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Spiritual
Ecumenism: Fiber
or Fluff?
by Thomas Ryan,
C.S.P.
What comes to
mind when you
hear the
expression,
“spiritual
ecumenism”?
“Making nice”
with other
Christianson
social
occasions? What
you're left with
when the
dialogues have
hit the wall of
the hard issues
where doctrine
still divides?
“Ecumenism lite”?
How about
“ecumenism
regular”?
“Spiritual
ecumenism should
be regarded as
the soul of the
whole ecumenical
movement,” said
the world
assembly of
bishops at
Vatican II. They
defined it as
“change of heart
and holiness of
life”—and thus
conversion—as
well as “public
and private
prayer for the
unity of
Christians”
(Decree on
Ecumenism, 8).
In his
presentation at
the November
event marking
the 40th
anniversary of
the Joint
Working Group
between the
Roman Catholic
Church and the
World Council of
Churches,
Cardinal Walter
Kasper said:
The first place
in spiritual
ecumenism
belongs to
prayer, which
joins Jesus' own
prayer on the
eve of his death
“that all may be
one” (Jn 17:21).
Such prayer
culminates in
the Week of
Prayer for
Christian unity.
Christian unity
cannot be the
fruit of human
effort; we
cannot as humans
“make” or
organize it. We
can only receive
it as a gift of
the Spirit. I
would further
mention the
shared reading
and meditation
of sacred
scripture,
exchanges
between
monasteries,
communities and
spirituality
movements,
visits to
pilgrim sites
and centers of
spirituality.
One of the most
encouraging
signs are the
recently
spreading
spiritual
ecumenical
networks between
spiritual
movements,
monasteries,
fraternities and
religious
congregations.
Only a renewed
Pentecost, a
renewed
outpouring of
the Holy Spirit
can bestow on us
the gift of
unity Jesus
prayed for on
the eve of his
death on the
cross.
Ecumenical work,
then, is first
and foremost a
spiritual task,
a direct
participation in
the high
priestly prayer
of Jesus.
Prayer, alone
and with others,
for personal,
communal and
ecclesial
conversion, for
a spirit of
repentance, and
for growth in
holiness is
certainly not
“ecumenism lite”.
John Paul II
told the College
of Cardinals in
a
state-of-the-church
address: “I pray
every day for
Christian
unity.” I wonder
how many
Christians could
say as much.
Imagine what a
different Church
it would be if
many members in
all the churches
that make up the
one Church of
Christ could say
the same.
It would make a
difference
because prayer's
first effect is
in us. Our own
hearts and minds
would be shaped
by our own
prayer and
become more
sensitive to the
opportunities we
have to
translate that
prayer into
practice. Prayer
is and will
always hold the
first place in
unity efforts
because it is
prayer that most
changes our
hearts, and it
is our hearts
that most need
to be changed.
The conversion
implied begins
with ourselves,
our ways of
stereotyping
others
(“Orthodox
always…”;
“Anglicans do
…”;
“Evangelicals
say…;”), our
smug sense of
superiority, our
lack of interest
in the changing
understandings
taking place
between our
church and
another through
the dialogues.
Members of every
church must be
ready for an
examination of
conscience,
self-criticism,
and repentance.
The Second
Vatican Council
relinquished its
“ecumenism of
return” (to the
Catholic church)
for an
“ecumenism of
common return”
or conversion
(to Jesus
Christ). In this
sense there is
no ecumenism
without
conversion and
church renewal,
and such
conversion is
not an isolated
act but an
on-going
process.
Spiritual
ecumenism is
also an exchange
of spiritual
gifts—contemplative
and charismatic
ways of praying,
lectio divina,
devotional
practices, the
theology of
icons, the
tradition of
spiritual
direction,
effective
approaches to
youth and young
adults, the
practice of
annual retreats
and monthly
desert days,
methods of
singing,
preaching, and
sharing the
faith.
After working
for fourteen
years at the
Canadian Center
for Ecumenism, I
saw the need for
more places
where Christians
from different
traditions of
practice could
come together
for days at a
time to share
faith and life
with one another
and engage in
the exchange of
spiritual gifts.
So I became
involved in the
work of founding
Unitas, an
ecumenical
center for
spirituality
co-sponsored by
eight different
denominations in
Montreal. By the
time I left
there five years
later in
response to the
Paulist
community's call
to develop a
Paulist Office
for Ecumenical
and Interfaith
Relations in New
York, there were
9000
participants
annually in our
programs and
retreats. It met
a need.
The approach we
took there was
one of spiritual
ecumenism. The
time spent in
faith sharing
and prayer
together, the
spiritual gifts
exchanged,
transformed
peoples'
perceptions of
one another and
enriched their
lives in
concrete and
lasting ways.
Here was a way
of engaging in
the work for
Christian unity
that moved on
the level of
church members
and had a
direct, positive
impact on their
lives and their
subsequent
witness and
prayer.
This is why
today spiritual
ecumenism
continues to
play a large
role in the
deployment of my
time and energy.
This is why I
lead ecumenical
retreats and
preach
ecumenical
parish missions
called Gospel
Call. The
ecumenical
movement is not
only an exchange
of ideas and
documents, nor
only a matter of
working side by
side to overcome
poverty and
racism; it is
also an exchange
of spiritual
gifts and
spiritual
experiences.
As Cardinal
Kasper said,
again with
reference to
spiritual
ecumenism:
It no longer
starts with what
divides us but
with what we
have in common.
It starts with
common Christian
experiences and
with common
Christian
challenges in
our more or less
secularized and
multi-cultural
world. These
common
experiences also
enable us to
understand our
differences
better. For a
deeper
ecumenical
understanding
and agreement, a
spiritual
empathy is
needed, an
understanding of
a different and
initially
strange
Christian and
ecclesial form
of life, a
sympathetic and
intimate
understanding
from the inside,
not just with
the mind but
also with the
heart.
Ecumenical
spirituality
means listening
and opening
ourselves to the
demands of the
Spirit who also
speaks through
different forms
of piety; it
means a
readiness to
rethink and
convert, but
also to bear the
otherness of the
other, which
requires
tolerance,
patience,
respect and, not
least, goodwill
and love which
does not boast
but rejoices in
the truth (That
They All May Be
One, Burns &
Oates, 2004, p.
160).
Spiritual
ecumenism must
seek out and
serve life. It
must be
concerned with
everyday human
experiences as
well as with the
great questions
of justice and
peace and the
preservation of
creation.
Through the
prayer and the
sharing, our
hearts are
turned more
fully toward
Christ, and the
closer we come
to him, the more
we discover
ourselves in
unity. And in
the exchange of
gifts, what is
lacking in each
of our
traditions finds
its needed
complement. The
ecumenical
endeavor thus
becomes a
pilgrimage to
the fullness of
catholicity
which Jesus
Christ intends
for his Church.
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