A Realized Fellowship

A Family Saying Grace before a Meal | Anthuenis Claeissens (c.1536–1613)

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The emphasis on fellowship in the Personal Ordinariates is a gift of English Benedictine monastics who, through the centuries, gave strong witness to Gospel hospitality, to welcoming the stranger, to fostering a culture of hospitality in parochial life. That spiritual legacy was retained in Anglicanism and has passed into the culture of Ordinariate communities. A lived fellowship is a vital element in the Ordinariate charism.

We exist to worship God in the triune majesty of the Blessed Trinity, drawing all men and women into deepest communion with him through his Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and in the power and fellowship of the Holy Spirit. | Saint John Henry Newman, Victoria, BC

Fellowship In Christ

In the Ordinariate, the fellowship gathering after Mass, for example, is an extension and embodiment of our communion with Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This time of fellowship is an opportunity to exercise our capacity for listening and receiving wisdom born of our immersion in Christ in the Mass that is shared among fellow congregants. We are formed for witness. Fellowship is a bridge between the Mass and our daily lives. This fellowship manifests the charity and hospitality that every Christian is called by God to embody for the communion and care of souls.

The Mass of the Ordinariate, i.e., Divine Worship, exemplifies and magnifies the fellowship for which Ordinariate communities are known. The construction of prayers, for example, highlights the reality of communion in Christ. Worshippers are gathered together in self-surrender to Jesus Present to us in the Mass.

We do not presume to come to this Thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in Thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Thy Table. But Thou art the same Lord Whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink His Blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by His Body, and our souls washed through His most precious Blood, and that we may evermore dwell in Him, and He in us. Amen.

The architecture and content of such prayers orients the heart toward authentic fellowship in the Lord. Unlike many public prayers we hear these days, e.g., a certain opening prayer given by a Chicago prelate at a recent political congress comes to mind, there is no attempt to lecture the worshipper nor God.

Jesus is present to us in the Mass in several ways:

1. in the person of the priest celebrating Mass, the celebrant who acts in persona christi.
2. in the congregation gathered in the Name of Jesus.
3. in the word of God, Holy Scripture.
4. in the Holy Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.
5. in the other sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, Penance, and Anointing.

In addition to being mentored with prayers articulating His glory, mercy and goodness, knowing that Jesus offers Himself to us, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Holy Eucharist, we receive Him, the Eucharist. Where two or three are gathered in Jesus' Name, Jesus is among us (St Matthew 18:19-20). 

We who share in the profound encounter of Christ in our midst, in the Mass, are graced with additional opportunities to discover how Christ is present to us by His presence in and through others and in the circumstances of life. For those of us who receive the Lord, Christ is alive in us; we bear Christ in us. As bearers of Christ, we are mindful of Christ in others, and we are mindful of witnessing Christ to one another. We reveal Christ to others who yearn for truth, goodness, beauty, healing and completion.

Oriented To Christ

Fellowship after Sunday Mass is the beginning of our weekly mission to bear the Gospel to others beyond the walls of the Church. Fellowship is a mini school of formation out of which emerges disciples who are formed to love and serve, to speak truth, to show forth goodness and to invite others into the Way, as Christianity was first known among the early followers of Christ in the Catholic Church.

Fellowship, within the context of Catholic teaching, is deeply rooted in the concept of communion, which is a fundamental aspect of the Church's identity and mission. This Christ-gifted communion is not merely a social gathering but a gathering of people united by a profound spiritual bond wherein believers are present to God and to one another. Fellowship is manifested through love, unity, and active involvement between the faithful.

Nature of Fellowship: Fellowship is described as a gift of the Holy Spirit, fostering a sense of unity among believers. It is characterized by mutual love and support, reflecting the divine communion shared among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This unity is essential for the Church, as it embodies the grace that God bestows upon the faithful, making them participants in His eternal life 1,2.

Communal Aspect: The Church is seen as a sign of brotherhood, where diversity among its members is embraced and celebrated. This diversity should lead to a richer fellowship, allowing for honest dialogue and mutual respect. The bonds that unite the faithful are stronger than any divisions, emphasizing the importance of charity and unity in the Christian community 3,4.

Call to Action: The teachings encourage believers to actively cultivate relationships of fraternity and cooperation, avoiding divisions and fostering an inclusive environment. This call to fellowship is not limited to those within the Church but extends to all of humanity, reflecting the universal character of God's love 5,6.

Eucharistic Foundation: Fellowship is nourished through the Eucharist, which unites believers with Christ and with one another. This sacramental communion anticipates the ultimate unity in the future world, reinforcing the idea that true fellowship is both a present reality and a future hope 1.

References

1. General Audience of 29 March 2006. The gift of "communion"
2. Ut Unum Sint 9
3. Gaudium et Spes 92
4. Fraternal Life in Community 11
5. Apostolic Journey to Hungary: Holy Mass in Kossuth Lajos' Square (30 April 2023)
6. To participants in the General Chapter of the Order of Friars Minor (26 May 2015)

Hospitality for those of us who worship in Ordinariate communities is a devotion to be practiced daily. Hospitality and fellowship are hinges on the door that opens to Christ.

An examination of conscience, conducted in deference to the Lord's will for us and dependent upon His grace, provides us with the humility to be able to recognize our own need for the mercy, hospitality and fellowship of the Lord. We can only extend to others the Lord's fellowship if we, ourselves, are grafted to the vine of divine hospitality Himself - the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus says to us,

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. This I command you, to love one another.

St John 15: 1-17

Those in solidarity with Christ and His Church are leaven in the world. Pope Saint John Paul II called his nation of origin and the world to solidarity with the Lord Jesus Christ. That solidarity among believers brought down the Soviet Union and the immense evil it embodied.

As America and Canada, and for that matter most of the nations of the western hemisphere, do battle with Nero Redivivus (Biden/Harris/Trudeau liberalism and the culture of death), we would do well to remember the call to solidarity with the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him is the wisdom and fortitude to do battle with evil ideologies and those who give host to monstrous policies. In Him is the peace and determination to withstand and overcome evil, and - most importantly - to lead others to Jesus and the salvation He promises to those who love Him by keeping His commandments.