CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITY

"A Christian community is a flesh and blood commitment to definite group of people; a commitment which is expressed in frequent contact, common service and multiple acts of love"
(Ralph Martin - "Hungry for God")

The Parish is not merely a number of families or the provision of services.  It is the community of Christ's Body.  It is a spiritual reality; a bond of loyality; a shared committement.  The life of the parish is nothing other than the life of Jesus Christ.
(Mark Fischer "Today's Parish" April/May 1997)

"In the organism of a living body no member plays a purely passive part.   Sharing in the life of the body, it shares at the same time in its activity.   The same is true for the Body of Christ, the Church.  Between the members of the body there exists such a unity and solidarity that a member who does not work at the growth of the body, to the full extent of his (or her) possibilities, must be considered useless, both to the church and to him (or her) self"
Vatican II (Apostolate of the Laity)