A Renewed Vision
by Monsignor Dennis Mikulanis
text of speech delivered at the 23rd Annual Tribute Dinner, April 10,. 2008
In 1974 the North American College, the American Catholic
Seminary in Rome, welcomed a new rector. He began his first Rector's Conference
to us seminarians, and the only one he held in the three years I was there with
him as rector, by stating: "When you don't know where you're going, any
road will get you there!" We had no idea then how prophetic a
statement that was! My generation of seminarians became priests more despite
the system than because of it and, after our ordination, we learned the
"ins" and "outs" of ministry by listening to and observing
older, more experienced priests who became our mentors. It was from them,
combining what we had learned in theory while in the seminary, that we came to
understand what priestly service and ministry was intended to be.
In some ways I think the ecumenical movement is
similar. For all of us Christians, squabbles and disagreements erupted
into misunderstandings and divisions until after the Second World War when we
realized that much of the conflict unleashed on the world in modern history
could be traced to our having effectively muted the Word of God by our own, obstinate,
exclusive claims on the truth. After World War II, Anglican, Protestant
and Orthodox Church leaders gathered together to form The World Council of
Churches as a way to understand and work with one another better.
For us Christians, this was relatively uncharted territory. "When you
don't know where you're going..." Then in 1964, the Catholic Church
formally got on board the ecumenical movement with the Second Vatican Council's
decree on Ecumenism which mandated the work to achieve Christian Unity as a part
of the process of what Pope John XXIII called "aggiornamento" -
updating. For the most part this really was a new experience for Catholics
and, like newly minted priests of the 1970's, we Catholics had to look to our
more experienced colleagues in the ministry to learn the ropes. After all,
most Catholics born before Vatican II weren't even allowed inside a Protestant
Church much less encouraged to talk with them as equal partners in
dialogue. The same, I suspect, was true in Protestant communities.
However, "When you don't know where you're going any road will get you
there."
When any of us start out on a trip it is only the truly
adventurous who do no planning. Most of us will as least have a
destination in mind and some means to get us from point A to point B.
There are those who are perfectly content to stay at home and not be willing to
venture beyond the town limits, as has been known to exist in some small, rural
towns, but one does not look to them for vision or direction. It was St.
Augustine who said "The world is a book and those who do not travel read
only one page." For too long in our history as Christians we have
been content to sit at home, undisturbed, convinced our way of life was the only
way of life and that all anyone had to do to bring peace and harmony to the
world was to think like we do. Events like World Wars I and II shattered that
illusion, except for an unfortunate few, and the ecumenical movement was born
like a phoenix from the ashes of such provincial thinking giving us a renewed
vision of what we were called to be.
In the mid-twentieth century the gospel was being clearly
heard again and, for the first time in centuries, Christians began the serious
work to fulfill Jesus' prayer "...that all may be one." The
roads to this yet to be defined unity were uncharted but, never the less, we put
our trust in Divine Providence and, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, set
out confident that we would find our way. Over the next four decades there
was a great enthusiasm for and high expectation of the ecumenical movement.
Area Councils of Churches and local ministerial associations formed with the
purpose of getting to know one another better and making a positive impact on
society. Tremendous strides were made by Christians working together to
address the social ills that plagued us. Pulpit exchanges between pastors
were common and it came to be accepted practice that Christians would gather at
appropriate times of the year and pray together. with one voice for the good of God's
world. Official documents addressing a host of ecumenical matters came
pouring out of the churches involved in dialogue to be embraced by hopeful,
enthusiastic ecumenists. The Catholic Church was particularly serious in
its ecumenical endeavors through the efforts of the Secretariat, and later
Pontifical Council, for promoting Christian Unity which is still a very active
Office of the Holy See. However, for some reason, things began to wane in
the 1980's. The initial zeal and enthusiasm for ecumenism was being replaced
by an almost restorationist mentality slowly creeping into the mind of the
Christian faithful and, like cataracts on ageing eyes, our vision began to
blur. Every aspect of Christianity - Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant
- seemed to be more interested in extending its own unique perspective on The Church
rather than enabling the Church to embrace our unity while respecting our
differences. This has been most evident in the "younger"
generation of Church leaders of today among all of us. Sadly, even some of
those who have been long time ecumenical partners seem to be slipping away from
the group journeying together to the goal of Christian Unity to embrace their
own version of evangelization. The stones from the walls that had been
being taken down to build bridges were now being taken from the bridges to rebuild
the walls. More than a few commentators speak of a "Winter of Ecumenism."
In some congregations and churches that may be so, but in the CHURCH as
CHURCH, those who are attentive and responsive to the Word of God, that is certainly
not the case and, if we are faithful to Christ, it never can be.
Perhaps we no longer see the ecumenical enthusiasm we saw
forty years ago because, as we get older and as people become used to what was
once new, they begin to take for granted what they have. Our younger
generation does not know the prejudice of Christian against Christian that their
parents knew. That Catholic and Orthodox and Anglicans and Protestants
pray together, study the bible together, visit with one another, work together
on social causes and preach the gospel together is a given! In this way
the ecumenical movement has been a big success and that should not be
forgotten. Today, housing for the homeless, outreach programs, shelters,
food banks, study groups and prayer services are organized and operated by Christians
working together in ways that were unthinkable in 1960. That being said, however,
can we just sit on our laurels? It appears that's what we've been doing
and, because of that, ecumenism is losing ground! Perhaps we ought to pause
and evaluate where we are and how we got there? Where, for example is
prayer and the explicit invocation of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual ecumenism
that is the heart and soul of the ecumenical movement, in all we do?
Without consistent, visible prayer all our ecumenical work runs the risk of
becoming little more than a quickly scanned and easily forgotten chapter in the
history of the Church. Where is the imagination of ecumenical workers
today to engage all Christians in dialogue and action, and what can local
ecumenical agencies point to as accomplishments and activities of just the past
year. Do we seriously take to heart not only the study of own doctrines
and practices but of others as well, not being afraid that we might just learn
something from one another that challenges long held prejudices? Are we
more concerned with being politically correct or faithful to the truth of the
gospel, willing to take a stand knowing that is might be opposed because it is
unpopular? Is our prophetic voice being heard above the din of society
that challenges God at every turn, threatening to make us little more than a
side street religious commodity for those who might be interested in what
we have to offer? Are we content merely to continue to do things as we
always have because new ideas and ways of doing things are too threatening to
the niche we've carved for ourselves? most importantly, is Jesus Christ
the center of and very reason for all that we do, and are we comfortable enough
in our faith in Jesus as Lord to proclaims him accurately and boldly?
"When you don't know where you're going, any road will
get you there." By this time in the ecumenical journey we ought to
know where we're going: the unity of the Church, even though we don't
know what that unity will look like. After all, we've allowed ourselves to
be divided for almost a thousand years. We can't expect to repair the
division in a mere four decades. We've been on the road for some time and
we've made considerable progress. Occasionally we will encounter obstacles
and detours along the way, but we must not lose hope, we must not turn
back. That would be ultimate betrayal of Judas to the will of our
Lord.
When he set out for California to establish a series of
missions Padre Junipero Serra's motto was "Siempre Adelante."
"Always Go Forward." That should be our motto as well.
After all, where would we be today if he had turned back when he didn't get the
support he sought, or when he felt that no one was listening, or when he believed
no one really cared, or when he felt like he was banging his head against a
wall. Can we expect to be any different? Let's stop whining and
resume proclaiming! Pick up and read again John Chapter 14 and listen to
what Jesus had to say to his apostles to keep them from discouragement.
We know where we're going: Christian Unity. We
know the road that will take us there: Jesus Christ. We just have to
be more willing to work together, each doing his or her part to succeed,
learning from past successes, adapting to new situations - and trusting it all
to the Holy Spirit whose work, after all, it really is.