Malcolm interviews Joseph Loizzo from the Community of God’s Love in Steubenville. We discuss the way that divisions can arise in community life and how communities need to stay united. Origins The Community of God’s Love grew out of the Charismatic Renewal movement. It originated when the members of a charismatic prayer group wanted something more committed and intentional. Growth was very rapid. Within a decade or so there was more than 375 members. Trouble in Community This rapid growth came with a set of drawbacks. Many of the newcomers may have come in with unrealistic expectations. There was a lot of enthusiasm and zeal, but it wasn’t always very mature. Some of the people charged with leading others within the community were not that experienced. Over time, a certain kind of spiritual pride developed that led to an oppressive atmosphere. It came to be perceived that there was only one way of doing things if one wanted to be “truly holy”. This was very damaging for some of the members. Eventually, some members asked for an intervention by the local bishop. After reviewing the situation, the bishop asked for a number of changes in the governance and structure of the community. At this point, many of the members became disillusioned and left the community altogether. Spiritual Pride This is a common theme in community life. The Gospel tells us “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”; but this can be taken in the wrong way. For one thing, it can lead to an emphasis on one particular style of spiritual life. People can come to think that their way is the only way, and everyone else’s ways are inferior. The external marks or practices of holiness can also become too important in people’s minds. Striving for holiness can end up being reduced to an easily quantifiable, measurable set of characteristics. In combination, these traits lead to a lot of trouble. A competitive spirit can develop that leaves the weaker members behind. The spiritual life becomes all about “measuring up”, “Keeping up with the Jones”, a sort of “merit badge contest”. This can do grave spiritual and emotional damage to the members of community. Those who are full of youthful zeal are perhaps most prone to this kind of mistake. As Joseph put it, these sorts of things are only realized in hindsight. He said that now the community has come to realize that everyone is striving for holiness, but no one will be perfect on this side of the pearly gates! It is also important to realize that the commitment to a community is secondary to the commitments members have made to family or a state in life. Division and Reconciliation Among the members, a division developed over what spirituality the revamped community should adopt. Some of them preferred a more conventional charismatic spirituality, and some preferred a Franciscan spirituality. This caused the community to split, so that by the early 90’s there were two much smaller communities. Over time, however, the leaders of the two communities discerned that it was God’s will for them to be reconciled with one another. Eventually, the two communities merged back into one community that was more tolerant of differences in spirituality. At this point the community adopted the name “Community of God’s Love” to mark their new focus on reconciliation and unity. This is one of the essential aspects of community: we’re all in it together. We’re helping one another along the way to heaven. I’m not always right, and so I need others to challenge me. Community life can be like sandpaper on wood, sanding away the imperfections in each of us. If we expect perfection and uniformity in community, we won’t be able to do this properly. In this way, community should be like the family. None of us chose our family members. That is the great thing about an authentic community; one be