The Parish As One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic
By Monsignor Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G. 
 

In his encyclical on the Holy Eucharist, the late Pope John Paul II commented on the four marks shared by the Church and the Eucharist: “… the Eucharist builds the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist, it follows that there is a profound relationship between the two, so much so that we can apply to the Eucharistic mystery the very words with which, in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, we profess the Church to be ‘one, holy, catholic and apostolic.’ The Eucharist too is one and catholic. It is also holy, indeed, the Most Holy Sacrament. But it is above all its apostolicity that we must now consider…”

Since the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Church on the universal, diocesan and parish level, it will be helpful to reflect on the parish in the light of the Church’s self-understanding and the Eucharist.

In the Decree “Christus Dominus” on the pastoral office of Bishops, a diocese is described in these words: “… Thus by adhering to its pastor and gathered together by him through the Gospel and the Eucharist in the Holy Spirit, it constitutes a particular church in which the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and operative.”

If these marks are truly present and operative in each diocese, there must be some expression of these gifts and responsibilities in each parish. Parishes preparing to develop or revise their parish mission statement in the light of the Diocesan Directives, will be assisted, when they look at their parish in the light of the signs of the Church and Eucharist, and see the four marks as not only gifts, but responsibilities and tasks that will become life giving in persons and parishes.  

Unity

Jesus prayed that his disciples might be one, even as He and the Father are one. The parish lives in unity with the Diocese, and through the diocesan bishop, is in unity with the Holy Father and the Church throughout the world. Unity and communion are both fostered and expressed through the Eucharist and through living the grace of the Eucharist. Only because of the grace of the Eucharist can true unity be present in the parish.

Because the Eucharist is the source and summit of the life and mission of the Church and parish, it provides the grace and standard for parish life.

In every Eucharistic prayer the communion with the bishop of the diocese and the pope are prayerfully recalled. The following is from the second Eucharistic prayer: “Lord, remember your Church throughout the world; make us grow in love, together with Benedict our pope, Joseph our bishop, John his assistant, and all the clergy.”

No parish is an isolated congregation or independent community, but is a part of a diocese and the Church universal. Not only in theory but in practice a parish must avoid parochialism, acting with a congregational mentality, without reference to the diocesan mission and spirituality. On the parish level it is necessary to form an understanding of communion, overcome narrow parochialism, and to examine the quality of unity within the parish.

In a recent audience, Pope Benedict noted: “In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul expressed his appreciation of Apollos’ work, but reprimanded the Corinthians for wounding the Body of Christ by splitting it into opposing factions.”

Every parish must take care to maintain unity with the universal and diocesan Church and unity within the parish. Factions and cliques must be avoided and overcome. In his homily at Marienfeld at the 20th World Youth Day in 2005, Pope Benedict stated: “The Body and Blood of Christ are given to us so that we ourselves will be transformed in our turn. We are to become the Body of Christ, his own flesh and blood. We all eat the one bread, and this means that we ourselves become one. In this way, adoration…becomes union…”

His words reflect the words of the third Eucharistic prayer: “Grant that we, who are nourished by his body and blood may be filled with his Holy Spirit and become one body, one spirit in Christ.”

The beautiful letter on the Lord’s Supper by the late Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae available on the Vatican website, raises important questions about the understanding of the Eucharist and its effect on our lives. True and authentic devotion to the Eucharist leads to unity, communion and charity, not disunity. The grace of the Eucharist is meant to bear fruit, to have an effect in our lives and can develop a longing for Christian unity.

Every parish is encouraged to become more open to prayer and activity that promotes ecumenism. If Catholics are encouraged to promote ecumenism, how much more is it important to promote unity within a parish and within a diocese? A spirituality of unity and communion finds expression in improved communication, collaboration, cooperation and the mutual sharing of gifts. 

Holiness

The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults states: “The Church has her origin in the Holy Trinity, and that is the source of her holiness… Through Baptism and Confirmation, Catholics have become a people consecrated by the Holy Spirit to the praise of God through Jesus Christ. Christians grow in holiness by working to live in conformity to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and thus to become more like him, especially in the totality of his love for others shown by his sacrifice of himself on the Cross.”

The church and parish are to be schools of prayer and communion. Pope Benedict, in an address to Canadian Bishops, notes: “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. Such holiness, or such profound communion through Christ and in the Spirit, is affirmed among other things by an authentic pedagogy of prayer, by an introduction to the lives of the saints and to simple forms of spirituality that embellish and stimulate the life of the Church, by regular participation in the sacrament of reconciliation, and by a convincing catechesis on Sundays ‘the day of faith,’ ‘the day one cannot do without,’ ‘the day of Christian hope.’

“I am certain that the rediscovery of Jesus Christ made flesh, our savior, will lead to a rediscovery of the personal, social and cultural identity of the faithful. Far from confusing the diversity and complementarity of the charisms and functions of ordained ministers and lay faithful, a reinforced Catholic identity will revive the passion for evangelization, which is proper to the vocation of every believer and of the nature of the Church.”

The parish needs to focus on prayer, holiness and communion.  

Catholic

Several authors have reflected on the various aspects and dimensions of Catholicity. Father Karl Adam wrote a classic in 1929, titled The Spirit of Catholicism. He described catholicity in these words: “…a comprehensive affirmation of the whole of revelation… her comprehensive affirmation of the whole man, of the human senses in its completeness, of the body as well as the soul, of the senses as well as the intellect. The mission of the Church is to the entire man. Because the Church has an integral mission, it must use various ways and means to evangelize and provide faith formation.”

He further states: “Such is Catholicism: an affirmation of values along the whole line, a most comprehensive and noblest accessibility to all good, a union of nature and grace, of art with religion, of knowledge with faith, ‘so that God may be all in all.’ ”

His understanding of Catholicity addressed to the whole person helps us to an appreciation of The Way of Beauty, published by the Pontifical Council for Culture in the spring of 2006. That document, available on the Vatican website, advocates a way of evangelization through beauty that enlists all of the arts – music, painting, sculpture, literature – in the work of evangelization. This approach helps also to reinforce the truth that Catholicity speaks to every aspect of the human and can promote faith formation through various ways and means.

Cardinal Avery Dulles, in The Catholicity of the Church, presents one of the more recent reflections on the aspects and dimensions of Catholicity. He notes: “The Church has her catholicity not from herself but from God, who makes himself present in her…for Christ is truly present in the Church through the Holy Spirit... The Church …is his new presence… in the community of believers. Having in himself the plenitude of divine life and grace, Christ communicates this to the Church.”

The Church and the Eucharist are both marked with signs of catholicity. Under the appearance of consecrated bread and wine, the fullness of the presence of the Risen Christ is shared with us. The fullness of life, love and grace, is made available to us in the Eucharist and touches every aspect of our being and our life.

A Catholic understanding of parish sees it in communion with the bishop of the diocese and through the ministry of the bishop, in communion with the other parishes of the diocese. A parish’s understanding of its Catholicity encourages a mutual sharing of gifts and resources with parishes in the deanery and pastoral region. It understands itself in the light of the diocesan mission and willingly cooperates with the diocese. A Catholic parish is also concerned with the world wide mission of the Church and cooperates with the universal mission of the Church through a variety of ways, beyond the annual mission collection.  

Apostolic

The Church is apostolic because it is based on the Apostles. Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, reflecting on the passage of the Acts of the Apostles that inspired our Diocesan Mission Statement, stated: “The Lord passed on the word to the apostles, to the twelve, and thus his word has become an apostolic word, the word of these people who derived their ministry from him only as a community of the twelve, and handed it on as a community.”

There is here a strong sense of tradition, of handing on, of being connected with the original followers and witnesses. The then-Cardinal continued: “The apostles represent, on the one hand, the people of God of the future and, on the other, the future structure of this people. And thus it is made clear to us that God’s word can never be private property, never my personal possession, but that it lives always in the ‘we’ of the Church, in the people of God built up apostolically. The word does not come to us privately; we receive it through the living tradition of the Church, by sharing her faith and life and that of her living community… We receive the word of God from within the apostolic Church, in her faith.”

We do not reason to or create our faith; it comes to us as a gift from God. We receive it and are meant to share our faith. 

A Community That Is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic

The Diocese and the local parish have both the gift and the responsibility to express these marks or signs of the Church of Jesus Christ and can be strengthened to do so through a fruitful reception of the Eucharist. The Eucharist or Holy Communion with Jesus together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Trinity, leads to solidarity with our brothers and sisters, fellow members of the Body of Christ.

Pope Benedict in his encyclical God is Love noted: “…Eucharistic communion, includes the reality both of being loved and of loving others in turn. A Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented.”

A worthy reception of the Eucharist, with understanding, enables and motivates practical love for people, made in the image and likeness of God. Participation in the Mass, the reception of Holy Communion and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament bears fruit in people who are peacemakers and reconcilers.

In his encyclical, Pope Benedict turned our attention to the example of the saints: “…constantly renewed their capacity for love of neighbor from their encounter with the Eucharistic Lord, and conversely this encounter acquired its realism and depth in their service to others. Love of God and love of neighbor are thus inseparable, they form a single commandment. But both live from the love of God who has loved us first.”

Our parish mission statements and the life in our parishes, strengthened by the Eucharist, should express the signs of unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity.