Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Some of the family
on Memorial Day

I pray not only for these,

but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us….

In 1995 Blessed John Paul II entitled one of his encyclicals, Ut Unum Sint: “that they may be one.” He addressed the complex issue of ecumenism between the eastern and western churches, and between the Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches. He wrote: “...the commitment to ecumenism must be based upon the conversion of hearts and upon prayer, which will also lead to the necessary purification of past memories.”

In the 1960’s, shortly after the Vatican Council, there was a rush of optimism about ecumenism. Some people expected all Christian churches might soon be reunited. Christians were talking at high levels among the leaders and at low levels, over the back fence, about their commonalities and their differences. They undertook charitable projects together, shared prayer and socialized more freely. In many cases they even shared churches as, for instance, when a congregation found itself homeless and was invited to worship in a neighboring church.

Enthusiasm has waned since then. Catholic priests were swamped with demands on their time and could not attend “ministerial alliance” meetings. Suspicions arose in some quarters that dialog was going too far. Differences, in some cases, became sharper as political divisions polarized. The abortion issue overwhelmed virtually all ethical conversation. 

We’ve begun to appreciate just how difficult it is to pray with one voice, one mind and one heart. Ecumenism, like evangelization, must begin with conversion of the heart. No matter how enthusiastic I might be for engaging others; it means nothing if I am not abandoning my own interests to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

As the blessed pope well knew, ecumenical relations are still stained by past memories. Blood was shed over issues like the Eucharist, the Papacy, and the role of the Virgin Mary. Even here in the United States there are bitter memories of religious discrimination that must be purified. Those conflicts cannot be dismissed as political or economic problems of the distant past. If we cannot quite remember them, the blood on the ground still cries to heaven for atonement. 

The oneness for which Jesus prayed begins in John 17 and continues in our daily prayers. The pope’s encyclical began with his honoring the courage of Protestant martyrs, some of whom suffered at Catholic hands. At one time Catholics were urged to make reparation for sins against the Blessed Sacrament; today we must still atone for the internecine conflicts of the Christian family. If no one alive today lives to see all differences resolved, the gift of hope still promises a better tomorrow.