Community — the word used to leave a bitter aftertaste on my tongue. I’ve wrestled with this word. Growing up, my parents belonged to an ecumenical Charismatic Christian community. Those years brought many blessings into my life and many people whom I treasure still today. But light shed from a distance highlights some problematic levels of leadership and teachings that made the word “community” one that I adamantly avoided using.

And yet, I also know that we were not made to walk this life alone. As much as I want to think, “I can do this by myself,” I know I can’t. What’s more, I know I am not called to live life on my own. St. John Chrysostom said, “We cannot do good without others, nor can we receive good without others. God gives us gifts, not to keep to ourselves, but to share in community.”

Over the past few years, God has gently invited me on a journey with others that has redeemed and restored the word community in my heart. He is showing me how He can grow our gifts, and our faith in and through others. Maybe most importantly, He has opened my eyes to the foundation of authentic community: the Eucharist.

“The Eucharist makes the Church. Because the Eucharist is the Body of Christ, the Church is built up as a communion of life and love.” (CCC 946).

One way the idea of community has been renewed in my life is through the Catholic writing community, PraiseWriters. A few years ago, when an online friend, Heather, shared about walking her husband through brain cancer, brain surgeries, and their aftermaths, she would occasionally mention her Catholic writing community, PraiseWriters. I was intrigued.

My life, at the time, was quickly transitioning from homeschool mom to the midlife question: “What now?” As I felt the nudge to start writing again after a very fallow season, I began reading up on this PraiseWriters group and felt compelled to join.

For the first year, I stayed quiet. I was a lurker, one might say. Watching the replays of the Wednesday interviews fed my mind, but I remained distant and unwilling to connect with the group any deeper. And then gradually my heart opened. I began attending the weekly live interviews, turning my camera on, and (shockingly) unmuting myself to share an insight or ask a question from time to time. Then, in late 2024, came the opportunity to participate in a collaborative PraiseWriters’ book about the saints, Cloud of Witnesses.

My husband was in the hospital when I received the invitation to write a chapter. I wasn’t sure I’d have the bandwidth, but I knew immediately what saint I would write about if I did participate. A few days later, after he was discharged, I found myself sitting on the edge of a hotel bed in Steubenville, OH. I clicked open an email reminding me that the decision date for Cloud of Witnesses was looming. I closed my eyes, uttered a silent prayer, and then typed my reply—“yes”.

With a 3-month timeframe for this book project, a sense of camaraderie grew quickly among the authors. There was a shared energy that reignited that creative spark God placed in our lives.

I’ve been blessed to make deep friendships within the PraiseWriters’ community and even enjoy meeting regularly with some of my sister writers outside of our PraiseWriter events.

Being surrounded by Catholics who understand their writing not just as a creative outlet, but as a calling that God has placed on their lives is a true gift. It has furthered my understanding that community built on a foundation of our shared Catholic faith strengthens all that we do.

Recently, there was a bit of a dust-up online about the word “community.” As creatives change with the digital times, we are seeing many paid memberships offered, and many of them use the word “community” in their names. Some take issue with the use of that word and claim that community can only take shape in person. Others point to past days when relationships were forged through letter writing and thus think that online community is possible.

It’s an intriguing thought to ponder in today's constantly connected world. Can the online space truly cultivate authentic relationships? Do we need to be shoulder to shoulder with others to cultivate community? The answer to those questions may look different for each of us and in different seasons of life.

Yes, we may all need to develop in-person relationships when possible. But the online world is here to stay and it can be a source of building community with those we'd never encounter in our local in-person world. So I will continue cultivating the “community” experiences, both online and in person, that the Lord has invited me into. These communities, in addition to my Catholic writing group include: a SoulCore community that gathers in the School of Mary, a Well Read Moms group that comes together over the true, good and beautiful in literature, a Catholic hormone coaching group and a new Catholic adoption and foster care support group I am beginning to explore. As the Lord continues to restore and redeem that word “community” in my life, and as he is cultivating such a wide-range of Catholic community in this new phase of my life, I give thanks.

Mother Teresa said, “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” Help us, Lord, to cultivate the community you know will draw us closer to you and to your Church so that together we can do great things for your glory.

If you’re looking for a Catholic community of writers and creatives to encourage you in your calling, men and women alike, check out PraiseWriters. There is room for you around the table.

Shauna Occhipinti writes to bear witness to God’s grace. She lives with her husband and twin sons in Martinez, GA. She is a contributing author to the Cloud of Witnesses and Crowned with Grace, two PraiseWriters’ collaborative books. Shauna is passionate about holistic health, helping women embrace their feminine design, and helping others find healing and wholeness with the Divine Physician. As a SoulCore leader, she welcomes others under Mary’s mantle through the contemplative prayers of the Rosary and functional movement. You can find out more about her at shaunaocchipinti.com.