Christian Unity

[Written for my parish bulletin]

At the last supper Jesus fervently prayed for his apostles and all those who would come to believe in Him. He prayed that they may be one, as He and the Father are one.

Living in the South, all we have to do is drive down any road for five minutes to realize that the disciples of Christ are not one. We have countless Christian Churches even though the Roman Catholic Church remains the largest single Christian Church (one in every four Americans in Catholic). Divisions and sometimes even hatred exists between Christian groups. Division weakens the credibility of the Gospel message and is in strict contradiction to Jesus’ prayer. Unity on the other hand strengthens the Gospel and follows Jesus’ command that we may all be one.

The ecumenical movement that has emerged in the last century has the goal of making a reality the prayer of Jesus, that we may all be one. There has been much more communication and understanding between Christian Churches in these last decades than there had been in the last five centuries.

Ecumenism from a Catholic standpoint does not hold all Christian Churches are the same, but rather seeks union of all Christians under the umbrella of the Catholic Church. It’s a great challenge, but recent events are initial baby steps towards achieving this reality.

Ecumenism for a Catholic is not an option, it comes straight from Jesus Himself. It is an attempt to achieve a divine unity that is only possible through the grace of God. For humans alone it would be impossible, but for God, all things are possible, even the restoration of Christian unity.