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[Back to index of April 2007 articles] Communion By The Rev. Simon Bautista Betances Editor's note: This new Spanish language column, Comunión, is printed in the Window in Spanish (online in Spanish here) but is available in English below. Communion! What a name for a Spanish column in our diocesan newspaper! Well, the fact is that from this edition on, the Latinos and Latinas attending the churches in our diocese will have a small space for meditation. This is something that fills me with joy and satisfaction. The primary objective of this column is to offer small reflections to help us to nurture our spiritual lives, to strength our spirit of community and to create awareness that our presence is real in this church that accepts us and open its doors to us. It really feels good to know you are reading something written in your own language specially for you. Why so short? Because “Lo bueno, si breve, dos veces bueno” said Baltasar Gracián, a Spanish writer of the 17th century. I think this is a great project, and it is better to go gradually. With so many different names, why Communion? Let us think a little bit, what does this word suggest us? Gospel, Eucharist, Community, Christianity, Love, Hospitality, Solidarity, Service? The word communion implies all these and much more; it involves each one of us in our relationship with the God that, through Jesus, calls us to become part of the new People of the Lord. One of the primary tasks of the church is to remind us that Christianity means Communion; that we are not cells isolated in any corner of the universe, but that we are unified by “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4, 5-7) Without communion it is very difficult build up the Kingdom of Love of which Jesus speaks in his Gospel. This kingdom presupposes unity among us all. One of the distinctive signs of Christian unity is the communion, and consequently the fulfillment of the great commandment, “to love one another as I have loved you.” I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that each one of the meditations that will follow will accomplish three simple goals: to take us closer to the heart of Jesus, to bring our communities closer together, and to take us closer to the heart of this diocese. The Rev. Simon Bautista Betances, [Back to index of April 2007 articles]
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