By Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB
20 years ago, Saint John Paul II wrote a letter to the whole Church in which he set out his vision for the Church in the new millennium, which was just beginning. The letter was given the name: Novo Millennio Ineunte.
In this letter, the Pope made a statement which many people have found surprising. “To make the Church the home and the school of communion: that is the great challenge facing us in the millennium which is now beginning if we wish to be faithful to God‘s plan and respond to the world’s deepest yearnings” (NMI 43).
While some people would have expected the Pope to name some of the major moral, social or even doctrinal issues as the greatest challenge facing the Church it should not really be surprising that he should speak of communion, for this was at the heart of the message and the vision left by Jesus to His first disciples: by this will everyone know that you are my disciples, that you love one another as I have loved you (Jn 17:21).
The book of Genesis tells us, that when God created human beings, He created them in His own image and likeness. The same book of Genesis presents us with a very clear image of God as a creating and life-giving God. To be creators of life, as husbands and wives are when they begin their families, is one of the most eloquent ways in which we can live out our God-given vocation. This is one of the reasons why in our Catholic tradition, we often speak of the family as the domestic church. It is here, hopefully, that we first begin to experience what it means to live in a communion of love.
“This is one of the reasons why in our Catholic tradition we often speak of the family as the domestic church.”
Of course, it was only with the coming of Christ that God revealed to us the true meaning of what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus revealed to us the mystery of the divine Trinity: that there is indeed only one God, and this one God is a divine communion of love between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Because God is at the heart of everything and is the source of all that is good, we can say that communion in love is at the heart of everything and the source of all that is good. This helps us to understand what St John means when he says that those who live in love live in God and God lives in them (cf. 1 Jn 4:16). To live in a communion of love modelled on the selfless love of the blessed Trinity is the very heart of our Christian vocation.
St John Paul II goes on in his letter to spell out what it means to make the Church the home and school of communion (NMI 43). As we continue our journey towards the Plenary Council a re-reading of this letter would be an enrichment for us all. It can easily be found on the Vatican website (www.vatican.va). I hope you will search it out and make it a focus for your prayer.
From pages 4 to 5 of Issue 27: Community of The Record Magazine