Pope Leo XIV in his recent encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, uses the powerful image of the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem to illustrate the patient work of building a community of love according to God’s plans (MH, 7–14).
He calls this “the way of Nehemiah” after the prophet who inspired the Israelites to carry out this task with God at the forefront. This reminds us that we have received a shared mission, and that salvation is not attained through individual efforts.
Lumen gentium, the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, states that “God, however, does not make men holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather it has pleased Him to bring men together as one people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him in holiness.” (LG, 9)
Fraternal love
The grace of God often acts through human bonds of love and friendship. Jesus was not only a master to His disciples but also a friend (cf. John 15:14–16). His followers formed a new family that shared life among themselves and with Him.
It is also meaningful that Jesus sent His disciples out in pairs to announce the arrival of the Kingdom (cf. Mark 6:7–13, Luke 10:1–12).
Saint Gregory the Great explains: “He sends his disciples out to preach two by two, because the precept of charity is twofold love of God and of one’s neighbour. The Lord sends his disciples out to preach in twos in order to teach us silently that whoever fails in charity towards his neighbour should by no means take upon himself the office of preaching.” (Homiliae in Evangelia)
“The Lord sends his disciples out to preach in twos in order to teach us silently that whoever fails in charity towards his neighbour should by no means take upon himself the office of preaching.”
St Gregory the Great
The disciples were not simply trying to gather as many followers as possible. Through their words and the way they lived, they were inviting people into a new community shaped by love for God and for one another.
An early Christian author reports that pagans would often say, “See how they love one another.” (Tertullian, Apology, 39)
Fraternal love was something new and unique to the Christian faith, something not found in the lavish and well-organised pagan worship in ancient Rome.
The Christian new commandment of love healed human hearts, bound them together, and responded to the longing for communion that each person holds in the innermost part of his being.
Friendship at the heart
Flourishing Christian communities are characterised by friendship and fraternal love. This is true both today and in the time of the early Christians.
St John Paul II warned in his 2001 apostolic letter Novo millennio ineunte (At the beginning of the new millennium) that these friendships should foster an authentic bond or run the risk of becoming “mechanisms without a soul”.
Rather than speaking about the faith as an abstract ideology, authentic friendship enables us to share the Gospel in a natural way, as a message that gives meaning to our lives, communicated through the love we show each other.
Evangelisation also becomes stronger with friendship, because we see it not as a chore, but as an opportunity to respond to the invitation of the Lord to bring His salvation to the ends of the earth. Working alongside others makes the mission itself more enjoyable and strengthens our desire to share the Gospel.
The apostolate of friendship is not limited to parish activities. It also takes place at work, among friends, and within the family.
As St Josemaría Escrivá said: “Those well-timed words, whispered into the ear of your wavering friend; the helpful conversation that you managed to start at the right moment; the ready professional advice that improves his university work; the discreet indiscretion by which you open up unexpected horizons for his zeal. This all forms part of the ‘apostolate of friendship’.” (The Way, 973)
It is through this apostolate of friendship that the Gospel reaches all realms of human life.
Key takeaways
- Catholic faith is not individualistic. We are called to build a community of faith and love.
- Flourishing Christian communities are characterised by friendship and fraternal love.
- Friendship helps us announce the Gospel with authenticity, welcome correction with serenity, and evangelise with passion.
- Through friendship, we can bring the Christian message to all areas of human life.