THE PERFECTION OF THE BRIDE IN COMMUNION


WEDNESDAY, TWENTY SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Gal 2:1-2,7-14; Ps 117; Lk 11:1-4

The Perfection of the Bride in Communion

Paul continues with the story of his Christian journey. The Gospel was revealed to him by a personal encounter with our Lord for three years in Arabia. There was still a need to be in communion with the general body of the Church. The communion of the saints in one Holy Spirit constitutes the Bride of Jesus Christ. By a personal revelation of Jesus Christ to each Christian, he constitutes the head of every Christian and the Spouse of every redeemed soul. But we are saved, not as individuals, but as a communion of saints redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Hence, the Church is the Bride of Christ in a mystical sense. Thus, the Lord directed St. Paul to reunite with the saints and present the Gospel that he revealed to him for authentication by the apostles. “I went there as the result of revelation, and privately I laid before the leading men the Good News as I proclaim it among the pagans; I did so for fear the course I was adopting or had already adopted would not be allowed.” Receiving the Gospel from the Lord privately did not make Paul claim the authenticity of his Gospel. The Lord who revealed the Gospel to him still directed him to authenticate it with the apostles he had appointed to ensure uniformity and authenticity of the Gospel.

We are to copy Paul’s attitude and disposition. He teaches us the importance of communion as the character of the Church. Though the Lord directed him through a revelation, he understood the need to present his Gospel and his manner of preaching it to the apostles. According to him, he eagerly followed the directive given to him by the Lord because of his desire for the purity of the Gospel and unity of the Body of Christ. Every Christian ought to share in this desire and pray for it always. Knowing our weaknesses, we must always be open to correction from those above us and those close to us to safeguard the unity of the Church and the purity of the Gospel. The Church has the Holy Spirit dwelling within her for this purpose, and some have received the charism of hierarchy to ensure order and unity of faith and practice in the Church. This gift for the purity of the Gospel does not reside in one person but in the College of Apostles or bishops. Hence, Paul tells us of his correction of Peter’s behaviour that presented the Gospel in a bad light. “When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, since he was manifestly in the wrong. His custom had been to eat with the pagans, but after certain friends of James arrived, he stopped doing this and kept away from them altogether for fear of the group that insisted on circumcision.” This event illustrates our inherent weakness as individuals, which changes into strength when we come together as the Church of God in Christ.

It follows that the bridal quality of the Church is founded on the individual Christian’s faithfulness to Jesus Christ and his Gospel but finds its fulfilment and maturity in the communion of members of Christ as the Church. Thus, Our Lord teaches us to pray with and in this communal spirit and understanding. “He said to them, ‘Say this when you pray: “Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come; give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.”” The prayer of our Lord carries the sense and spirit of communion, for that is what the Church is as the Bride of Christ. The purity of the Gospel preached by the Church stems from each member’s desire to do the will of the Father revealed by Jesus Christ and be united with him therein. Without this desire, there is no Church and no bride. This desire is the source of the prayer and life of the Church and each of its members. So, the more we gaze on the face of the Lord, the better we conform to the life of Christ, our preaching becomes authentic and our prayer more spiritual.

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, the grace to seek you in truthfulness of heart, that filled with spirit of humility which you taught us in your life as man, we may submit to one another for the good of the communion and the salvation of souls. 

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