Pope Francis: “I need a community”

Pope Francis was drawn to the Jesuits by the order's missionary spirit, discipline and community. in his interview with America Magazine he explained, “I was always looking for a community. I did not see myself as a priest on my own. I need a community.”

I enjoyed hearing Francis speak so openly about his need for human connection, because it is something that is intrinsic to us all.

But what is community? According to Gabe Lyons in his book The Next Christians, community may be defined as “a group of friends united by the same goal.” American author Peter Block says that “we are in community each time we find a place where we belong.”

But is that the whole story?

Pope Francis goes on: “No one is saved alone, as an isolated individual, but God attracts us looking at the complex web of relationships that take place in the human community. God enters into this dynamic, this participation in the web of human relationships.”

Now we’re talking. Community isn’t just a group of people with the same goals and ideas. They are also committed, caring and accountable to each other. They’re intentional and supportive. A genuine community is not only present but vulnerable.

In the creation parable, God doesn’t introduce Eve to Adam in response to sin, but as part of the original design for His people before sin came into the picture. Companionship, friendship and marriage are all good things. They are a taste of what Eden was like before the serpent.

Modern society is no different when it comes to what we naturally crave. We want to love and be loved, but not in a way that’s casual and non-committal. We want real, deep, self-sacrificing connection, but I think we’re afraid to admit the intensity of our longings. In television comedies like New Girl, How I Met Your Mother and Friends, we witness people who deeply long to be part of a group, yet their behaviour is exclusive and obsessively repetitive.

Experts are calling these groups “urban tribes.” Dr. Meg Jay, author of The Defining Decade, tells Psychology Today that groups are overrated. The point of a community isn’t just to re-charge our batteries with like-minded people, but to encourage each other in our daily lives, wherever our vocation or job takes us. Without the latter, the former doesn’t encourage, but instead pacifies.

The Church provides this place for us. It isn’t just a building, it’s a space for dialogue and acceptance. It strikes a balance between challenging and supporting its people. It’s a place where people of all generations, careers, experiences, mentalities, socio-economic statuses and abilities gather to be fed.

But it’s not an exclusive club, it’s an open invitation to taste and see.