From both the cases of the unity achieved in the family and that in the Church as well as from the lessons learnt from the Word of God, we see that sacrifice is what precedes communion so much so that there can be no communion worth its name without some sort of sacrifice. In the Eucharist it is done through the representation of the sacrifice of Christ effected once and for all on the Cross to which the celebrant and the faithful bring their own share of personal sacrifices. We offer ourselves with all our afflictions, weaknesses, miseries, sufferings etc.to the sacrifice of Christ in the Eucharist whereby we are called to receive his body and blood sacramentally. Instead of this, we may have a tendency to be satisfied with the symbolic offerings of money and materials we make as standing for ourselves leaving our own selves intact and unchanged forever! In a family there are plenty of occasions for sacrifices and the end-result of which will be true communion among the family members. However, in order to achieve communion in its proper spirit, joint efforts are required both in the family and in the Church. In the family there should be specific times for joint action that will foster the desired communion among the family members. Examples are common family prayer, common family meal, celebration of birthdays and anniversaries, common celebration of the Sunday Liturgy in the Church etc. These activities create bonds that cannot easily be broken. Through them the members of the family imbibe values and attitudes, which are expected to be practiced both at home and in society. Home is a mini Church for every Christian where the parents should preside over the affairs of each and every family member.
The case is similar with the Church where all the Christian families come together.Here the relationship is spiritual and supernatural that is in fact stronger than the physical and the natural relationship within the family, unless the latter too is raised to a spiritual and supernatural one. In the Church too joint actions and attitudes are necessary to build up bonds arising out of our communion with God Himself. If we were to follow these principles of life, our life here on earth will already be a foretaste of heaven that is to follow after our death. It is also true that we are free to create our own hell and remain in it forever unless we say to ourselves, "I will get up and go to my Father" (Luke, 15: 18). The Bombay Archdiocesan Synod of 2001 had brought out its final document titled: "The Mumbai Church: Home and School of Communion". This is exactly what we are standing for, i.e., communion in the family, between families and among men and women in the larger society resulting in the liberation and glorification of the entire universe. While talking about families we cannot ignore ground realities that contribute to division in the family due to various reasons. Usually, the concept of a 'broken family' brings to our mind the break up between a husband and wife leading to divorce and acrimonious fight for the custody of children besides disputes in dividing their possessions. However, it need not be restricted to such cases as we may extend the concept to any division in the family between parents and children, between the siblings, between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law etc. What should we see as the underlying reasons for such conflicts and divisions in the family? There are mainly two reasons for such unfortunate situations in families plunging everyone involved into untold misery and unhappiness. The first underlying reason for conflicts and divisions in the family, and by extension anywhere else, is our refusal to deny our egos, the denial of which is but essential for our real growth and happiness. The second underlying reason for the same is our inordinate attachment to possessions that tend to become our masters instead of being mere means for the development of life in this world. We shall try to see below how these two obstacles sap the energy of our life and lead us into misery and unhappiness.
The difficulty in recognizing the enemy, Ego the villain, is bound up with the very concept of 'Ego'. Because the concept of 'Ego' has two senses in which we normally understand it, one psychological and the other spiritual, it can play truant when it comes to identifying the villain in our life. The psychological Ego is the foundation of our self-identity and cannot be and should not be denied for the sake of even our spiritual life. On the other hand the spiritual Ego is the one to be contained, restrained and ultimately to be denied in order to achieve true life that is fulfilling. The confusion between the two creates unnecessary doubts and difficulties in our spiritual life. While the psychological Ego is always with us and is neutral with regard to the development of our life, the spiritual Ego is superimposed by us and determines the course our life takes. If it develops in accordance with the spiritual principles of attaining life, we are on the way to our own true fulfillment and if not, our life is on the way to destruction and death. Thus, the Ego becomes the villain in so far as it leads us to self-destruction and death. The spiritual Ego may be understood as having the capacity to develop our higher self or slip into the abyss of the unknown created by our own lower self. When Jesus asked us to deny our own self in order to follow him (See Mark, 8: 34), he meant us to deny the lower self consisting of blatant self-interest, enveloped by all sorts of vices, leading us to be spiritually blind, though with full eyesight physically (See John,9: 39). When we are not able to look beyond ourselves, what we see about the world and the other people are totally determined by our self-interest that distorts reality. There can be no solution to any dispute when reality is distorted beyond recognition of its true nature. This is what happens in all disputes and conflicts including in our own family life. The solution to this dilemma is to deny our lower self and promote our higher self consisting of generosity, goodwill and communion leading to the flowering of our personality. When we are ruled by an humble attitude, true dialogue emerges dissolving all our problems. Let us not forget tat EGO is Edging God Out from our life! (To be Cont'd).
The case is similar with the Church where all the Christian families come together.Here the relationship is spiritual and supernatural that is in fact stronger than the physical and the natural relationship within the family, unless the latter too is raised to a spiritual and supernatural one. In the Church too joint actions and attitudes are necessary to build up bonds arising out of our communion with God Himself. If we were to follow these principles of life, our life here on earth will already be a foretaste of heaven that is to follow after our death. It is also true that we are free to create our own hell and remain in it forever unless we say to ourselves, "I will get up and go to my Father" (Luke, 15: 18). The Bombay Archdiocesan Synod of 2001 had brought out its final document titled: "The Mumbai Church: Home and School of Communion". This is exactly what we are standing for, i.e., communion in the family, between families and among men and women in the larger society resulting in the liberation and glorification of the entire universe. While talking about families we cannot ignore ground realities that contribute to division in the family due to various reasons. Usually, the concept of a 'broken family' brings to our mind the break up between a husband and wife leading to divorce and acrimonious fight for the custody of children besides disputes in dividing their possessions. However, it need not be restricted to such cases as we may extend the concept to any division in the family between parents and children, between the siblings, between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law etc. What should we see as the underlying reasons for such conflicts and divisions in the family? There are mainly two reasons for such unfortunate situations in families plunging everyone involved into untold misery and unhappiness. The first underlying reason for conflicts and divisions in the family, and by extension anywhere else, is our refusal to deny our egos, the denial of which is but essential for our real growth and happiness. The second underlying reason for the same is our inordinate attachment to possessions that tend to become our masters instead of being mere means for the development of life in this world. We shall try to see below how these two obstacles sap the energy of our life and lead us into misery and unhappiness.
The difficulty in recognizing the enemy, Ego the villain, is bound up with the very concept of 'Ego'. Because the concept of 'Ego' has two senses in which we normally understand it, one psychological and the other spiritual, it can play truant when it comes to identifying the villain in our life. The psychological Ego is the foundation of our self-identity and cannot be and should not be denied for the sake of even our spiritual life. On the other hand the spiritual Ego is the one to be contained, restrained and ultimately to be denied in order to achieve true life that is fulfilling. The confusion between the two creates unnecessary doubts and difficulties in our spiritual life. While the psychological Ego is always with us and is neutral with regard to the development of our life, the spiritual Ego is superimposed by us and determines the course our life takes. If it develops in accordance with the spiritual principles of attaining life, we are on the way to our own true fulfillment and if not, our life is on the way to destruction and death. Thus, the Ego becomes the villain in so far as it leads us to self-destruction and death. The spiritual Ego may be understood as having the capacity to develop our higher self or slip into the abyss of the unknown created by our own lower self. When Jesus asked us to deny our own self in order to follow him (See Mark, 8: 34), he meant us to deny the lower self consisting of blatant self-interest, enveloped by all sorts of vices, leading us to be spiritually blind, though with full eyesight physically (See John,9: 39). When we are not able to look beyond ourselves, what we see about the world and the other people are totally determined by our self-interest that distorts reality. There can be no solution to any dispute when reality is distorted beyond recognition of its true nature. This is what happens in all disputes and conflicts including in our own family life. The solution to this dilemma is to deny our lower self and promote our higher self consisting of generosity, goodwill and communion leading to the flowering of our personality. When we are ruled by an humble attitude, true dialogue emerges dissolving all our problems. Let us not forget tat EGO is Edging God Out from our life! (To be Cont'd).
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