Beautifully said. From the lens of incarnational mysticism, the body of Christ is not a metaphor, it is a lived, breathing reality. Just as the Incarnation bound God to flesh and community, so too must our spirituality be bound to others. We are not saved from the world but within it, through one another. The spirit does not descend into isolated souls alone, but into gathered ones… imperfect, unpolished, but willing to endure together. Even Christ didn’t carry the Cross alone the whole way. Community is not just supportive, it is sacramental.
Thank you, Mark. I so need my beloved community. One point I’d like to change in your essay is where you state that we need for our institutions to have the love and “courage to endure”. I think the courage to transform is key. It’s what I discover in meditation and centering prayer for my individual self, but I want my community to discover and embrace it too. I think it’s part and parcel of ending pettiness and what undermines us. Transformative love enables endurance. No?
I haven't been to church in a long time and illness has paused my Bible study group for my just as long. I miss being part of a community, and I'm ready to go back to my seat in the pews. But the reason I left still hasn't changed. I pray to God that I'm able to grant people grace while staying true to myself.
My heart is with you, Daniela! I have struggled so long to hold onto my faith and my faith community while deep problems in my community remained unaddressed! But maybe there’s hope: It appears that after years of complacency my church home is acknowledging it needs to change, and is blessedly about to get help doing so. My best clergy friends all counseled me to have faith, and forebearance, and trust that God is still at work (in mysterious ways!). Now maybe my community is ready to listen to the transformative spirit…I hope!
Community can be difficult to locate, keep, foster. I find myself repeatedly disappointed and moving on. I suppose unable to love and accept as Christ did. I know my frustrations are really a reflection of myself driving me to solitude. I only share it because I see others in a similiar place. The nationalist right swallow them up, absorbs them.
I so wish that somehow the spirit of synodality imbued throughout the Good News, that our dear Pope Francis (santo súbito) tried so desperately to gift the Church (and world) during his time with us on earth, I pray that synodality becomes a light of fire in our lives together. Synodality isn’t as confusing as those against it claim it to be, but neither is it a paint by numbers endeavor.
The core ingredients of Synodality: Communion, Participation & Mission. Before any gathering ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts, minds and hands to receive more genuine & authentic communion with all of our brothers & sisters, more active engagement with deep listening to each other, and more shared work in opening doors to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Beautifully said. From the lens of incarnational mysticism, the body of Christ is not a metaphor, it is a lived, breathing reality. Just as the Incarnation bound God to flesh and community, so too must our spirituality be bound to others. We are not saved from the world but within it, through one another. The spirit does not descend into isolated souls alone, but into gathered ones… imperfect, unpolished, but willing to endure together. Even Christ didn’t carry the Cross alone the whole way. Community is not just supportive, it is sacramental.
Thank you, Mark. I so need my beloved community. One point I’d like to change in your essay is where you state that we need for our institutions to have the love and “courage to endure”. I think the courage to transform is key. It’s what I discover in meditation and centering prayer for my individual self, but I want my community to discover and embrace it too. I think it’s part and parcel of ending pettiness and what undermines us. Transformative love enables endurance. No?
Good point Carrie, I like courage to transform far better! Gratefully, Mark
I haven't been to church in a long time and illness has paused my Bible study group for my just as long. I miss being part of a community, and I'm ready to go back to my seat in the pews. But the reason I left still hasn't changed. I pray to God that I'm able to grant people grace while staying true to myself.
My heart is with you, Daniela! I have struggled so long to hold onto my faith and my faith community while deep problems in my community remained unaddressed! But maybe there’s hope: It appears that after years of complacency my church home is acknowledging it needs to change, and is blessedly about to get help doing so. My best clergy friends all counseled me to have faith, and forebearance, and trust that God is still at work (in mysterious ways!). Now maybe my community is ready to listen to the transformative spirit…I hope!
Community can be difficult to locate, keep, foster. I find myself repeatedly disappointed and moving on. I suppose unable to love and accept as Christ did. I know my frustrations are really a reflection of myself driving me to solitude. I only share it because I see others in a similiar place. The nationalist right swallow them up, absorbs them.
I so wish that somehow the spirit of synodality imbued throughout the Good News, that our dear Pope Francis (santo súbito) tried so desperately to gift the Church (and world) during his time with us on earth, I pray that synodality becomes a light of fire in our lives together. Synodality isn’t as confusing as those against it claim it to be, but neither is it a paint by numbers endeavor.
The core ingredients of Synodality: Communion, Participation & Mission. Before any gathering ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts, minds and hands to receive more genuine & authentic communion with all of our brothers & sisters, more active engagement with deep listening to each other, and more shared work in opening doors to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Beautifully put, Agustin!