A reminder on communion

BEFORE we get carried away by the dynamics of our present

life, it is good to remind ourselves that whatever we do or whatever

situation we may find ourselves in any given moment, we are meant for

communion with God and with one another and that we should keep and

foster it, and not just tolerate or suffer it.

  

            Always living in communion with God and with everybody

else is not an option that we are free to choose or not. It is a

necessity for us, although a necessity that has to be pursued in true

freedom. We should live it not because we are told to live it, but

because we just want to live it (“me da la gana,” in Spanish) and

because we are convinced it is what is essential in our life.

  

            While we will always have some differences in our life and

contend with all kinds of variety and diversity, we have to remember

that all these are not meant to undermine our communion, but rather to

foster it.

  

            Our unavoidable differences and conflicts are not meant to

be divisive, but rather to be instrumental in enriching our life as a

communion. We just have to find a way to live and develop that

communion amid and even through these differences and conflicts.

  

            These differences and conflicts are rich opportunities to

mature and purify our love and care for one another. They can occasion

to develop in us the love that is a reflection and participation of

the love that God has for us.

  

            Obviously, the basis, source, power and end of communion

is God who has also given us all the means for this communion to be

achieved. With God, who reveals himself in full to us in Christ who in

turn is made present in the world today in the Holy Spirit, we would

know how to enter into communion with everyone including those who for

one reason or another we may consider to be our enemies.

  

            It is only through Christ that we can manage to love even

our enemies. This is the dynamics of communion. It is to know and to

love God and everybody else. It is to love one another the way Christ

has loved us. For this purpose, like Christ we should be willing to

suffer and die in obedience to God’s will. We have to be ready for

suffering which will be unavoidable in our life.

  

            We have to be wary of our tendency to react to some issues

based on instincts alone, or on our physical, emotional,

psychological, cultural condition alone. We have to find a way of

reacting to things on the basis of our faith which tells us that

whatever we do, we should uphold the ideal of being in communion with

God and with everybody else.

  

            In this regard, it would be good if we spend some time

processing this truth in our prayer, in our intimate conversation with

God from whom we can always ask for the necessary grace and with whom

we can start making the appropriate strategies to attain the desired

ideal.

  

            Indeed, we have to go through a process of persistent

practice until the necessary attitude and skills are acquired. All the

effort needed, to be sure, will always be worthwhile. In the end, we

can see and judge things better, and make fair decisions that will

uphold our need for communion despite our differences.

  

            We have to remind ourselves about the need for communion

especially nowadays when we are riven by all sorts of conflicts

because of our differences in political views, ideology and other

preferences.