Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!
Msgr. Newton Speaks on Ecumenism
2
Tag Archives: Ecumenism
Msgr Newton: "Future of Ecumenism"
Msgr Keith Newton from the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will be speaking at St. Mary Magdalen, Brighton, on Thursday, 24 May at 7:30 p.m. His topic will be on the "Future of Ecumenism," and is part of the series of talks commemorating the 150th anniversary of the parish.
It is unclear if there will be a video or recording of Msgr Newton's talk, but the best source of information about that will be at the 150th Anniversary site.
Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!
Remember ARCIC?
Many of us do remember the heady days of the ARCIC talks, resulting in papers outlining all sort of agreement between Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Back in those early days, it really did look as though everything was converging, and the long separation would soon end… until one scratched the surface of these "agreements."
Francis Phillips, a contributor to the Catholic Herald, has some brief and interesting observations on ARCIC today, especially after the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
ARCIC III sounds like a lot of hot air
After the creation of the Personal Ordinariate there’s not much left to talk aboutBy Francis Phillips on Thursday, 2 June 2011
Today is, or should be, Ascension Day. Even though my cheap and completely secular diary, bought at Tesco’s in the January sale, actually says “Ascension Day” in its heading (as well as telling me that Saturday is Constitution Day in Denmark), when I went to Mass this morning we celebrated the Feast of SS Marcellinus and Peter instead. An Anglican friend, who has spent the last five weeks hiking around Shropshire, has emailed me to say that she is deliberately planning to return home today for the Ascension – one of her favourite feast days, apparently. I understand our bishops are in the process of considering returning the Ascension and the Epiphany back to their proper days in the liturgical calendar. I hope they will come to a speedy and positive conclusion.
I didn’t mean to start off with this thought or indeed mention it at all in this blog; it was simply triggered by the date. I wanted to blog about ARCIC III, having just read an interview about it conducted by Peter Jennings with Archbishop Bernard Longley. (Archbishop Longley is co-chairman of ARCIC III and Mr Jennings is his press secretary).
In case some readers don’t know, ARCIC III is the third phase of the international dialogue between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church. According to Archbishop Longley we have reached “a new stage in the development of fraternal relations” between the two Communions and dialogue is on-going. But, ever since the vote to ordain women priests (and now bishops) in the Anglican Church, what is there to talk about? That vote was a huge historic event and must have caused an enormous fissure in these fraternal relations – even an earthquake. I was going to add the word “permanent” to “fissure” but that would preclude the action of the Holy Spirit to change the situation. Yet the only change that the Catholic Church could countenance would be a return of the Anglican Communion to the all-male priesthood – something that is extremely unlikely. How can there be “dialogue” over this?
Apparently ARCIC III is addressing “the important issues involved in the emerging ecclesiological and ethical factors making that journey [towards union] more difficult and arduous”. Does this mean they are working out a way of calling the whole enterprise off as politely as possible? Jennings did ask: what was the point of the talks since the ordination of women priests and bishops “has put an insurmountable block in the way of full unity”? The archbishop agreed that “ecumenical dialogue has been going through a difficult period” but still insisted that we are still searching for a deeper and fuller communion, bearing in mind Jesus’ words at the Last Supper: “That they all may be one…”
Surely the advent of the Personal Ordinariate will now have caused more problems for the fraternal atmosphere of poor ARCIC III? That phrase “ecumenical dialogue” was so fashionable in the 1970s and 80s; in the 1990s it began to ring hollow; and now that many serious and historically minded Anglicans have come to the only conclusion possible, made easier by the Holy Father’s initiative, to come over to Rome, what is there left to talk about, apart from pleasantries and the duty of charity?
I hesitate to say it, but ARCIC III sounds like a lot of hot air. One thing we could learn from the Anglicans though: to celebrate the Ascension on its proper day.
Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!
William Oddie on ARCIC III
William Oddie of the Catholic Herald, has a new piece asking whether the third phase of dialogue of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission is likely to be of benefit.
Here's a sample:
… I remember as a Catholic-minded Anglican desperately hoping, back in the 70s, in the early days of ARCIC, that a series of statements would somehow emerge which would uncover a common faith, on the basis of which corporate reunion might be a distant prospect. The statements did emerge, on Ministry, Sacraments and so forth: but they were never officially accepted by Rome as being a sound or adequate representation of Catholic belief, and nor were they.
The trouble with ARCIC always was (as a former Catholic member of it once explained to me) that on the Catholic side of the table you have a body of men (mostly bishops) who represent a more or less coherent view, being members of a Church which has established means of knowing and declaring what it believes. On the Anglican side of the table you have a body of men (and it was only men, on both sides, in those days) the divisions between whom are just fundamental as, and sometimes a lot more fundamental than, those between any one of them and the Catholic representatives they faced: they all represented only themselves.
Read the entire article at the Catholic Herald.>>>
Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!
Bl. Maria Gabriella of Unity
Bl. Maria Gabriella of Unity
It has been a while since I written an entry on the saints and others who have gone before us whose prayers have no doubt contributed to the realization of Anglicanorum coetibus.
High among those I have yet to mention is Bl. Maria Gabriella of Unity, an Italian Trappestine who offered her life for the cause of Christian Unity and became quite well-known in Anglican circles. I had intended to write something myself and had recently read one biography on this amazing young woman and begun to read other articles. In the process of my research, I ran across the article below by Dom Antione Marie of the French Abbey of St. Joseph of Clairval. Given the recent discussions here and elsewhere of the proper understanding of ecumenism, I thought his article was likely to be of more interest than any I might write myself.
This piece originally appeared in Clairval's Spiritual Newsletter. It is reprinted here in full by permission of the Abbey. Subscriptions to the Spiritual Newsletter, which is printed in French, English, German, Dutch, Italian and Spanish, are free of charge. You may subscribe online here.
* * *
On April 20, 2005, the day after his election to the See of Peter, Pope Benedict XVI stated, «At the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome which Peter bathed in his blood, Peter's current Successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers. This is his ambition, his impelling duty.»
Christian unity is a divine and supernatural work that can only be obtained through prayer. «Praying for unity is not a matter reserved only to those who actually experience the lack of unity among Christians,» wrote Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Ut unum sint (That They May Be One), published May 25, 1995. All must collaborate: «It was in order to reaffirm this duty,» John Paul II continued, «that I set before the faithful of the Catholic Church a model which I consider exemplary, the model of a Trappistine Sister, Blessed Maria Gabriella of Unity, whom I beatified on 25 January 1983. Sister Maria Gabriella, called by her vocation to be apart from the world, devoted her life to meditation and prayer centered on chapter seventeen of Saint John's Gospel, and offered her life for Christian unity. This is truly the cornerstone of all prayer: the total and unconditional offering of one's life to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. The example of Sister Maria Gabriella is instructive; it helps us to understand that there are no special times, situations or places of prayer for unity. Christ's prayer to the Father is offered as a model for everyone, always and everywhere» (no. 27).
I couldn't put up with anything!
Maria Sagheddu was born on March 17, 1914 in Dorgali, a village on the eastern coast of Sardinia, the fifth in a family of eight children. Her father was a shepherd. Her mother, Catarina, saw to everything in the household. Gentle and yet firm, she led her family in a loving fear of God. Maria was a happy child, quick to ask for what she wanted, or criticize what she did not like. From early on, she was stubborn and impatient. One day, her mother asked her to throw out some potato peels. Maria turned a deaf ear. Her mother insisted firmly, then forced her daughter to obey. Annoyed, Maria came back a moment later with the peels she had not thrown away. She herself would later say, «When I was a child, I couldn't put up with anything, not even the stones on the road!»
Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!
The Ordinariates as Catholic Ecumenism
Fr. Hugh Somerville-Knapman, OSB, is a monk of Douai Abbey who keeps the excellent blog, Dominus mihi adjutor. In a new post, Fr. Hugh sets Anglicanorum coetibus in its correct Catholic ecumenical context.
Sadly, the very word “ecumenism” probably raises sighs and groans from many of our regular readers here, because it has too often come to be seen as being synonymous with dialogue as an end in itself rather than as a means to reaching unity in truth. Jumping off from the comments of Professor Beattie on this week's BBC Sunday program, Fr. Hugh does a very nice job reminding us of why the Church engages in ecumenical dialogue. Here are a couple of snippets:
…The Ordinariate reveals clearly that for the Catholic Church ecumenism is not about ongoing “dialogue” for its own sake. It is about encouraging and convincing people to enter into full communion with the Church, from which they were estranged due to actions centuries ago. If it means anything regarding the relations between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church it is that the Church has only one goal, ultimately, for ecumenical dialogue with Anglicans: that they return to the Church. This may disturb many Anglicans, for sure, but that is no reason to stop the progress of ecumenism.
…
Pope John Paul’s speech led me to see that the Ordinariate is itself only able to be understood within the hermeneutic of continuity. It is a logical fruit of the renewed ecumenical endeavour inspired by the Council. This ecumenical endeavour is not something new, and itself must be seen in the context of the history and teaching of the Church, the hermeneutic of continuity. It is this because it brings many more into full communion with the Church centred on Peter’s successor. It is the fruit of the irreversible work of the Holy Spirit. And it brings closer the day when the Church will be able to fulfill its mission from Christ himself, to proclaim the good news to all the world – a mission that is an essential part of the continuity of the Church. Until then, its evangelisation of the world impeded by the divisions among Christians. In a world of increasing militant secularism and an even more militant Islam, the Church’s mission is ever more urgent, and thus so too is the ecumenism which will fully enable this mission.
Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!
All the Wrong Reasons
We stood in a circle speaking about how excited we were that the Ordinariate looked so close. We were encouraging one another with our mere presence in the room. "I'm so glad that we are able to keep our liturgy", one said. Another relayed his enthusiasm that, "the Pope is so gracious to allow the soon-to-be-former-Bishops so many privileges". "This is what I've been praying about for so many years now", someone else said. A priest in the circle said, "unity is so important, I'm glad that we have this opportunity to come into communion with the Catholic Church." After much discussion with the owner of the last comment, it became apparent to me that he saw the Ordinariate as an ecumenical venture that would lead toward a stronger Church. Although this is true, that is not the whole picture.
I know quite a few people who are looking forward to the establishment of the Ordinariate here in the USA. Each one seems to have a slightly different reason for their anticipation. Each of us have been driven in this direction because of the experiences and events that God has put us and/or the parishes we are a part of through. It has been discussed before that there is a vital distinction between "running to" the Catholic Church, and "running away" from whatever it is you are leaving behind. Yet, on the side of "running to" it is not hard to get confused and have it appear that we are "running to" the Catholic Church, when we are really "running to" something peripheral to the Church herself.
The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth, and she is where we are to find communion with our Lord. The Catholic Church is that place where the successor to the Apostle Peter is. We have been commanded to be in communion with the Holy Father, and that is what we are seeking. Coming into communion with the Pope is on a different scale that coming into communion with anyone else. Parish "A" and parish "B" may reconcile over a difficult issue, and as a result find communion with one another. Person "A" and person "B" may resolve strife that existed between the two and as a result they make peace. A certain Anglican denomination may join with another certain Anglican denomination, and the result is full communion between the two. Yet, none of these are on the scale with coming to "full and visible communion" with the Pope of Rome. Each of these forms of reunification are good, but none compares with reuniting with the Catholic Church herself.
I know that there are some who are showing interest in the Ordinariate merely out of an interest in a general "ecumenism", rather than a desire for biblical truth. If one does not see the biblical necessity of communion, and is only aiming at (in his opinion) another attempt at unity (because "unity is a good thing wherever it occurs"), then this may make the effort backfire. I have seen many attempts at personal reconciliation ruined because one or both of the parties approaches the situation thinking that they themselves did not need to change, but that everyone else did. "I'm OK and you will be if you would just do what I tell you" is not an uncommon attitude in Christians today. I personally like "unity stuff" but that is not the core reason for why I desire to join the Ordinariate. I believe that the increase in numbers will lead to blessings, but that is also not why I am coming to the Ordinariate.
If someone's attitude is "I'm just fine on my own, but it would be really nice to be in union with the Catholic Church" then it is likely that he does not understand what Anglicanorum Coetibus is all about. Entering the Ordinariate is not supposed to be because "it is a nice thing to do" but because "it is the only right thing to do". If your heart is not there, and you are still thinking it is merely the best of the options, then you may need to rethink just what your actions are. "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish" (Luke 14:28-30). I certainly do not want to discourage anyone from entering the Ordinariate; I want to see it grow and flourish as a force for righteousness in the Kingdom of God. Yet, it is better to make the right decision now than to realize later that you made the wrong one.
The Ordinariate has already begun in England and Wales, and there are many over there trying to decide if it is for them or not. Everyone else in the world who is waiting for the Ordinariate to be established where they live, are wondering "who is next?" Here we are, coming down to the final months before the Ordinariate is established in the United States and I know of a few priests and parishes that are wrestling with these very same issues; "Is it right for us, and if so, is it right today?" It is not right to be coming into communion if the only reason is because we like "unity stuff" and think that things are better if we have bigger numbers. It is not a matter of logistics and pleasantness that should be leading us to this; it is a matter of what is right and good. If my parish chooses not to join, then I must resign. If my wife chooses not to join, then I must join by myself. If my bishop chooses not to join, then I must ask him to release me. If the Pope decides he is better off without me being ordained, then I must say "thank you for considering me, and how can I serve best as a layman?"
Unity is not a "good" thing–unity is a great thing. Unity is not a "nice" thing–unity is a necessary thing. Come into the Catholic Church for the right reason. Seek unity because it is what Christ commanded (not "suggested"). Seek communion with Rome, but not because the "Roman Christians" are cool, or conservative, or Catholic. Seek communion with Rome, but not because it is looks good to be unified. Seek communion with Rome because it is right. Again, I have no interest in driving someone away from becoming a part of the Ordinariate, but I do have a desire to make sure that no one come for the wrong reasons, and that no one be confused about what the right reasons are. May God's grace be upon each of you as you seek to make the right decision.
Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!
Our Lady of the Atonement: Mother of Christian Unity … And of an American Ordinariate?
Our Lady of the Atonement
We should not let the time of the Octave of Christian Unity pass without mentioning Our Lady of the Atonement, who is the mother of the Christian Unity Octave. Like many of our readers, this title of Our Lady began its life in Anglicanism but moved into the full communion of the Catholic Church.
The story of the Society of the Atonement, the Anglican Franciscans who were received as a body into full communion with the Catholic Church in 1909, is one of the more moving stories of Anglo-Catholics who have made their way into the Church. The story of Fr. Paul and Mother Lurana, the Society’s founders, is a bit grittier that of some other converts. On their way into the Church, they faced rejection by their friends and fellow churchmen in the Episcopal Church and suspicion from many Catholics. That sort of thing is common enough in these stories, but, at one point before their conversion, the sisters were even reduced to begging at subway turnstiles in New York to support the community and its vision of reunion with the Holy See. Through many struggles and ample cause for discouragement, this little band of religious championed the imperative of Christian unity through their magazine, The Lamp, and later through the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, which they established.
From 1900 onward—nine years before their reception—the Society of the Atonement taught that there could be no real Christian unity without union with Peter. In more recent years, Fr. Paul and Mother Lurana’s message has become rather unfashionable in ecumenical circles, but today it seems that their message has been vindicated. If Anglicanorum coetibus is a prophetic act, as the Holy Father has told us, Fr. Paul and Mother Lurana must be counted in the first rank of its prophets. Is it only coincidence that it was almost exactly 100 years from the date of their making their profession of faith as Catholics that the news broke of Anglicanorum coetibus?
Mother Lurana of Graymoor
How, you might ask, did these intrepid souls settle on the idea of the Atonement to guide their work and begin to honor Our Lady under this new title? Our own Fr. Phillips sums up the events that led Fr. Paul to this title for Our Lady in his tract on the history of his San Antonio parish, which also bears this title:
So it was that while he was the Rector of a little Episcopal Church named St. John’s, one morning after he had offered the Eucharist, he knelt down before the altar in the empty church and opened the Scriptures three times. The date was July 9, 1893. The first time the pages opened, it was in the Gospel of St. John, at the words spoken by Jesus when He taught that the Holy Spirit must spring up in those who believe like a well of Living Water; the second time the pages opened it was in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, where he wrote, "We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the Atonement."; the third time the pages opened, it was in St. Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, where he recounts the institution of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Father Wattson made a notation of these passages, and took them as being God’s guidance to him in the foundation of the work which was to be his: he felt that God was calling him to found a religious community which (1) would have the Holy Spirit as its inspiration and guide, with the Living Water as its sustenance; (2) that the doctrine he was to preach was to be the "atonement" — the at-one-ment of man with God which was accomplished by Jesus Christ upon the Cross; and (3) that the central means of grace by which Christ’s atoning work on the cross was accomplished is made a reality through the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Mass. But at the same time, God gave Fr. Paul the feeling that this would not be accomplished immediately, but that some years would need to pass before it would become a reality. Fr. Paul finished his time at St. John’s and was called to a new mission work in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was attached to the Episcopal parish of St. Barnabas. He continued very successfully in his work there, until finally God made it clear that the time had come. Fr. Paul was to return to the east and take up the foundation of this new work which was to be based upon those passages of Scripture which had been revealed to him, and which bear the name of the Society of the Atonement… a new Franciscan community within the Episcopal Church which he was to co-found with a holy woman named Mother Lurana. It was on July 4, 1898 (just 100 years ago) that Fr. Paul wrote (still as an Episcopalian clergyman) "I believe in the universal jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff as the Successor of St. Peter and the Vicar of Jesus Christ." So his path was set — he and Mother Lurana founded their Community within the Episcopal Church, but based it upon the truth they had come to know — until finally they and their fellow Atonement Franciscans were received into the Roman Catholic Church on October 30, 1909. He had travelled from St. John’s Church to St. Barnabas’ Church and then finally to a remote hilltop in New York State called Graymoor where he and his community found their final home in the Catholic Church, bringing with them their unique title by which they knew the Blessed Virgin — that title which had God had entwined with the saving work of Jesus Christ on the Cross — that title which recalled Mary standing beneath that Cross — the title of Our Lady of the Atonement.
Another writer describes the symbolism of Our Lady of the Atonement:
In the beautiful representations of Mary under this title, she wears a red mantle, symbolizing the Precious Blood of which she was the Immaculate source, and by which she was made immaculate. It was by the shedding of this most precious blood that the redemption of the world was accomplished. She wears a blue inner tunic, and she holds the infant Jesus in her arms. The child Jesus is depicted holding a cross, the symbol of His suffering and glory.
The Holy See has set an important precedent in naming the first ordinariate in honor of Our Lady of Walsingham, who is surely the mother of us all. If this convention is to be kept for future ordinariates, what could be more appropriate than giving a future American ordinariate the title of The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Atonement, honoring Our Lady under the title she was given by the first scrappy band of Americans who came home as a group, the title under which she became patroness of the first parish of the Anglican Use, and the title under which she has been invoked in the name of Christian unity for more than a century?
You'll find the prayers for the novena of Our Lady of the Atonement here.
You will find a past piece on Fr. Paul and Mother Lurana by Fr. Phillips here.
Our Lady of the Atonement, intercede for us that there may be fulfilled the prayer of your divine Son: That all may be one.
Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!
President of the PCPCU Gives an Ecumenical Context for Ordinariates
The Tablet has a report on the address given by Cardinal-designate Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, during the celebrations to mark the PCPCU's 50th anniversary. These remarks in particular caught my eye:
“The Churches and ecclesial communities born of the Reform have renounced the original objective of ecumenism as visible unity and have substituted it with the concept of mutual recognition as Churches,” he said.
Cardinal-elect Koch said the Churches of the Reform were marked by the “grave phenomenon of ecclesial fragmentation” and had thus adopted an “ecclesiological pluralism”. He said this sees the goal of ecumenism as “reconciled diversity” of many Churches rather than the reconstitution of visible unity (while accepting diversity) in one Church. The cardinal-elect claimed that Protestant “pluralism” among different confessional Churches “contrasts with Catholic conviction that the true Church of Jesus Christ ‘subsists’ in the Catholic Church, in other words that she is already an existing reality”. “It is clear that there is a profound difference between this Protestant view and the Catholic and Orthodox interpretation according to which the ecumenical objective cannot be inter-communion but ‘communion’, within which eucharistic communion also finds its place,” he said.
Cardinal-designate Koch made no specific mention of the Anglican Communion in his 18-page address, but in an interview with Vatican Radio before the plenary, he answered questions on the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, that provides for Anglican laity, priests and bishops to join the Catholic Church as a group.
snip
It was “certainly” a difficult situation for the Anglican community, Archbishop Koch admitted, “but as far as our Church is concerned it is a matter of helping people who are so to speak knocking at our door … This should not prove an obstacle for ecumenical dialogue as unity is still being sought.”
Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!
Overcoming Obstacles to Communion
" . . . when the obstacles to perfect ecclesiastical communion have been gradually overcome, all Christians will at last, in a common celebration of the Eucharist, be gathered into the one and only Church in that unity which Christ bestowed on His Church from the beginning. We believe that this unity subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time." (Unitatis Redintegratio)
Now, that is hope. Some have described the Catholic view of the future as somewhat pessimistic. If that is the case, then their pessimism fell a bit flat when they wrote the above paragraph. Trials and tribulations aside, the ultimate end of all things is the subjection of everything under the feet of Christ (1 Cor 15:25-28). This means that no enemy will be left unconquered; including the enemy of division.
Yes, there are numerous "obstacles to perfect ecclesiastical communion" that have to be overcome, but where is our individual focus? Do we hope first in the victory of King Jesus or do we despair over the sinfulness of men? The schism of the Eastern Orthodox churches is a blemish in the Kingdom of God, and the Protestant rebellion is a disaster in itself. Yet, what are we called to in the Scriptures? Are we called to find the bad in everything and then sit and mourn because of how rotten we are? No. We are called to "rejoice in tribulation". Notice that it does not say "rejoice because of tribulation"? Affliction and challenges are never fun, but we are supposed to be a people who can have joy regardless of the circumstances. So when things look bleak because of the disunity of God's people, we are supposed to have joy (not a sickly smile that ignores evil, but a sincere hope and joy in the promises of the Lord). We are called to joy when our leaders make mistakes. We are called to joy when we see others compromise their faith away. We are especially called to joy when we see a brother or sister despair and fall into depression. Whatever obstacles cause our joy to weaken, they will (not "might") be overcome.
The hope that is put before us, that we can see in a small way in our near future, is that "all Christians will at last . . . be gathered into" the Catholic Church. Yet, not merely gathered in some vague way; we will be gathered in a "common celebration of the Eucharist". Glory! This means that eventually the Eastern Orthodox Churches will return and be reconciled. The Protestants will abandon their experiment and see the need for unity with Christ's vicar on Earth. In all this process the Catholic Church herself will be growing in holiness and beauty. She will deepen her understanding of Who her Lord is and as a result be better able to preach the gospel to a dying world.
This unity that will come to fruition is something that already exists in the Catholic Church, but will be steadily growing stronger over time. Like a marriage: the husband and wife have unity by virtue of their marriage, but that unity grows and becomes more substantial as they grow in their love of one another (and of the Lord). The words used to describe this belief are not a mere statement of fact; rather they are a statement of virtue. The words, "we hope that [the unity of the Church] will continue to increase until the end of time", are not saying "gee whiz, it would be really nice if this happened." No, they are saying it is a godly virtue to maintain this belief and confidence, and we are supposed to call it "hope".
We are right now on the cusp of experiencing an historic expansion of unity in the Church. Most of our names will not be remembered 500 years from now, but these days will have their own chapter in books on ecclesiastical history. Jesus hates division, and He is even now doing a work to conquer it. Yes, it may not be completely perfect at this point in time, but then He prefers to work with broken pots (2 Cor 4:7) it shows that He–and no one else–is the One responsible for all that is good. What this will lead to for our great-grandchildren, only God knows. Right now, it is impossible for all Christians to gather around the altar together; we are divided and out of communion. Yet, it is our responsibility to be a part of everything that can further that unity along. Whatever the Lord places in our path in the coming days, we must maintain confidence that all things are moving toward that one, great, celebration of the Eucharist where all Christians have been united together in joy and gladness. To my Christian brothers and sisters: I look forward with joy to sharing the same chalice with each and every one of you while we kneel at the feet of Jesus our Lord.
Be sure to follow our Moderator at Eccentric Bliss, his personal blog!