2. Thecommunion nature of the
Trinity finds its first
expression in the universe,
when the Trinitarian
communion started to
overflow in the beginning of
creation.
3. The scientific account of
creation provides the basis of
communion that has already
been revealed and operative
in the universe long before
the emerge of human
community.
4. The life of “being-a-man-for-
others” is manifested first in the
creation.
It is through the process of
breaking and dying to oneself in
order to birth forth a new life.
Alike the atoms, supernovas, galaxies,
plants and animals before mankind.
5. God’s self-giving act happened
first in the evolutionary process
of creation.
This process shows all creatures
of God as part of one another,
interconnected, interrelated and
interdependent. That humans are
but a small strand in the far
immensely-larger web of life.
6. The knowledge that the church
is part of greater community
which is the universe, will aid
us in understanding
communion in a broader
contest. Extending communion
to God’s whole creation—living
and non-living.
7. InMillennio Ineunic, Pope
John Paul II wrote about the
elements of spirituality of the
communion..
8. “A spirituality of communion
indicates above all the heart‟s
contemplation of the mystery
of the Trinity dwelling in us
so and whose light we must
also be able to see shining on
the face of our brothers and
sisters…”
9. “A spirituality of communion
also means the ability to
think of our brothers and
sisters in faith within the
profound unity of the
Mystical Body, and therefore
as „those who are part of
me‟…
10. “This makes us capable to
share their joys and
sufferings, to sense their
desires and attend to their
needs. It implies also the
ability to see what is positive
in others…”
11. “To welcome it and prize it
as a gift from God: not
only as a gift for the
brother or sister who had
received it directly, but
also as a „gift for me‟.
12. “Finally it means to „make room‟
for our brothers and sisters,
bearing „each other‟s burdens‟
(Gal. 6:2) and resisting the
selfish temptations which
constantly beset us and provoke
competition, careerism, distrust
and jealousy.
13. “Unless we follow this
spiritual path, external
structures of communion
will serve very little
purpose. They would be
mechanisms without a
soul.”
14. The church manifests itself as
communion, and lives the
spirituality of communion
especially in the event of the
Holy Eucharist, a sigh and
instrument of the Church’s
unity.
15. Inthe Eucharist, the
community members as one
body, do not only offer
themselves to God in Christ
but also receive Christ, as
they bond it when they
receive the bread and wine.
16. Born as gathered people, the
church is an assembly of
fellow-believers, fellow-
witnesses and fellow-
disciples.
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
sharing in His life.
17. The success of our mission
depends on our union with
the Lord and our
communion within the
Church (Ecclesia in Asia
24).
18. In facing the challenge of the
3rd Millenia, if we wish to be
faithful to God’s plan and to
respond to the world’s
deepest yearning, we must
make the Church home and a
school of communion.
19. Let us pause for a while… Take a deep
breath. Every breath we take, is the very
breath of God, the breath of life, of love
and compassion. Let us acknowledge
that we have the same source of life and
feel this divine life or energy in us and
around us. Let us be aware of our
interconnectedness with God, with one
another and with the cosmos.
20. After the experience of the truth of
communion/interconnectedness with
God, we praise and thank him for
allowing us to experience his communal
nature. It is through understanding and
experience that we affirm our communal
nature as Church.
“In you nature, O Eternal Godhead, I shall
know my own nature.”
---St. Catherine of Sienna
