The Grace of a Community!

by Elia Cardenas, D.Min, Associate Director

Since the beginning of the year, we have been exploring the vocation within its unique call, following up on how we communicate our own congregational charism or message in everything we do. Today we will talk about the significance of community, and I want to open this conversation with an encyclical letter message in Fratelli tutti by Pope Francis that says: "We have a splendid secret that shows us how to dream and to turn our life into a wonderful adventure. We need a community that supports and helps us." As relational people, we need each other; we cannot survive in silos. We need a community to dream and do mission together.

Each one of us is unique and brings to the community our own culture, values, and graces; that is the richness of diversity and how we all complement each other. Like a beautiful puzzle where no two pieces are identical, yet they align and form one singular and harmonious whole. The pieces, little by little, begin to connect or align, and if you already have experience putting together a puzzle, you know that sometimes, to align or fit the pieces, you need to push or sand them to make them fit perfectly. But that is the beauty of the analogy and the richness of the uniqueness of the pieces. In the puzzle of a community, each one of us complements the others in forming a lovely human and fragile relationship, where all of us are interconnected and can support each other. Community is a communion of people that sometimes experience the world differently but complement each other with communion, connection, and relationships.

Our dear Pope Francis famously stated that he prefers a church or a community that is "bruised, hurting, and dirty" to one that is "perfect or rigid." That knowledge applies to all our communities because there is no perfect community. On the contrary, life, coexistence, and human interaction happen on a daily basis, allowing us to practice the ministry of presence and to tend bridges of understanding, compassion, kindness, patience, and attentive listening.

As human beings, as people living in community, there will be ups, downs, differences, struggles, reconciliation, and forgiveness. That is the beauty of living and ministering in a community with its sense of communion, relationships, friendship, and hospitality rooted in something greater than us—the active virtue of love. And love can only take root in open hearts willing to take the risk of accepting others just as they are, with openness, curiosity, and a new vision of community in which we can walk with one another, bringing the psalmist's words: How good and how pleasant it is, when we dwell together as one! 

Join us for the next Charism Carrier Gathering with Sr. Michele Vincent Fisher, CSFN on August 25 at 7:00 pm CT (Chicago) or August 26 at 9:00 am CT (Chicago). She will lead us on "Community: The Importance of Our Community and the Value of Togetherness."

In this session, we will roll up our sleeves and step into the wondrous messiness that we call "community!" Through Scripture, story, and humor, we will discover how we become the beloved community, bringing forth the reign of God in our midst.