The New Wine Press vol 25 no 3 November 2016 | Page 9

with whom we enter communion. We do community
together but we have to work at it.
The model of community that has guided my
journey as a Missionary of the Precious Blood is what
Jesus did in the company of his friends on that night
before he died. On the night when he knew the fabric
of the community he wove was unraveling because of
betrayal, denial, greed, ambition and fear, Jesus took
the bread and the cup, identified himself with these
elements of the earth—wheat, bread, grapes, wine—
and said, “Do this in memory of me.” Do this—do
this thing called community, communion, until he
comes again in glory.
But what exactly do we do? In the sharing of our
stories, our truth spills out in our circles of trust. We
tell of our wonders and our wounds—as four of our
members did when we gathered in Leavenworth in
late August to continue this process of honing our
skills of living community. There the members shared
stories of how they have been wounded in community. If we are to move forward into the future, we must
address these wounds. We must tell the truth. But
most importantly, we must listen for the truth of the
other’s words and story. In listening to our brother,
we might be bothered—I hope we are bothered—as
we touch that tender spot within where we missed a
sacred connection with our brother or sister.
In listening to the four members share their
wounds at that gathering in Leavenworth, I was reminded of something Killian Noe wrote in her book,
Frs. Jim Uecker and Dave Matz at Marillac ii

Celebrating Mass at Marillac ii

Descent into Love. “Sometimes we are astonished
when we learn that although we did not actually ‘do’
anything for a certain individual, our simply being
present or showing up allowed something to shift in
his or her inner landscape that made space for deeper
healing,” she writes. “Sometimes we discover that
in simply being present to another’s pain we experience the Divine in them that awakens the Divine in
ourselves.”
I have experienced this shift in our community life
the past few months although we still have a long way
to go. But when this shift occurs, when we trust each
other enough to go deeper into the mystery of our
relationship, we strengthen the bonds of love that are
at the core of our life together.
During this coming year, the worldwide
Congregation of Missionaries of the Most Precious
Blood will focus our attention on what it means to
live an authentic community life as people immersed
in the spirituality of the blood of Christ. The dialogue, conversation, storytelling and truth-telling
among all those connected to our congregation—
incorporated members, Companions, candidates
in formation, volunteers—will culminate with the
Community Life Symposium July 23-28, 2017 in
Rome with representatives from every geographical
region where Precious Blood missionaries serve.
Community is like the old shoe slogan, “Just do it.”
It’s hard work but when we do it, even if we don’t do it
as well as we would like, we build trust, gather strength,
deepen relationship, and stir the spirit of communion
that brings the reign of God a little closer. W
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