There is One Body

I recently returned from a weekend spent in the vicinity of our nation's capitol. I am amazed at the Catholic presence there. My stay was graciously hosted by a devout group of young believers—local college students, for the most part—who live such beautiful lives of piety, community, and affection that no one remains a visitor for long. After about three hours in their company, I felt like I was part of the family. I was not the only traveler to join them. Though united in their summer ministry projects, the group has members from distant places like California, Ohio, and Georgia. We all congregated in the DC area for a time of spiritual reflection, formation, outreach, and fellowship. It ended a few days later with the March for Life—where tens of thousands of believers annually rally for an end of the Culture of Death and the preservation of pre-born life. It was a transforming experience for me.

Since then I have been reflecting on the nature of Catholicism's “catholicity.” We are one Church. But within this mystical body of Christ there is much variety. I have been pondering the sibling rivalry between the Dominicans and the Franciscans and, to a lesser degree, between and among the Carmelites, Benedictines, Jesuits and others. Even those who are not formally tied to one of these groups will often feel a loyalty or attraction to them. People talk of their “Franciscan spirituality” or their “Dominican nature.” How, then, is this striation different from the denominational camps of the Protestants?

The answer is two-fold.

First, the rivalry among the various Catholics is not at all schismatic. It is jovial. We have the common denominator of the catechism to keep us united under the banner of the Church. We do not have different theologies but share one deposit of faith. As much as one individual might think his particular approach to this theology "superior," he still feels the common bonds of brotherhood and recognizes that his path is superior only for himself and that others' paths are equally valid (so long as they conform to the fullness of truth).

The banter within the Catholic Church is always secondary to its unity. Variation here is, after all, merely social in nature and not theological. The differing approaches are seen as complementary to one another and of equal utility. The Dominicans, for instance, will visit the Franciscans on their feasts days and vice versa. They see each other as expressing the same eternal truths, mediated through different charisms.

It is rare to find a Protestant denomination (at least among the ones I have belonged to in the past) which would be so charitable to another group's expression of faith. Of course this situation is problematized by the warring theologies of the Protestant camps. But even among those whose theologies are similar (if not identicial) but whose social application varies, we rarely find a spirit of unity.

Protestants do have their bible to unite them and the distilled catechism of the Nicaean Creed, but there is a tendency among their ranks to think in terms of pragmatism. What, many of them ask, is the best and proper way to live out their theology? This assumption (which is not necessarily a component of all Protestant groups) that there is one tried-and-true way to live the gospel, universally applicable to all personality types, can lead to a lack of charity and ultimately to schizm and fracture.

One beauty of the Catholic Church is its embracing of difference. Not only do we have varying religious communities, we also have multiple rites with staggeringly different practices. Consider the differences in ritual and custom between the East and the West within the Church. In the Byzantine Rite, for instance, we find married priests. One does not have to look long to find the differences between local customs within the Catholic fold. We are a variegated people but we are one Church.

But how is it that we are united despite this variety? The answer, of course, is the Eucharist.

Believing as we do in the transubstantiated host, we profess that Christ is indeed with us. His holy sacrifice reverberates in every mass in every country in every age. It is indeed one Eucharist for it is one Lord and Savior. We are united in our common reception of God's beautiful and humbling sacrifice. We are Catholic because we consume together the very body and blood of the Incarnate Word. In the blinding light of this sacrifice, all private opinions and group norms/practices are eclipsed by the grace and the mystery of holy communion. We're united because in that spiritual feast we are no longer imitators of Francis or Dominic but are (first, foremost, and only) the children of God, receiving the grace of Christ's gift (communion) because we have received the gift of his grace (salvation).

There is variety in the human creature. We are social by nature and it is our natural proclivity to form bonds with like-minded people. We are made this way and it has great value. The fullness of human expression is never found in one of us mere mortals but is only ever recognized in the full spectrum of humanity. So it is good that we have variety of expression within our Church (while adhering, of course, to official teaching). Those of a Dominican disposition have their space and those of a Franciscan nature have theirs. All live in love under the wide banner of the Church and its one theology. We may differ in our social and philosophical approaches to ontological reality of religious truth, but when we partake in those holy mysteries we have the opportunity to be transformed by receiving Christ within us. I think we have that sense of union because the grace of God transcends the spectrum of humanity. We are one Church because He is one vine. Though the branches may look different, they sway under the same breath of God.