The Diakonia of Liturgy: Diakonia as Philanthropia

Abstract

The human person is seen as created in the image of God and called to grow into that likeness. Our model for being is the Tribune God- a community of persons in shared love. As Christians, we grow into God’s likeness through our relationship with Christ and our incorporation in the mystical Body of Christ. Therefore, as mark McIntosh, a theologian known for his work on mystical theology, says “becoming who one most truly is takes place by means of relationships, by means of love for the other- both divine and human.” Our participation in the community is how and where we learn about ourselves, where we cease to be individuals and become persons in relation to others. It is through these relationships that we have the opportunity to know God not only in a cognitive sense, but also through an encounter with God is obtained by the “paths of charity and love.”