5. the church

 Thecommunion nature of the Trinity finds its first expression in the universe, when the Trinitarian communion started to overflow in the beginning of creation.

 The scientific account of creation provides the basis of communion that has already been revealed and operative in the universe long before the emerge of human community.

The life of “being-a-man-for- others” is manifested first in the creation.It is through the process of breaking and dying to oneself in order to birth forth a new life.Alike the atoms, supernovas, galaxies, plants and animals before mankind.

 God’s self-giving act happened first in the evolutionary process of creation. This process shows all creatures of God as part of one another, interconnected, interrelated and interdependent. That humans are but a small strand in the far immensely-larger web of life.

 The knowledge that the church is part of greater community which is the universe, will aid us in understanding communion in a broader contest. Extending communion to God’s whole creation—living and non-living.

 InMillennio Ineunic, Pope John Paul II wrote about the elements of spirituality of the communion..

“A spirituality of communion indicates above all the heart‟s contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us so and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of our brothers and sisters…”

“A spirituality of communion also means the ability to think of our brothers and sisters in faith within the profound unity of the Mystical Body, and therefore as „those who are part of me‟…

“This makes us capable to share their joys and sufferings, to sense their desires and attend to their needs. It 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 had received it directly, but also as a „gift for me‟.

“Finally it means 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.

“Unless we follow this spiritual path, external structures of communion will serve very little purpose. They would be mechanisms without a soul.”

 The church manifests itself as communion, and lives the spirituality of communion especially in the event of the Holy Eucharist, a sigh and instrument of the Church’s unity.

 Inthe Eucharist, the community members as one body, do not only offer themselves to God in Christ but also receive Christ, as they bond it when they receive the bread and wine.

 Born as gathered people, the church is an assembly of fellow-believers, fellow- witnesses and fellow- disciples. Brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing in His life.

 The success of our mission depends on our union with the Lord and our communion within the Church (Ecclesia in Asia 24).

 In facing the challenge of the 3rd Millenia, if we wish to be faithful to God’s plan and to respond to the world’s deepest yearning, we must make the Church home and a school of communion.

Let us pause for a while… Take a deepbreath. Every breath we take, is the verybreath of God, the breath of life, of love and compassion. Let us acknowledgethat we have the same source of life and feel this divine life or energy in us and around us. Let us be aware of our interconnectedness with God, with one another and with the cosmos.

After the experience of the truth of communion/interconnectedness with God, we praise and thank him for allowing us to experience his communal nature. It is through understanding and experience that we affirm our communal nature as Church.“In you nature, O Eternal Godhead, I shall know my own nature.” ---St. Catherine of Sienna

5. the church

by Charles Chua on Jan 15, 2012

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