-Still no solution to homily tapes. My host site (archive.org) is not functioning so I need a new solution to posting audio files
-the scriptures for Pentecost are at USCCB.org->
-I am preaching at the 8am and the 12:30pm on Sunday
The Spirit is only Communication
I was always fond of saying that "pneumatology (understanding of the Spirit) was ecclesiology (understanding of the Church).". That is something to ponder if one hasn't before. However, I am growing in my understanding of the Church and, thus, I must reconsider my opinion about the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, which we celebrate today, is more than ecclesiology. It is clearly the life-force, or as St. Augustine says, "the soul of the Body of Christ" - the Church. But that's the point...the body of Christ is more than the Church. The Church and the Body of Christ are the effect of the Spirit, they are One Communion.
We only know of the Holy Spirit because of divine Communion. The Spirit is the communion of the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the relationship between the Father and the Son. Holy Spirit is the Divine Communication. In creation, in redemption, in salvation, in incarnation, in church building, in preaching, in sacraments, Holy Spirit is what's happening - divine sharing of Self, Communication.
If we could think about communication as something beyond the modern concept of "idea sending" and see it as "self-sacrificing communion" I think we'd be closer to God and God's Kingdom.
Any examples out there of a great communication in life? Holy Spirit!
1 comment:
I just finished reading an Apostolic Exhortation by Blessed John Paul II, Christifideles Laici. Like so many of our Church writings, it is as profound today as it was 23 years ago when it was written. It is a comprehensive document that offers rich insight, teaching, and guidance about living a holy, Christian life; but among other topics it has much to say about living in communion – with God and with each other. “The individual is lost and disoriented, but there always remains in the human heart the desire to experience and cultivate caring and personal relationships.” Indeed – ‘the individual’ is lost and disoriented. As the Matador said, the communion of the Trinity is the image of which we are made. We are lost and disoriented without communion – we are called to relive the very communion of God and cannot rest until we rest in that loving unity. The writing points to relationships such as “family” and “parish” as models of communion by which we thrive. These mutual bonds are not only comforting, but essential to who we are. Communion is part of our very being!
While this great Exhortation acknowledges the “unique and irrepeatable” nature of each and every child of God, it convincingly describes the complementarity of the individuals that forms the communion of the Church – of the Body of Christ. It goes on to explain how communion leads to mission – and mission is accomplished in communion – but I have no doubt that is a topic for another day!
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