Finding our tribe

Finding one’s tribe is a deep instinct of the human heart. We are made for belonging, and we feel its absence keenly. As we grow from childhood into adulthood, the search for identity can be confusing, painful, even traumatic. A certain distancing from parents is almost inevitable for a time. Beneath it all lies a simple longing: to be welcomed, included, and loved as we are. Many people struggle for years to accept themselves; some never fully reveal who they are, even to themselves.

Human culture understands this longing very well. Advertising, political movements, and social trends all trade on the power of belonging. Products, ideologies, and lifestyles are packaged with a ready‑made identity. Young people, especially, are drawn toward one tribe or another. If the main herd looks or behaves a certain way, the pressure to follow is immense. Few want to be left out, looked down upon, or made fun of.

Organised religion once carried a certain cultural weight, but that is no longer the case in many parts of the world. To live by conscience, conviction, and character now requires stamina. It means swimming against the current, resisting the easy pull of the crowd.

Yet in the Eucharist we discover a radically different kind of belonging. Here, God names us as chosen, cherished, and infinitely precious. Here, we are welcomed not because we fit a mould, but because we are loved as we are. In Holy Communion we are united with the One who alone can satisfy our deepest desires and awaken our truest possibilities.

If only we realised what is offered to us.