In the final novel written by Leo Tolstoy – entitled “Resurrection” – there is a striking description of one of the central characters.
“In Nekhlyudov, as in all of us, there were two men.
One was the spiritual being, seeking for himself only the kind of happiness that meant happiness for other people too; but there was also the animal man out only for his own happiness, at the expense, if need be, of the good of the rest of the world.”
Perhaps surprisingly, that brief illustration of Nekhlyudov is very helpful in underscoring one of the greatest aspects of living our lives within a faith community.
Active participation in our local parish is meant to assist us in pursuing the first kind of life, and hamper our less elevated inclination towards the second kind of life.
In a true community, insofar as one of us falls, we all fall.
Insofar as one of us grows in virtue, we all grow.
It is a noteworthy characteristic of the history of the church that saints seem to emerge, not as completely isolated monads, but in pairs or groups.
St Perpetua and St Felicity.
Pope St Leo IX and Pope St Gregory VII.
St Dominic and St Francis of Assisi.
St Ignatius of Loyola, St Francis Xavier, St Peter Faber.
St Louis Martin, St Zelie Martin and St Therese of Lisieux.
It is a regular feature of the church throughout time that, when a group of men or women share a common desire to live a Christ-centred life, their joy in Jesus diffuses and becomes a source of joy and inspiration for those around them.
In this way, lives of true faith are exemplary of the scholastic maxim ‘bonum est diffusivum sui’ – goodness, by its very nature, diffuses itself into that which surround it.
The family has long been described by a succession of popes as the ‘Domestic Church’, and the local parish has long been viewed as the ‘hub’ around which our days and weeks should revolve.
Of course, in some instances, that description may not necessarily describe presently existing reality so much as an ideal for which we continue to strive.
Yet in the coming years, ahead of the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028, a series of programs to help us rekindle the vibrancy of our parishes and families as crucibles of faith will be launched.
After all, St Thomas Aquinas established that ‘it is better to enlighten than merely to shine’ (ST II II, q188, a6, co.), so a group of people who are dedicated to spreading the light to others will of course also diffuse that light to one another as they work, pray and worship together.
Each family and parish community should, hopefully, be a font of living water diffusing the joy that is life in Christ into the world around them by whatever means providence might supply.
Each time we gather together as a family or parish to pray, to adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, to participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass, or to exercise the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, we are strengthening one another in our shared faith and – hopefully – growing in charity.
By doing these things repeatedly, regularly, as normal expressions of our Christian lives, we serve as exemplars of the reality that true happiness is to be found in living the first kind of life of which Tolstoy spoke, and not the second.
True happiness is not a zero-sum game; those things that give passing pleasure at the expense of others constitute a good neither for the person undertaking them nor for the people harmed by them.
True happiness is marked by its diffusion to others, by an increasing circle of joy; by the groups of saints who spring up from time to time, each mutually re-enforcing the virtuous aspirations of the others.
Insofar as our efforts in the lead-up to the IEC in 2028 serve to grow and strengthen that mutually-reinforcing bond, our time will be well spent and our work worthwhile.
If you would like more information on the Eucharistic Congress in 2028, or to be added to the mailing list for updates, please email: iec2028@sydneycatholic.org
