That All May Be One, Part 1A

First, it is not lost on me that I divided my thoughts about Jesus's line "that all may be one" into two parts! So, that is why I decided to title this Part 1A, instead of 2 (click here for Part 1)! Part 1A is in a separate post because 1.) I hadn't written this part yet, and 2.) it would have made last week's post even longer!

Jesus desires communion with us and that we have communion with each other. This is why He was sent by the Father: to bring us back into right relationship with our Father, and for us to come into right relationship with each other. 

That all may be one. 

This unity with God and with each other, though, does not mean uniformity. 

St. Paul (Ephesians 4:1-6) riffs on this idea of unity in the following manner:

I...urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

God has called us to Himself and we need to live accordingly in relation to both God and each other. We have been called uniquely and individually, yet to the same Spirit: one Body, one Spirit, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. In God, we find a brotherhood and sisterhood deeper than any familial bloodlines. 

This call to the same Spirit requires that we approach each other with humility, gentleness, patience, and love. It entails striving and persevering. 

In short, it demands hard work. 

But, we need not rely on solely on our feeble human efforts, abilities, and personalities. Be encouraged: God our Father supplies us with grace sufficient for this work and any work to which we are called! 

St. Paul continues (Ephesians 4:7):   

But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 

The Holy Spirit infuses us with what is needed in order to commune with others and with God. Invoke this divine direction through prayer and participation in the sacraments, which are efficacious - meaning effective - signs of God's grace (CCC #1131). Come, Holy Spirit. Amen! 

Finally, as we draw together in communion with each other and with God, we will come to better understand and accomplish our mission. St. John Paul II demonstrates the interconnectedness of mission and communion writing, "(C)ommunion and mission are profoundly connected with each other, they interpenetrate and mutually imply each other, to the point that communion represents both the source and the fruit of mission: communion gives rise to mission and mission is accomplished in communion" (1988, #32). 

If we are to accomplish the work to which we have been called, we will need God and others. And, this unity of mission depends upon a plurality of gifts that are shared within a community. 

St. Paul concludes (Ephesians 4:11-13):

And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature (personhood), to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

May we partner with God and each other so "that all may be one" in our Catholic schools, in our communities, and in our world. 

We truly are better together.

Together as one. 

References:

Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). (1997). http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1131.htm 

Pope John Paul II. (1988, December 30). Christifideles Laici. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_30121988_christifideles-laici.html 

That All May Be One, Part 1

After going to Mass with my family on Halloween, I noticed a large number of people wearing red gathered outside of a Protestant church. Intrigued, I immediately Googled it: "Protestants wearing red." 

I discovered that Protestants celebrate Reformation Day on October 31. Commemorating the day that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the doors of a church in Germany because of the crowds that would be going to mass on All Saints Day, I had no prior knowledge of this day before this revelation.

I am in the process of reading Models of the Church by Avery Cardinal Dulles. In it, Cardinal Dulles names "Church as Herald" as one of the models. In this model, we understand "Church" to be the place that proclaims the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Word of God has authority in this model and "on the lips of the authorized herald, (the Word of God) is impregnated with the power of God himself, whose word it becomes" (Dulles, 2014, p. 76). This primacy of scripture reminded me of Martin Luther and his call to the Church to elevate and focus on God's Word as supreme. 

And today, on the feast of St. Josaphat, 16th Century bishop and martyr who worked to end the schism between the Roman and Orthodox churches, the optional readings contain this message from Jesus in John 17:20-23:

Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. 

So that all may be one.  

Christ came to bring communion. 

He came to bring us into communion with Himself and in turn God our Father. He came to bring us into communion with each other. 

He came to end division - literally di - more than one, vision - way of seeing. 

Christ came so that all may be one. 

In thinking and learning more about Martin Luther, and in this spirit of communion, I sympathize with him. He encountered a corrupt Church and sought reform. The selling of indulgences and the autonomous clericalism that accompanied it warranted change. Promoting the Bible as the authority and source of God's revelation had deep roots in Augustine and Aquinas.  In the face of being told to renounce his claims, Martin Luther stood for what he believed to be a clearer vision of truth. 

Martin Luther, I think, ultimately desired communion. He loved the Church so much that he risked everything for its sake. 

I am far from an expert on Protestantism or Martin Luther or even Catholicism - especially during that period of time. However, it pains me to think that this moment of division could have been delayed if not avoided altogether. 

Communion requires communication throughout a community. 

This entails 2 and 3 and 47-way communication. It necessitates dialogue - talking between or across another. As a theological concept, communion demands giving of ourselves to each other. This remains the only way to come to the fullness of who God created us - as both individuals and communities - to be. 

In the document The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School (1988), the Congregation for Catholic Education writes, 

The declaration Gravissimum educationis notes an important advance in the way a Catholic school is thought of: the transition from the school as an institution to the school as a community...the community dimension is primarily a theological concept rather than a sociological category...where the Church is described as the People of God.

Our schools must fight against becoming and/or living as institutions. Instead, we must strive to establish our schools as communities, founded on the theological concepts of the Trinity and the human person created in God's image and likeness.

We are better together and God desires "that all may be one" with Him and each other. 

This takes work - messy, hard, slow work - requiring patience, forgiveness, humility, sacrifice, and trust.

This, ultimately, takes each other. 

This, essentially, takes grace.

References:

Congregation for Catholic Education. (1988). The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School: Guidelines for reflection and renewal. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_19880407_catholic-school_en.html

Dulles, A. (2014). Models of the Church. Image.