A Reflection on the Year of the Parish as Communion of Communities (Part 3)

Let people feel they belong

In making the parish as communion of communities, church associations help a lot in letting people feel they belong. These associations must attract others to join and enjoy the life and ministry of the church.

The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines is aware of the important contribution of the different apostolates and associations in the parish towards making the parish a community of communities.

“They should become schools of sanctification, and reach out to the un-churched and the poor. While they should continue to foster national and international ties with their mother organizations, their members should be encouraged to be involved in BECs and their parochial activities should be in accord and in coordination with parish pastoral priorities and programs.” (PCP II, 609)

“Those involved in associations and movements should offer their support for the local Church and not present themselves as alternatives to Diocesan structures and parish life. Communion grows stronger when the local leaders of these movements work together with the Pastors in a spirit of charity for the good of all.” (Ecclesia in Asia, 25)

The Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs), too, are primary agents towards communion. The members know each other by name, and share not only the Word of God and the Eucharist but also their concerns both material and spiritual. They have a strong sense of belongingness and of responsibility for one another. (PCP II, 138)

Poverty and their faith urge their members towards solidarity with one another, action for justice, and towards a vibrant celebration of life in the liturgy. (PCP II, 139) Members can identify and relate with one another as they journey together in the their daily undertakings and in living their faith.

Vatican II also recognizes the value of sharing the Word of God. Bible sharing and other activities have a role to play in making the church one. They are particularly to be commended in places where no priest is available; when this is so, a deacon or some other person authorized by the bishop should preside over the celebration. (Sacrosanctum Concilium 35)

Reconciling diversity

The third proposal in promoting communion is to reconcile diversity. The Lord Jesus exhorts us to go beyond by loving those who are different from us, our enemies. (Lk. 6:27-35)

The Holy Spirit also enriches the entire evangelizing Church with different charisms. These gifts are meant to renew and build up the Church… A sure sign of the authenticity of a charism is its ecclesial character, its ability to be integrated harmoniously into the life of God’s holy and faithful people for the good of all.(EG 130)

Differences between persons and communities can sometimes prove uncomfortable, but the Holy Spirit, who is the source of that diversity, can bring forth something good from all things and turn it into an attractive means of evangelization. Diversity must always be reconciled by the help of the Holy Spirit; he alone can raise up diversity, plurality and multiplicity while at the same time bringing about unity. …whenever we attempt to create unity on the basis of our human calculations, we end up imposing a monolithic uniformity. This is not helpful for the Church’s mission. (Evangelii Gaudium 131)

In his general audience on October 9, 2013, Pope Francis says that “the Church is Catholic because she reconciles the wonderful diversity of God’s gifts to build up his People in unity and harmony.”

We need also to be patient if we want to understand those who are different from us. People only express themselves fully when they are not merely tolerated, but know that they are truly accepted. (Pope Francis, 48th World Communications Sunday)

The walls which divide us can be broken down only if we are prepared to listen and learn from one another. We need to resolve our differences through forms of dialogue which help us grow in understanding and mutual respect. A culture of encounter demands that we be ready not only to give, but also to receive. (Pope Francis, 48th World Communications Sunday)

Charisms in dialogue

To dialogue means to believe that the “other” has something worthwhile to say, and to entertain his or her point of view and perspective. Engaging in dialogue does not mean renouncing our own ideas and traditions, but the claim that they alone are valid or absolute. (Pope Francis, 48th World Communications Sunday)

Other Church institutions, basic communities and small communities, movements, and forms of association are a source of enrichment for the Church, raised up by the Spirit for evangelizing different areas and sectors. Frequently they bring a new evangelizing fervour and a new capacity for dialogue with the world whereby the Church is renewed. (Evangelii Gaudium 28)

Evangelii Nuntiandi is open to diversity for participation that they (Basic Ecclesial Communities) never look on themselves as the sole beneficiaries or sole agents of evangelization – or even the only depositaries of the Gospel – but, being aware that the Church is much more vast and diversified, accept the fact that this Church becomes incarnate in other ways than through themselves. (Evangelii Nuntiandi 58)

Ecclesial communion implies that each local Church should become what the Synod Fathers called a “participatory Church”, a Church, that is, in which all live their proper vocation and perform their proper role. (Ecclesia in Asia 25)

It is obvious that if our BECs are active, the parish is blessed. The rapidity of their growth in various parts of the Philippines augurs well for the widespread activation of God-given charisms among the poor. (PCP II, 140)

The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines acknowledges the essential mission of the Church built in communion. “Participation largely means enabling the laity to participate more fully in the life of the Church and its task of mission.” No longer the “narrow understanding [that] has effectively reduced the laity to being mere objects of pastoral care, passive and compliant recipients of the clergy’s evangelizing effort…. In truth the lay faithful are, by right, subjects of evangelization, active workers of the Gospel, tasked with basically the same mission as the Church’s pastors.” PCP II 98-99

Participation can be shown by trusting in the laity’s capacity to minister. “These communities are united to their pastors but are ministered to regularly by lay leaders.” (PCP II, 138)