complete each other.”

In this way, the late pontiff further directed our attention in a way that connects an enriched understanding of Church as Vocation with the Church as Communion. “In the teaching of Vatican II we must therefore perceive the clear connection between the reality of the People of God and man’s vocation as a person, which is at the same time a vocation to communal life. For ‘man, the only creature on earth that God wanted for his own sake, cannot fully find himself except in sincere self-giving’.”
An understanding of the Church as Vocation and Communion leads to an awareness of the need for appropriate attitudes and the importance of building up the Church and parish as a community.

Pope John Paul II, in Sources of Renewal, noted: “Man’s vocation as a person in a community constitutes the basis of the reality of the People of God...man as an individual was created and called to live in a state of community…” He further states: “The vocation of the individual to communion with God is closely linked with his vocation to human dignity, and is…given him by reason of his own inner nature.” 
Our Diocesan Mission Statement, parish self-study and pastoral planning is for the sake of renewing our awareness of the nature and mission of the Church and parish. Our Mission Statement can help us develop a spirituality that is based on the awareness of several important components.

First, the Church is gifted and given the responsibility to express and to grow into unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity. Second, the Church is seen as vocation, communion and mission. Third, through the grace of the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist, we are to evangelize persons and cultures and promote a culture of life, peace and justice.

The evangelization of culture reminds us that we cannot make our faith private. There has to be continuity between our faith and our daily life. We cannot say that we are against things condemned by Church teaching, and then act in a way to promote values of our culture and society that contradict the teaching of the Church. This error can only be avoided by life-long learning and formation in faith and living a spirituality of communion that includes being in communion with the teaching of the Church.

Likewise, there is always the danger of rushing out to do something without adequate preparation. Without a renewed understanding of the Church and its mission, rushing out to do parish planning could lead to defective planning. 

Pope Benedict XVI, in an address to Canadian bishops for their ad limina visit, gave direction similar to the advice of Pope John Paul on the necessity of prayer, holiness and a spirituality of communion. Pope Benedict emphasized that pastoral plans and reorganization can never merely be based on social models of restructuring: “In your plan of pastoral renewal, you are faced with the delicate task of the reorganization of parishes and also of dioceses. This can never be carried out in an appropriate way by simple social models of restructuring. Without Christ, we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5). Prayer roots us in truth, reminds us incessantly of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness. 

“The parishes are, therefore, rightly considered above all as houses and schools of communion. Consequently, the reorganization of parishes is essentially an exercise of spiritual renewal. This calls for a pastoral promotion of holiness, so that the faithful remain attentive to the will of God, from whom we share true life, becoming participants of the divine nature (cf. Dei Verbum, no. 2).”

He was affirming and developing the thought of Pope John Paul II, who said that before doing anything, an awareness of communion with God and a spirituality of communion must be developed and practiced: “To make the Church the home and the school of communion: that is the great challenge facing us…But what does this mean in practice? Here too, our thoughts could run immediately to the action to be undertaken, but that would not be the right impulse to follow. What must we do? Before making practical plans, we need to promote a spirituality of communion….” 

Some elements of a spirituality of communion, identified by Pope John Paul II, are: 
-- “A spirituality of communion indicates above all the heart’s contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us.” Communion with God is primary. Concerning the Church, he cautions us “the truth of the Mystical Body of Christ…enables us to see in the Church more than can be discovered through the categories of the ‘sociology of communities’ that applies to all other human associations…the Church is more than a community – it possesses the nature of a communion in which, by means of mutual services, in different ways and in various relationships, ‘the sincere giving of himself’ takes place in which man can fully discover his true self.” 

-- “A spirituality of communion also means an ability to think of our brothers and sisters in faith within the profound unity of the Mystical Body, and therefore as ‘those who are a part of me.’ This makes us able to share their joys and sufferings, to sense their desires and attend to their needs, to offer them deep and genuine friendship.” Communion leads to an attitude of hospitality and compassion, to love of neighbor. Pope Benedict’s encyclical Deus Caritas Est beautifully explains and illustrates this, and helps us to put this into practice.

-- “A spirituality of communion implies also the ability to see what is positive in others, to welcome it and prize it as a gift from God: not only as a gift for the brother or sister who has received it directly, but also as a ‘gift for me.’” 

-- Pope Paul VI, in his Apostolic Exhortation on Christian Joy, wrote about the fruit of joy that is necessary within the Church and in our parishes. If anything is to be accomplished in our parishes, we need people who are open to joy. Every member of our parishes would benefit from reading this exhortation. Pope Paul writes: “Joy always springs from a certain outlook on man and on God. When your eye is sound, your whole body too is filled with light. We are touching here on the original and inalienable dimension of the human person: his vocation to happiness always passes through the channels of knowledge and love, of contemplation and action. May you attain this good quality which is in your brother’s soul, and this divine presence so close to the human heart!

“Let the agitated members of various groups therefore reject the excesses of systematic and destructive criticism! Without departing from a realistic viewpoint, let Christian communities become centers of optimism where all the members resolutely endeavor to perceive the positive aspect of people and events. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. The attainment of such an outlook is not just a matter of psychology. It is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit.” 

People who want to serve on parish finance and pastoral councils would find their lives enriched and their contribution to the parish more effective through an attitude of Christian joy.

-- “A spirituality of communion means, finally, to know how to ‘make room’ for our brothers and sisters, bearing ‘each other’s burdens’ (Gal 6:2) and resisting the selfish temptations which constantly beset us and provoke competition, careerism, distrust and jealousy.” 

Once again, an attitude of hospitality and welcoming, reaching out, and cooperation and collaboration are needed in practice and in the structure and processes of our parishes. We must learn to allow the spirituality of communion to become alive and life giving for ourselves, for our parishes and for our Diocese so that the mission of the Church can be more effective.

Pope John Paul II cautions us: “Let us have no illusions: unless we follow this spiritual path; external structures of communion will serve very little purpose. They would become mechanisms without a soul, ‘masks’ of communion rather than its means of expression and growth.” 

Our late pontiff strongly reminded everyone to keep a proper focus to avoid frustration and failure in pastoral planning and reorganization. It is advice for all parishioners, with a special relevance for members of parish finance and parish pastoral councils:
“If in the planning that awaits us we commit ourselves more confidently to a pastoral activity that gives personal and communal prayer its proper place, we shall be observing an essential principle of the Christian view of life: the primacy of grace. There is a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan. God, of course, asks us really to cooperate with his grace, and therefore invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause of the Kingdom. But it is fatal to forget that ‘without Christ we can do nothing’ (cf. Jn 15:5). 

“It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds us of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness. When this principle is not respected, is it any wonder that pastoral plans come to nothing and leave us with a disheartening sense of frustration? We then share the experience of the disciples in the Gospel story of the miraculous catch of fish: ‘We have toiled all night and caught nothing’ (Lk 5:5). This is the moment of faith, of prayer, of conversation with God, in order to open our hearts to the tide of grace and allow the word of Christ to pass through us in all its power: Duc in altum!

“On that occasion, it was Peter who spoke the word of faith: ‘At your word I will let down the nets.’ As this millennium begins, allow the Successor of Peter to invite the whole Church to make this act of faith, which expresses itself in a renewed commitment to prayer.”

A spirituality of communion with God opens us to authentic communion in the Church, where love of God and neighbor come together.