Spirituality of Communion

A spirituality of communion indicates above all the
heart's contemplation of the Mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us,
and whose light we must also be able to see shining
on the face of the brothers and sisters around us.
(Pope John Paul II

What is Spirituality of Communion?

According with John Paul the Great in his Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte

43.“A spirituality of communion indicates above all the heart's contemplation of the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us. A spirituality of communion also means an ability to think of our brothers and sisters in faith within the profound unity of the Mystical Body, and therefore as "those who are a part of me.” This makes us able to share their joys and sufferings, to sense their desires and attend to their needs, to offer them deep and genuine friendship. A spirituality of communion implies also the ability to see what is positive in others, to welcome it and to prize it as a gift from God: not only as a gift for the brother or sister who has received it directly, but also as a "gift for me."

A spirituality of communion means, finally, to know how 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. Let us have no illusions: unless we follow this spiritual path, external structures of communion will serve very little purpose. They would become mechanisms without a soul, "masks" of communion rather than its means of expression and growth.”

Some advice from John Paul II to build the Spirituality of Communion:

Christifideles Laici

"So as to render thanks to God for the great gift of Church communion which is the reflection in time of the eternal and ineffable communion of the love of God, Three in One, we once again consider Jesus' words: ‘I am the vine, you are the branches’ (Jn 15:5). The awareness of the gift ought to be accompanied by a strong sense of responsibility for its use: it is, in fact, a gift that, like the talent of the gospel parable, must be put to work in a life of ever-increasing communion.

“To be responsible for the gift of communion means, first of all, to be committed to overcoming each temptation to division and opposition that works against the Christian life with its responsibility in the apostolate. The cry of Saint Paul continues to resound as a reproach to those who are ‘wounding the Body of Christ’: ‘What I mean is that each one of you says, 'I belong to Paul', or 'I belong to Cephas', or 'I belong to Christ!' Is Christ divided?’ (1 Cor 1: 12-13). No, rather let these words of the apostle sound a persuasive call: ‘I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment’ (1 Cor 1 :10).

“Thus the life of Church communion will become a sign for all the world and a compelling force that will lead persons to faith in Christ: ‘that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me’ (Jn 17:21). In such a way communion leads to mission, and mission itself to communion."

Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte

42. "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). If we have truly contemplated the face of Christ, dear Brothers and Sisters, our pastoral planning willnecessarily be inspired by the "new commandment" which he gave us: ‘Love one another, as I have loved you’ (Jn 13:34). 

45. “To this end, we need to make our own the ancient pastoral wisdom which, without prejudice to their authority, encouraged Pastors to listen more widely to the entire People of God. Significant is Saint Benedict's reminder to the Abbot of a monastery, inviting him to consult even the youngest members of the community: "By the Lord's inspiration, it is often a younger person who knows what is best". And Saint Paulinus of Nola urges: ‘Let us listen to what all the faithful say, because in every one of them the Spirit of God breathes.’

45. “While the wisdom of the law, by providing precise rules for participation, attests to the hierarchical structure of the Church and averts any temptation to arbitrariness or unjustified claims, the spirituality of communion, by prompting a trust and openness wholly in accord with the dignity and responsibility of every member of the People of God, supplies institutional reality with a soul.”

46. “Such a vision of communion is closely linked to the Christian community's ability to make room for all the gifts of the Spirit. The unity of the Church is not uniformity, but an organic blending of legitimate diversities. It is the reality of many members joined in a single body, the one Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12). Therefore the Church of the Third Millennium will need to encourage all the baptized and confirmed to be aware of their active responsibility in the Church's life. Together with the ordained ministry, other ministries, whether formally instituted or simply recognized, can flourish for the good of the whole community, sustaining it in all its many needs: from catechesis to liturgy, from the education of the young to the widest array of charitable works.”

What is Communion? 

Communion is born from faith aroused by the apostolic preaching, it is nourished from the breaking of bread and prayer, and is expressed in fraternal charity and service. We are before the description of the communion of the early Church in the richness of her internal dynamisms and her visible expressions: The gift of communion is kept and promoted in particular by the apostolic ministry, which in turn is a gift for the whole community. (Benedict XVI, General Audience - March 29, 2006)

Our Pope Benedict XVI, as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, expressed the meaning of communion in his book, Call to Communion: 

“Communion means the fusion of existences: just as in the taking of nourishment the body assimilates foreign matter to itself, and is thereby enabled to live, in the same way my ‘I’ is assimilated: to that of Jesus, it is made similar to him in an exchange that increasingly breaks through the lines of division. This same event takes place in the case of all who communicate; they are all assimilated to this ‘bread’ and thus are made one among themselves—one body.”

"Communion" is truly good news, the remedy the Lord has given us against the loneliness that threatens all today, the precious gift that makes us feel accepted and loved in God, in the unity of his People, gathered together in the name of the Trinity; it is the light that makes the Church shine as a sign raised among the nations: "If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another" (1 John 1:6-7). (Benedict XVI, General Audience - March 29, 2006)

Communion is born from faith aroused by the apostolic preaching, it is nourished from the breaking of bread and prayer, and is expressed in fraternal charity and service. We are before the description of the communion of the early Church in the richness of her internal dynamisms and her visible expressions: The gift of communion is kept and promoted in particular by the apostolic ministry, which in turn is a gift for the whole community. (Benedict XVI, General Audience - April 5, 2006)

John Paul the Great wrote in his Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte:

“This is the other important area in which there has to be commitment and planning on the part of the universal Church and the particular Churches: the domain of communion (koinonia), which embodies and reveals the very essence of the mystery of the Church. Communion is the fruit and demonstration of that love which springs from the heart of the Eternal Father and is poured out upon us through the Spirit which Jesus gives us (cf. Rom 5:5), to make us all ‘one heart and one soul’ (Acts 4:32). It is in building this communion of love that the Church appears as ‘sacrament’, as the ‘sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the human race’. (42)