Ecumenism -
Towards A Successful Unity
as Children of God
Ecumenism - Because All are Called
God gave us Jesus Christ so that "He might be our firstborn brother, 'ut sit Ipse primogenitus in multis fratribus' (Rom 8:29) ... In this way He wished to animate more vividly and palpably in us faith in that intimate, true, very close relationship which may be called ... supernatural kinship. Through it we enter into the rights of the children of God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ." These words of St. Vincent Pallotti make it clear that all who profess Christ are united as brothers and sisters and called to follow him into communion with God and with one another.
On the way to this fellowship of churches, the Christian confessions have come a decisive distance in recent decades within the framework of ecumenical encounter and ecumenical dialogue. But in the face of present and future challenges, we need to redefine ecumenism from the center of Christian faith. Experience shows that the ecumenical process must come from the center of Christianity and be sustained by the life and faith practices of Christians as a whole. If ecumenism is to carry its own concerns right into the hearts of people and the movements of life, it needs a spiritual reorientation and a clear change of perspective inspired from the center of the Christian message, as well as a broadening of horizons.
Building Blocks of a Spiritual Ecumenism
Before the unity of Christian denominations becomes a visible reality, Christians must first become aware once again of the foundation and the goal of unity. This foundation can only be religious and at the same time spiritual. The visible unity of the Church is only a concretisation and manifestation of unity in the spirit of faith and the mission of the People of God. Ecumenism cannot be reduced to the level of mere conversation, argument and problematiation, or to diplomacy and human benevolence. It must emerge from the spiritual power of living proclamation and witness to the Gospel from life. It must blossom in lived faith.
It is therefore indispensable that Christians of all denominations first become aware of their mission and calling as Christians. The basic condition of the unity of the Church is the fundamental awareness that there is only one God and one humanity. This fundamental unity precedes all differences and all legitimate diversity. The one God is the Creator of all human beings. All human beings are creatures of the one God, made in his image (cf. Gen 1:26). The Creator of all human beings, according to the Christian faith, is the heavenly Father. Because we have only one Father, we are all children of God and therefore brothers and sisters. The desired unity of the Church is nothing other than the unity of humanity already founded in creation, which the Church is called to live. This can only succeed as a spiritual process. Such a spiritual perspective enables us to seek without prejudice that which unites us and to give it form: Are we not united by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our vocation and common mission as Christians, the profession of faith, the call to mercy and holiness of life, and last but not least, our common hope in eternal life? The sacramental bond of Baptism unites us deeply with one another and gives us a spiritual kinship with Christ and in him with our fellow human beings. It is necessary to recognize this deep kinship and to fill it with life.
We must understand ecumenism as a spiritual process encompassing all dimensions of the Christian life. "Because ecumenism, with all its human and moral demands, is so deeply rooted in the mysterious work of the Father's providence through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, it reaches into the depths of Christian spirituality." This means penetrating the truth of the faith existentially and appropriating the essence and truth of the Christian message in such a way that it shapes and transforms one's whole life. The common confession of faith that all Christians pray must become an experiential existential reality for life and Christian practice. This confession is, of course, an ongoing task which we hope will be fulfilled.
To realize unity in legitimate diversity of faith traditions and approaches is above all a spiritual task wrought by the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit of God can give the necessary power to reconcile differences. For the intention of the petition for unity in Jesus' high priestly prayer (cf. Jn 17:20-26) has in view a unity that is pre-formed in God himself. But it is an eschatological reality that can already be experienced now in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The "already" and "not yet" of the faith founded in the message of the kingdom of God is especially decisive in questions of ecumenism. Ecumenism can only be successful if we look for a theologically-reflective contemporary form of the gospel and the church that comes from the centre of the Christian faith and is oriented towards the present ecumenical necessity and the present world situation rather than towards the outdated confessional categories and reasons for separation of the past. We need a great spiritual strength to surrender part of our own history and the narrowness of our own confessional limiting identity and to attain a larger and more comprehensive common Christian identity.
Ecumenism as a spiritual process demands from everyone a spiritual breadth of heart and an inner spiritual strength to respect and love not only individual brothers and sisters in other churches, but entire denominations as such, without rashly giving up one's own self-understanding. This is, of course, the more difficult and uncomfortable way, but in the long run it is fruitful. For true fidelity to the Lord and his Church and openness to the various challenges of the reality of others are not mutually exclusive. To the extent that we live in communion with Christ, abiding in his love that accepts and purifies us all, to the extent that we share in Christ's community, we too can be faithful to the Gospel and to our own journey of faith while at the same time being open to other journeys of faith. We are all united in the spiritual search for the all-surpassing truth of the Christian faith in its depth and fullness.
Theo-centric Orientation
In our common confession of faith, first and foremost is the confession of the one God who is the Creator of all people. In this confession we are given a great vision of unity. When God is at the centre of ecumenism, we are on a sure spiritual path. The point is to refocus all our ecumenical efforts on God and to understand the whole process of ecumenism as a journey of deeper knowledge of God and relationship with God. All our ecumenical efforts should be about grasping more deeply God's one plan of salvation for all humanity and drawing strength from it for our actions.
What we need today is a God-centeredness in the life of the churches and the ecclesial communities. When we look together to God, we have the strength to perceive from a new perspective the reality of human life and all that belongs to the human condition. All ecumenical movements must start from God and lead more and more to him. For the vocation of all Christians and of the Church is to be witnesses for God in the world. Since this witness is obscured by the division of Christians, the abiding goal of ecumenism is to be together "convincing" witnesses to God. If we succeed in a new departure towards God, we will also succeed in ecumenism. If we are on this spiritual journey, we will discover more deeply our common calling as Christians. When we put God at the center, we will all have a common direction of vision to guide individual Christians and the church as a community.
The necessary theo-centric orientation in ecumenism becomes concrete and real for us in a lived Christo-centricity. Jesus Christ is at the center of the Christian faith and the confession of him makes us what we are: Christians. In Christ we recognize who God is. In him and through him, God becomes Immanuel, the God with us. The concretisation of the experience of God in Christ is only possible if we are willing to enter into friendship with him. This friendly relationship with Jesus is the central theme of a spiritual ecumenism. Through the knowledge of Christ we become new people. In him we live in a new way in the awareness of the unity given in him to all who follow him and have become brothers and sisters in him and through him.
Jesus Christ is the common foundation of the Church. If we want to build ecumenism not on sand but on solid rocky ground, and if we want to come closer to the goal of the unity of all Christians, then we must first turn our gaze to him and to the salvation given in him.
We must return to Jesus Christ and his saving message: Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and forever (cf. Heb 13:8). Christians confess together about him: Jesus Christ is true God and true man. This confession is the common foundation of all churches and the common heritage of undivided Christianity in the first century. An ecumenism built on this foundation can be purposeful.
Ecumenism and Evangelisation
When we recognize that the divisions are obviously contrary to the will of Christ, then for the sake of the cause of Jesus we must make every effort to intensify ecumenism from the mission of the Church and to continue it as a spiritual process of bringing the faith to life and passing it on. For the raison d'être of the visible Church is solely the mediation and realization of the salvation given in Christ, so that people may find their salvation, to the infinite glory of God. The source of ecumenism's strength is the awareness of Christians' sacramental union with God, the bond this gives them with one another, and the spiritual community of life and witness that follows from this.
The Church's mission of evangelization and ecumenism are closely linked. Therefore, we must start at the root. We must once again make the Gospel the center of the Church's life, because the Gospel is the beginning, the permanent foundation and the source of ecclesial life and of all renewal. Of course, by Gospel is meant the living Word of God, Jesus Christ Himself. Thus we must again begin everything anew on the ground of the Gospel and renew everything in Christ. Only on the path of evangelization, which means at the same time a new evangelisation and self-evangelisation, can we walk ecumenism as a spiritual path to unity. This is how we realize our apostolate.
One thing is necessary: A new enthusiasm for God that opens and inclines, unites, builds up and completes. If we are close to God, we will also be close to one another and together we will be a sign and witness of human unity. If we succeed in grasping anew the glorification of God as our proper vocation and mission, the ecumenical endeavor will take on a new quality. Many divisive issues will then appear in a different light and this goal of unity will unite us: "You have called us to stand before you and serve you". This prayer of the Church in the celebration of the Eucharist is the confession of her very raison d'être.
When Christians existentially embrace the spiritual implications of one of the most quoted words of the Bible, ecumenism will appear in a new perspective: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy tribe, a people who have become his special possession, that you may proclaim the great deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9) This calling is our mission: When the glorification of God is seen as the unifying center of God's people and is also grasped and lived existentially, then a new horizon opens for ecumenism. The ecumenism of the future can only succeed if we are prepared to join in Jesus' prayer for unity and to live our lives accordingly: "Let all be one, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn 17:21).
Dr. Fr. George Augustine SAC
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