Among the many fruitful symbols that the Apostle Paul employed to communicate our life in Christ, one of the richest is “the body of Christ,” of which the faithful are “members.” The image is obviously derived from the human body being one, yet composed of various organs and limbs, or “members.” The Apostle Paul uses the symbol of “the body of Christ” when writing about the church--the fellowship of disciples of Christ--and also when writing of the Eucharist. Hence, he calls both the Church and the Eucharist “the body of Christ.” The Apostle teaches us that by participating worthily in the Eucharist, human beings become more truly living members of Christ. In time, Church Fathers and the Magisterium (teaching authority in the Church) have tended to use “Body of Christ” for the Eucharist (and especially for the consecrated bread), and “mystical Body of Christ” for the living communion of all who are in faith-union with the crucified and risen LORD, Jesus Christ.
One often hears it said that “the Church is not a democracy, but a hierarchy” (literally, rule of the holy). That is true to an extent, but one can also justly maintain that the mystical body of Christ is more truly “democratic” than any democracy on earth. For “we are all members of one body,” and “all are one,” and “in God there is no distinction.” In other words, within the mystical Body, although we have “gifts that differ,” and various “ministries,” yet “all are one in Christ Jesus,” so that we are all equal before God--equally loved by “the God and Father of all.” In other words, “we all have a share in the one Spirit,” “who gives gifts as the Spirit wills.”
This conception of the Church, briefly outlined, is what I try to keep in mind and in practice in serving as a parish priest. Although I am ordained as a priest in the Church and given administrative oversight in parishes to which I am assigned, I need to respect the Spirit at work in all of us as God wills. None of us has a monopoly of goodness, wisdom, insight, justice, and so on. On the contrary, we truly need one another to be the human beings the LORD wills us to be: fully alive members of Christ. Hence, in making important decisions affecting our life together, I desire to seek and to draw on the wisdom of the Spirit at work in all of us. Although we are required in church law to have a functioning finance council, when it comes to a parish council--especially given our small size--my preference would be to consult the whole body on occasion, not merely a few voices. “To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Hence, from time to time, I will summon all members of St. Mark’s (with missions) or Holy Trinity who wish to attend, and consider various issues affecting our life together. In effect, a common gathering at St. Mary’s will be completed when the Bishop visits us there. St. Mark’s with missions is invited to gather on 16 May for a consulting session. Then in about a month--with due notice--members of Holy Trinity and I will consider matters affecting our life together. Such communal councils may not be the neatest or easiest way to proceed, and they require all of us to try to act and speak responsively; but because we believe in the Holy Spirit, it should benefit us all to “listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.”
One often hears it said that “the Church is not a democracy, but a hierarchy” (literally, rule of the holy). That is true to an extent, but one can also justly maintain that the mystical body of Christ is more truly “democratic” than any democracy on earth. For “we are all members of one body,” and “all are one,” and “in God there is no distinction.” In other words, within the mystical Body, although we have “gifts that differ,” and various “ministries,” yet “all are one in Christ Jesus,” so that we are all equal before God--equally loved by “the God and Father of all.” In other words, “we all have a share in the one Spirit,” “who gives gifts as the Spirit wills.”
This conception of the Church, briefly outlined, is what I try to keep in mind and in practice in serving as a parish priest. Although I am ordained as a priest in the Church and given administrative oversight in parishes to which I am assigned, I need to respect the Spirit at work in all of us as God wills. None of us has a monopoly of goodness, wisdom, insight, justice, and so on. On the contrary, we truly need one another to be the human beings the LORD wills us to be: fully alive members of Christ. Hence, in making important decisions affecting our life together, I desire to seek and to draw on the wisdom of the Spirit at work in all of us. Although we are required in church law to have a functioning finance council, when it comes to a parish council--especially given our small size--my preference would be to consult the whole body on occasion, not merely a few voices. “To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Hence, from time to time, I will summon all members of St. Mark’s (with missions) or Holy Trinity who wish to attend, and consider various issues affecting our life together. In effect, a common gathering at St. Mary’s will be completed when the Bishop visits us there. St. Mark’s with missions is invited to gather on 16 May for a consulting session. Then in about a month--with due notice--members of Holy Trinity and I will consider matters affecting our life together. Such communal councils may not be the neatest or easiest way to proceed, and they require all of us to try to act and speak responsively; but because we believe in the Holy Spirit, it should benefit us all to “listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.”
