Experiencing the Spirit of Communion

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
April 13, 2010

Today's Readings:
Acts 4:32-37
Ps 93:1-2, 5
John 3:7b-15
http://www.usccb.org/nab/041310.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_04_13.mp3

Experiencing the Spirit of Communion

Acts 4:32-37 shows us what true Christian community is like. Why don't we experience such generous love today within the Church?

We've become very private in our faith. Historically speaking, it started when the people's language evolved beyond Latin and they could no longer understand what the priests said during Mass. The laity began quietly praying the Rosary and other devotions to connect with God while the priest did his liturgical stuff. In some of the larger churches, every side altar had a priest saying his own Mass at the same time. Although everyone came together to worship the Lord, the sense of sharing it as a community was lost.

Community and generosity are closely linked. The generous spirit that the early Christians felt is a natural outgrowth of first noticing a need in someone else and then caring enough to get involved.

What they did for each other wasn't all that amazing. When they sold their property to help others, they didn't make themselves homeless; they distributed what they could according to what was needed. Today, we often do that for family members, but we don't even know what our fellow parishioners need. We certainly don't feel connected to them enough to make sacrifices for them.

Generosity grows from love. The more we love someone, the more we want to be generous with them. Look again at how the first Christians related to one another. See how they were of "one heart and one mind". This doesn't mean they always agreed on everything, because they didn't. Their unity came from caring about each other. Their caring started in the communal worship experience and continued outside of Mass through ongoing interaction.

In John 3:7-15, Jesus tells us that to understand the things of heaven, we have to be "begotten of the Holy Spirit". It's one thing to know Jesus personally, but God wants more than that for us, because heaven is so much more. Remember that on Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended upon a community – upon a group of people whose lives were intertwined.

Generosity is a sign of a vibrant, healthy community. In heaven, love is everywhere. We call this the communion of saints. Yet we think of "communion" as a private experience of receiving the Eucharist. It's not! It's a coming together, becoming one in community through Christ. We walk up to the minister of the Eucharist as individuals and we return to our pews as a community, i.e., as the communion of saints singing the communion song together. Really! We're supposed to sing, not kneel in silent, private prayer after receiving Communion.

In heaven, we will care about everyone equally and we will be loved fully by everyone. On earth, we cannot attain this love unless we rely on the Spirit of God within us – the Spirit of Love, the Spirit of Communion.

For an inspirational PowerPoint presentation on Life in the Spirit to show in religious education classes, RCIA, and prayer groups, please visit Catholic Digital Resources at http://catholicdr.com/TrinityRetreat and scroll down to see the last one on the page where you can preview it.

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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