Claretian Seminar

LEARNING COMMUNICATION

TO GROW IN COMMUNION

The road to communion

“We tell you what we have seen and heard, that you may be in fellowship with us, and us, with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. We write this that our joy may be complete.” (1 Jn

1:3-4)

What we have seen and

heard

We tell you

That you may be in

FELLOWSHIP with us

And us with the Father and his Son Jesus

Christ

1

4 2

3

+

1What we have

seen and heard

=Our experience of

the Word of Life

What we have “touched” with our hands

2We tell you

=We communicate our

personal experience to others

We do not hide the light

but we show it

3That you may

be in FELLOWSHIP

(Koinonia) with us=

The communication of faith produces

communion

Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est

4And us with

the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ

=Communion unites one another and with God

The fruit of COMMUNION is JOY

How can we learn to

COMMUNICATE “what we have

seen and heard” in order

to live COMUNNION?

The attitudes for dialogue

1. Unconditional acceptance2. Authenticity

3. Empathy

1. Unconditional acceptance

All human beings are humanly acceptable, although they are not

ethically irreproachable

2. Authenticity

I must be the person that I am, not the character or

the role that I play

3. Empathy

It is not a matter of sympathy but rather of

placing myself in others’ place to see things just as

they see them

0 1 2 3 4 5

Silence Courtesy

Information

Opinion Feelings Communion

The thermometer of communication

NOTICE

EVALUATECOMMUNICA

TE

How to deal with feelings?

NOTICE

Learning to “give name” to our own feelings

I’m OK. Are you

OK?

EVALUATE

It is not a matter of saying whether they are “good” or

“bad” (feelings are not judged) .

To evaluate means to inquire whether a feeling:

+Helps me grow as a

human being

-Destroys my self-esteem and my security

?

COMMUNICATE

To communicate means to share our feelings with

other people

When I communicate my NEGATIVE feelings, they

lose their destructive power

When I communicate my POSITIVE feelings, they are reinforced instead

Are we willing to improve our COMMUNICATIO

N in order to grow in

COMMUNION?

This is one the most urgent challenges to

COMMUNITY LIFE today