Being One April 2015

Being One is an international magazine of spirituality and ministry for diocesan priests, deacons and seminarians. Each issue covers some aspect of the Church’s life and its implications for ministers and those aspiring to ministry. It is also available online at: www.beingonemagazine.com

It is widely accepted that the main purpose of the Second Vatican Council was to allow the Church a period of self-reflection. Already in the decades leading up to Vatican II, the Church had begun to return to her patristic, biblical and liturgical roots, after centuries of being viewed predominantly as a juridical institution, entering a period of ecclesiological renewal which culminated in the Second Vatican Council when a complete review of the Church was undertaken. However, the paradox of ecclesial life lies: the more that the Christian community goes deeper into becoming its true self, that is, immersed in God, the more it can then reach out; and the more is reaches out evangelically, the more it discovers that intimacy within itself which comes from reliving the pro-existence of Christ.