THE SMALL CHRISTIAN
COMMUNITIES
The small Christian
communities after being developed from Brazil has now spread into different
regions of the world bearing different ways of presentation in there way of
dealings and operations. In some of the regions the small Christian communities
have sprout out and developed within Church, pouring and strengthening it
through sacraments and teachings of the Church united with their ministers.
Where I come from, the
small Christian community has offered opportunity to the laity to adhere to the
word of God and above all, try to see how relevant it might be applied to their
own life and the gospel. The small Christian communities have helped the laity
have opportunity of intermingling with each other regarding their daily life
situation.
The small Christian
community has also given the faithful opportunity in coming together in sharing
with aspiration of the people to contemplate together on the living word of
God, to receive sacraments in a closer network of correlation. This is ornamental
due to closeness and familiarities in terms of culture, age, civil state or
social situation of the faithful within their close range. By so doing the
laity who meet together a community of believer receive the opportunity to deliberate
their own affecting concerns which they can’t do during Church service.
By forming small
Christian community within the Church, Christians have an opportunity of
participation of the word in places/region rarely visited by the priest due to
scarcity and shortage of the clergy. The lay leaders who have been appointed
lead the community in contacting a service of worship and sharing of the word, thus,
they won’t feel neglected by the church.
However, the small
Christian communities are to be handled in a very responsible manner so that
the principal intention of the faithful coming together to share the word of
God and sharing important rudiments of faith is not lost by the lay leaders through
forgetting this primordial aspect and focusing on petty issues. There should be
scrutiny too to indemnify that the teaching of the church doctrine is not
misunderstood or give room for dissenting proclamation.
There is also a need of
training the small Christian leaders on important elements of Church faith and
doctrine so that by using these ideas, they may be able to administer the small
Christian community in a more efficient manner. By so doing there will be a
clear understanding of the church communion with the
universal Church and understanding of the community dimension of Christian
faith.
When we have informed
leaders of the small community of both lay and clergy, there will be reduced propensity
of the separation to other splinter sects since all the members will understand
better the faith in which they all profess. The end result will be building the
church life and work on basic Christian communities in both rural and urban
areas. The small Christian community
will be a place where people will be best suited to develop real intense
vitality and to become effective witnesses in their natural environment.
MEMBERSHIP IN THE BODY
OF CHRIST
Since the beginning of
the Church, the faithful have been enjoined into communion with the body Jesus
Christ through boundless sacrament of baptism and Eucharist that incorporates
them into the community of the faithful the body of Christ.
This puts the two
sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist as a significant function concerning the
element of welcoming the new adherents into the Christian community. In the initial
Church, baptism was administered shortly after Easter since it had a close association
with the power of the Holy Spirit, the death and resurrection of our lord Jesus
Christ. By administering this baptism during Easter, we show showed a close
link between the new life that is experienced in the Church during Eastertide.
There is no dissimilarity of culture, sex and social condition which is
acquired during these new life attained through the sacrament of baptism.
Through this sacrament
of baptism, the neophyte receives a special reality were by they are incorporated
into the community of believers forming one community. These ontological
responses require an individual and communal response of receiving these
statues. Thus the members of the clergy and the community at large have a
responsibility of making sure that they are encouraging more individuals in
joining the ecclesia through the sacrament of baptism.
By so doing, however,
the sacrament of baptism requires a free will in faith and a personal decision.
These also works with the prerequisite of the community having the response of
accepting the decision made. Through these stand, one may ask what happens with
the infant baptism whose parents determine/choose their baptism. The response
lies in the responsibility of the parent who chooses for their children since
they hold the responsibility towards the minor until they attain the age of
reason recognized by the Church of one to make their own decision.
The sacrament of the
Eucharist comes in by making the church into the body of Christ, through
building it within making the Church to grow. The sacrament of Eucharist
transforms the church more deeply into the image of Christ, the head. The close
relation of the institution of the Eucharist and the Church makes them
inseparable because of the paschal mystery that they are all enjoined together.
This makes it necessary for the members of the Church to thrive us much as
possible in making themselves solve any difficult obstacle that can separate
the two realities.
Just as a family comes
together during meals as a sign of unity and togetherness, the Church has
placed these important realities of the paschal mystery of the Eucharist
forming the unity between the faithful and Church as the community of
believers. Recognizing these apostolic foundations, we should share our union
with Christ, which is a gift and grace that makes it possible for us, in him,
to share in the unity of his body which is the Church. As the means of bearing
our Christian witness we should uphold the task and responsibility of
encouraging and even inviting new members to join in these great realities with
the body of Christ the Church.
THE CHURCH AND
CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT
The manifestation of
the charismatic and popular movement is of great importance in the charismatic
structure of the Church and rather not forgetting that there is no such element
in our Catholic and apostolic Church. Thus we should establish some indication
and principles of recognizing their important role and participation in the Catholic
Church, Christian churches or ecclesial communities.
From the Johnnie
writhing’s, Jn 14: 16, 15:26, 16:13 we find the comprehension of the Holy
Spirit as part of the invisible part of the pneumatic dimension of the church.
The holy Spirit is an eschatological gift in the Church as a helper and one who
reveals and reminds us the teaching of the Son of God, thus we ought to
identify the gift sent by the father to his faithful and recognizing the work
and the activities of the Holy Spirit as it unfolds itself to us through these
charismatic groups in our Church.
From the ancient time
of the ecclesial foundation, we are able of seeing different aspect of the
manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the Church through its hierarchical
structure of both ordained and non-ordained, both visible and invisible in
which, the light of the historical Jesus of Nazareth and to Christ the risen
lord we have to identify the fact that; charismatic movement cannot be treated
as unimportant and peripheral aspect of the life of the Church. It’s only
through the Spirit the Church strength lies in. these means that the church is
inseparable with the Spirit.
Facing these
charismatic groups in a negative opposition and neglect in recognizing their
importance and participation of their work in the Church, leads to their
separation thus forming other sects un which tends to fight the work of the Church
and not helping in contributing to the growth and understanding of the
manifestation of Gods work of salvation.
By having a negative
opposition at the first approach towards the charismatic movements always
brings in the aspect of overlooking the positive nature of the challenge. Thus
any new movement must be confronted with the Gospel of Jesus, what the free Spirit
of God has to reveal to the Church is therefore not new revelation, new
doctrines, new promises which go beyond things that Jesus himself said or even
compliment and add them.
There is a need for
those who are in the charge of the Church to make a good examination and
evaluation of the proper use of the gift of Spirit in the Church since it’s
through the Holy Spirit where the Lord Jesus leads the Church into new truth. It’s
through the Spirit where the works of the apostolic labors are presumptuously
expected.
Those in charge, just
as they have the responsibility of evaluating and discerning which are the good
role of governing the Church, they are also to be alert in guiding and
instructing the new charismatic movement by allowing new good ideas and adopting
the better ideologies in the Church and also them where correcting
where necessary.
*****
THE
CHURCH THAT THE APOSTLES LEFT BEHIND THE DIFFERENT VISION OF THE CHURCH page 28
The New Testament presents diverging vision and emphasis
of the Church yet the Church is a koinonia, putting this in mind we reflect of
what it means to be the Church at the present time in comparing to the
intentions of the founders of the community of the Church by apostles who establishing
its ecclesiastical strictures starting from its leadership and dogmatic
teachings, placed some requirements of those to assume the ecclesiastical
leadership..
The sub-apostolic
period gives us the emphasis in which Titus and Timothy placed the authority as
the important factor by placing the role of presbyter-bishop as of the
important factor. Just like the community has the responsibility of placing
some elders as superior, there is also a dire need of placing the right people;
those who are able to guide and be able take obligation by commending them those
ecclesiastical offices, in which with their aptitude they will be able to administer
well. The Church is the household of God, making it that the presbyters should
be like the fathers taking responsibility of the Church by administering its
goods and providing good example and discipline. This is what we need in the
Church for it to achieve the vision of task of its mission.
By so doing the Church
will avoid racing into the things that can distract the role and responsibility
of them by avoid indignities and corruption in the Church by Church leaders. St
Paul presented the qualities that are to be found in the leader as blameless,
upright, holy, and self-controlled and not lover of money among other important
aspect that are needed quality in once leadership.
Through such potentials,
the Church will be in a position of having impression stability and continuity
of the ecclesiology. We should all strive in aiming achieving and attaining
responsible persons to assume leadership in the Church. These gives a careful
examination by putting into account necessity of right leadership so that we
get a relevant evolution in taking into in consideration on how we should come to
avoids false teaching and that the bishop put full stop to teachers in order to
present introduction of the crisis.
We have the
responsibility of from promoting of effective responsibility leadership and
administration of the Church by being, benevolent, holy and efficient
administrators to avoid the danger of falling into Caiaphas principle John 11:
50. Where we will all get the right intended instituted Church of the apostle
who are the founders, bearing all the qualities that the
apostles and the disciples handed them down to us by the apostolic succession
and the faith that we profess.
Good informed formation
of those to assume the leadership should put these important elements in mind
by conveying relevant information that will form responsible leaders of the Church
without vice that will lead the Church in scandal corruption of the
proclamation of the good news.
****
Africae munus’ is the
extension of ‘Ecclesia in Africa’, which was published after the First Special
Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops which happened recently that gives great
force to the growth of the Church in Africa developing, among other things, the
idea of the Church as Family of God which has been beneficial to the universal
Church. ‘Africae munus’, aims to strengthen this ecclesial energy, to outline a
program for pastoral activity for the coming decades of evangelization in
Africa, underlining the need for reconciliation, justice and peace which is one
of the challenges that face Africa continent.
These give us Discernment for the
fundamental structures of the ecclesial mission on the continent, a mission
which aspires to reconciliation, justice and peace, and has its origin in the
person of Jesus Christ. Listening to Him, Christians are invited to let
themselves be reconciled with God, becoming just in order to build a just
social order in keeping with the logic of the Beatitudes, and committing them
to fraternal service for love of truth and thus avoiding some of issues like
tribal violence’s or interreligious fights that include fighting of religious
activities that are a challenge to security, which is a source of peace.
Attention then turns to the paths towards reconciliation, justice and peace.
These include authentic conversion, the celebration of the Sacrament of
Penance, the spirituality of communion, the inculturation of the Gospel, the
protection of life, migrants, displaced persons, refugees, the good governance
of States, and ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue especially with
traditional religions and Islam.
The Church as Sacrament of union with God and man
must be a place of reconciliation, a gift of God, in order to be an effective
tool of justice and peace for the whole of society. Reconciliation comes from
the mystery of the risen Christ who is present in His church through the Word
of God and the Sacraments, especially those of Penance and the Eucharist.
Through the grace of the Spirit, the Eucharist creates a new brotherhood which
overcomes languages, cultures, ethnicities, divisions, tribalism, racism and
ethnocentrism. In her work of evangelization and education in the Christian
faith, the Church must concentrate on lived catechesis, which leads to profound
conversion and to real commitment to live the Gospel at a personal, family and
social level. The Social Doctrine of the Church is of great help in sustaining
human development especially to the content which is characterized by poverty
and poor living standard of Africans.
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