Ecumenical reflections times 100

Within our Diocese, some 50 Christian denominations have members; and there are significant communities of Jews, Muslims and Hindus. Fully one-third of our marriages are ecumenical or interfaith. Pastorally, this means that our parishes have many members who have daily ecumenical/interfaith contacts at home, at work and in their neighborhood. That alone should help to motivate us to grow in our understanding, appreciation and respect for those who adhere to a religious tradition different from our own.

Prayer for Christian unity is the soul of the whole ecumenical movement and should be a regular part of our church and personal prayer life: for example, as a regular petition in the Prayer of the Faithful, in occasional votive Masses for Christian unity, at ecumenical prayer services and in our prayers at home.

We should also actively promote, support and participate in ecumenical and interfaith activities and prayer services: certainly during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Jan. 18-25), but also at such times as Martin Luther King Day, Lenten services, Good Friday, the Pentecost "novena" (the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost), Baccalaureate services, Thanksgiving, and World and National Days of Prayer. Proportionate to our population, Catholic participation in many of those events is often woefully small.

Words must give rise to deeds. Prayers must undergird and lead to action in the ecumenical/interfaith arena, especially in areas of peace and justice. Food pantries, ministries to victims of AIDS, Crop Walks, interracial issues, Salvation Army support and peace vigils are among the many activities we can do together. As the Pope wrote: "Ecumenical cooperation is a true school of ecumenism, a dynamic road to unity. Unity of action leads to the full unity of faith." As Bishop Hubbard wrote in his 1988 pastoral letter, "We Are God's Priestly People:" "For the clarity of their witness and the effectiveness of their service in the area of social ministry, parishes should collaborate on an ecumenical or interfaith basis."

Within the Albany Diocese, there are some 45 ecumenical/interfaith councils, agencies or associations. Is your parish a member? Are your clergy active? Do you support their activities with your presence, prayers and resources? Do you invite neighboring congregations to significant parish events? If you're active in a council or association and are searching for ideas, I recommend "Rooted in Faith: A Guide to Ecumenical and Interreligious Prayer and Service to the Community" (available from the Ecumenical Office, 40 No. Main Ave., Albany, NY 12203; $2).

Also of assistance could be the Vatican's 1993 "Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism." For example, it recommends that "the parish, as an ecclesial unity gathered around the Eucharist, should be and proclaim itself to be the place of authentic ecumenical witness....Someone [should be] charged with promoting and planning ecumenical activity."

Earlier this year, Pope John Paul II reminded us that Vatican II gave special attention "to our Jewish brothers and sisters, with whom Christianity has a particularly intimate relationship."

The Catechism of The Catholic Church (which quotes the Second Vatican Council's "Decree on Ecumenism" 42 times) reminds us: "Concern for achieving unity 'involves the whole Church, faithful and clergy alike.'"

Allow me to close this 100th column of the "Our Neighbors' Faith" series with gratitude to The Evangelist for publishing the column; to Pat Crewell, my collaborator in arranging the columnists; and to you, the readers -- and with a prayerful hope that all the ecumenical movement's prayer, study, dialogue and cooperative initiatives are aimed at one goal, expressed earlier this year by the Pope: "to finally be able to celebrate together the Lord's Supper, reconciled and in full communion."

(Editor's note: Rev. James J. Kane is diocesan director of the Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, and pastor of St. Helen's Church in Niskayuna.)

(07-18-96) [[In-content Ad]]