If for every person his or her "self" is called to be fulfilled in his or her openness to others (cf. GS 24)This happens more fully in the Christian who allows himself to be entirely shaped by God, so that his "to be Church" is becoming "living image of the Church".
Now, this passage from being to manifesting itself, this linking of the vocation The reality of his life "in" the Church must existentially permeate the Christian's interiority: it must enlighten his intelligence, strengthen his will, inflame his heart and enliven his entire action in the world, endowing him with the very freedom of the children of God.
All this can be summarized as follows the Christian is also called to feel with the Church. That is, to love the Church truly and with all the consequences.
This phrase, which appears in the title of our book, is not intended to indicate, therefore, only an opinion in favor of the doctrines of the Church or a mere disposition to participate in its rites or to comply with its moral norms, nor a more or less passing adherence to the persons who officially represent it (mainly the pope and the bishops); but a living, knowing and understanding of the Church that is the fruit of prayer and reflection, of dialogue and of daily correspondence to the grace that has made us Christians through the baptism.
"Feeling with the Church. In the heart of Christians". It can be purchased online at various bookstores and sales platforms.
How can this be achieved? By means of prayer, listening and docility to the divine Spirit, sacramental life, sufficient knowledge of the Church, coherence between works and words, in the midst of the normal and ordinary tasks of life: family and social occupations, work and rest, up to to turn one's whole life into a living icon, through which God acts and through which the Church, in many different ways, carries out her mission..
In this way, the Christian can support the work of the Holy SpiritThe faith is "made" into culture and is manifested in works of charity and justice, evangelization and human promotion, attention to the most fragile and care for the Earth for the good of all.
With this book we wish to help personal prayer and contribute to the knowledge of the Church.The Church, seen both in herself and in us, Christians. Also so that the consideration of our being, living and feeling with the Church illuminates and drives our evangelizing mission.
"The Church is the 'we' of faith and Christian life. As the Pope FrancisIn spite of the miseries and sins of mankind, it is the Church that draws us closer to Christ and calls us to be part of his family. She is mother and home, a house with open doors and the seed of universal brotherhood (cf. encyclical Fratelli tutti). That is why feeling with the Church, praying for her and also caring for her, is something so proper to Christians."
Professor Pellitero has divided the publication into two parts: "The first part presents the Church as the 'we' of the Christian faith through the different images or perspectives preferred by the Christian tradition. The second shows not so much the place that the Christian occupies in the Church but the place that the Church occupies in Christian life and, therefore, in the spiritual and interior life of Christians".
Ramiro Pellitero is a priest and professor of theology. His interests include questions about the Church, the vocation and mission of the lay faithful and education. On these topics he has published books such as Laicos en la nueva evangelización (Madrid 2013); Acompañar a las familias (Guadalajara, Mexico, 2017); Eclesiología (Pamplona 2017); Teología de la Misión (Pamplona 2018); Renovar la educación de la fe: claves del Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica (Pamplona 2019). And he has directed and coordinated others such as La transmisión de la fe en la sociedad contemporánea (Pamplona 2008); La Iglesia como familia de Dios (Madrid 2010); Creer en el amor: redescubrir la encíclica 'Lumen fidei' (Barcelona 2018).
Living, knowing and understanding the Church
Mr. Ramiro Pellitero Iglesias
Professor of Pastoral Theology
Faculty of Theology
University of Navarra
Published in "Church and new evangelization".
