Consumer versus Communion (Father’s Faith Notes: November 14, 2021)
We were blessed by the presence and preaching last weekend of Fr. Gerard Jordan, who spoke on Sunday evening about the remarkable life and story of Venerable Father Augustus Tolton. Fr. Tolton was the first African American ordained as a Catholic priest and is an example of holiness in the face of suffering and persecution. One of the themes that stuck with me from Fr. Gerard’s homilies and his talk was that sacrifice is necessary to live in communion. This is a rich, theological idea as, of course, it is Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross that makes the communion of the Church and Holy Communion, the Eucharist, possible.
This insight also gets at the heart of the difference between being a part of the communion of the Church and being a consumer who comes to Church. Consumers are not usually asked to sacrifice. Instead, it is up to the shop-owner, company, or whoever it is, to make it as easy as possible for the consumer to come in, get what they want, and get out – leaving some of their money behind. That is a transaction, but it is not communion.
The Church is and must be different. We do not have a product to sell but instead offer salvation that comes through living in communion with God and with one another. That requires sacrifice. It requires putting aside our own self-interest at times to contribute to the whole. It requires the humility to truly listen and to receive rather than to criticize or control. Above all, it requires the grace of God to transform us into one body, one spirit in Christ. It is my prayer that we as a parish become ever more that kind of communion because, while it requires sacrifice, it offers abundant life, here and now, and eternally in heaven.
Have a blessed week,
Fr. Michael