We go together or not at all

I sometimes hear people who consider themselves to be very orthodox Catholics disparage other Catholic people whom they judge to be un-Catholic. This seems to mirror the political divisions with the underlying presumption that if you believe something different than me you are un-patriotic or even un-American.

Division such as this is a tough issue for those of us in the Church. There are beliefs that all Catholics are called to profess. These beliefs are meant to shape the very way that we live our lives. If individuals don't accept aspects of the faith or if they don't allow these beliefs to shape their actions, they are not able to live the life to which they have been called.

At the same time we acknowledge that all are sinful and fall short of our call. People who consider themselves very holy often treat others as obstacles to their own salvation. People who feel that creed and dogma are meaningless often lack the foundation to live out their deep and faithful convictions.

So what are we to do?

Yesterday (December 9) the Holy Father appointed one of Detroit's auxiliary bishops, Daniel Flores, as the new bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville in Texas. At age 45 he is the second youngest bishop in the U.S. He seems to me wise beyond his years, as witnessed in his opening statement at a press conference yesterday.

...we walk together on the pilgrimage of life and history toward our heavenly homeland. (Hasta que en el cielo descansamos.) God calls us to an unimaginable glory, and we travel this pilgrimage of life together. We journey together with hope. We work so that no one grows too weary on this road we travel. If we leave behind anyone who might be discouraged on this road, if we do not make such a person's interests our very own, then Christ will not let us cross to the heaven he has prepared for us. We go together, or we do not go at all.

This is why unity is so important to Christians. Notice that he didn't say, "Come with me or you will be left behind" or "this is what the Church teaches and if you don't like it, you can go to another church." No. We have a responsibility to help each other.

I believe that St. Paul's metaphor of the body is a key to our understanding this. "If (one) part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy" (I Cor. 12:26). We also have the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and, of course, the Prodigal Son (all in Luke 15). We don't ignore what separates us. Rather, we always seek reconciliation. Unity is a reality of the Eucharist.

Christ personally unites himself with each one of us, but Christ himself is also united with the man and the woman who are next to me. And the bread is for me but it is also for the other. Thus Christ unites all of us with himself and all of us with one another. In communion we receive Christ. But Christ is likewise united with my neighbor: Christ and my neighbor are inseparable in the Eucharist. And thus we are all one bread and one body. A Eucharist without solidarity with others is a Eucharist abused.

Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience on December 10, 2008

I certainly don't have all of the answers. However, the concept which I hear more and more that there should be a smaller, more faithful Church seems to deny the Eucharistic reality of unity. More faithful? Yes! Smaller? No!

Unity isn't just about bringing other people with me. It perhaps has less to do with others and more with myself. And unity isn't simply something that would make things nicer. "Unity is the essence of the Church" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 813).

God of power and might,
we praise you through your Son, Jesus Christ,
who comes in your name.

He is the Word that brings salvation.
He is the hand you stretch out to sinners.
He is the way that leads to your peace.

Eucharistic Prayer for Masses of Reconciliation (II)

Christ (and those who bear his imprint and name) does the action. He brings salvation, reaches out to sinners and provides the road to peace. He doesn't point and say, "Salvation is over there." He doesn't look at sinners and say, "When you come over to me I will forgive." He doesn't say, "I'm going ahead, I hope you find the way."

Theologians such as Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas do not consider this understanding of Eucharist as a sacrament of unity something trivial or arbitrary, the fruit of pious exaggeration, something that one might just be permitted to say after dealing with the dogmatic truths of the real presence and the sacrificial character of the Eucharist. On the contrary, this understanding is essential in their eyes; indeed, it is the essential truth about the Eucharist…the unity of the Church is the reason why the Eucharist exists.

Cardinal Walter Kaspar. Sacrament of Unity, pages 119-120.

This Advent would be a great time to reach out to one with whom you need to be reconciled. Be the one to stretch out your hand, to be the way of peace, to live out the reality of the Eucharist!