Opening Prayer
If you like to use music in prayer, I might suggest this virtual performance of We Are Called, by the St. Paul Young Adult Choir: https://youtu.be/TsQ_kANdM6U
Loving God, Three in One, You created persons for one another; a reflection of Trinitarian relationship. So hungry for relationship are we, that ‘Our hearts are restless until we rest in you.’ Turn our hearts outward, toward those in our communities, whose flourishing is linked with our own. Would that we embody our Christian call in such a way as to desire a place where the common good is the benchmark of every thriving community.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Call to community, family & participation
This week we are building off of our first theme of Catholic Social Teaching principal, by referring frequently to the concept of human dignity—the foundational understanding that every human life was dreamed up and willed by God, from the beginning. To put it succinctly, that all of humanity is made in the image and likeness of God. This should sound familiar.
Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth. God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. -1 Genesis: 26-27
To this same point, humanity is explicitly social by nature of the Creator. Re-read the passage from Genesis to hear the conversational tone of the Trinity as creation unfolds: ‘Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness.’ Creation itself was an act of relationship. As with all creativity, creation reflects the creator.
But God did not create man as a solitary, for from the beginning “male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). Their companionship produces the primary form of interpersonal communion. For by his innermost nature man is a social being, and unless he relates himself to others he can neither live nor develop his potential. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World [Gaudium et Spes], no. 12)
After God created Adam, God declared that it is ‘not good for man to be alone.’ God goes on to create all different kinds of animals and birds. Adam has the tremendous privilege of naming them all, yet no one has alleviated his loneliness. It isn’t until Eve arrives on the scene that Adam recognizes his opportunity to reflect back the love of God in relationship with Eve.
The Father, pours himself out for the Son. In return, the Son withholds nothing from the father, and around and around they go. Animated by the Holy Spirit, they do not tire of pouring themselves out for the other. This is our inheritance. It is who we know God to be, and the model we have for life in community.
Our Spiritual DNA
Adam and Eve discover this relationship in marriage. However, we do not have to have experience of conjugal love to understand what is meant by mutual self-gift. Anyone with a dear friend has experienced this outpouring. Anyone who has been the recipient or donor of an organ, or disaster relief, understands this. Someone with a good neighbor knows this posture intimately.
The early Church Fathers referred to this give and take in relationship as a dance modeled by the Trinity; perichoresis. Besides being a ten-dollar word that makes you sound impressive at parties, the premise is that our entire DNA is founded upon the practice of pouring ourselves out for those with whom we have been called to be in community simply because that is what we know of the Creator. This can mean classmates, housemates, neighbors we don’t particularly care for, or members of our own families—it all fits under the same umbrella.
Each of us has a particular call to be active participants in community and family
“For the man who is kindly, modest, merciful and just will not keep his good works to himself but will see to it that these admirable fountains send out their streams for the good of others. Again, the man who is clean of heart, a peacemaker and ardent for truth will order his life so as to contribute to the common good.”
~ Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 16:6,7: PG 57, 231-232
Family—whether family of origin or spouse and children–has a particularly beautiful role in our sanctification. The shorthand for this ‘school of love’ is the Domestic Church which gets blessedly little air time. No doubt you are already familiar with the many challenging and essential truths we learn foundationally as members of families. Namely, sacrifice, but compassion, stewardship, forgiveness, compromise, self-gift, love, faith, service, generosity, empathy. The family is celebrated for its role in society as a place to learn and practice these virtues.
The family is the domestic church…the home is the Church in miniature. – St. John Paul II
In what might be regarded as the domestic church, the parents are to be the first preachers of faith to their children by word and example. – Pope Paul VI
That said, it is our responsibility as the Baptized to participate in the community in which we live—in any and every capacity we can: Voting, hearings, schoolboard, juries, PTAs, choirs, letters to the editor, community gardens, library volunteers, neighborhood cleanup days, etc. In the words of Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, “Voting is a civic sacrament.” Our participation in the work of the greater good, is a manifestation of our entire vocation.
The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the State, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish their participation “in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good.” [21] The mission of the lay faithful is therefore to configure social life correctly, respecting its legitimate autonomy and cooperating with other citizens according to their respective competences and fulfilling their own responsibility.
Deus Caritas Est (“God is Love”), Pope Benedict XVI, 2005 #29.
This is the proper work of the Church universal. In other words, the entirety of the faithful not only have a right, but a duty to be involved in their communities—because who knows the needs the community better than those who are living in it? Who better to advocate for the good of others than those who have been schooled in the tradition of pouring themselves out, willing the good of the other?
Questions for reflection:
- If behind our doors, exists ‘the church in miniature,’ what is expected of the Christian beyond our front doors?
- For whom do you will the good in your own community?
- Who has been instrumental in demonstrating to you what it looks like to witness love poured out?
- What are the pressing needs/concerns of my community and how might I become more familiar with them?
Closing Prayer
Loving God, we praise you because you are never outdone in generosity. This truth is paramount in knowing who you are, and in understanding who we are called to be by our birthright. Steadily guide our hearts to bear your great love into the communities we frequent, and would that our civic participation be Spirit-led.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.