A REFLECTION ON THE NEED FOR
ECUMENISM
The unity of the Church is
founded on scripture, in the letters of St Paul, it is evident that, Paul did
not found all the churches but he was conscious of the oneness of the different
churches (cf Rom 12:4-5). And again, Paul reminded the younger churches to be
in communion with the older churches. Also in the Acts of the Apostles unity of
the Church is highlighted in 2:41-42. Though John did not talk of church in his
Gospel he recognized that there is one flock belonging to one shepherd. These biblical
positions point to the fact that the Church can only attained its final goal in
unity and not in disarray.
The council fathers(Vatican II)
revisited the purpose of Christ death, that is, new life and unity of all humanity.
Before the Cross he prayed that all may be one (Jn 17:21). Thus he instituted
the sacrament of the Eucharist which
brings to reality the unity of the Church.
He exhorted his disciples to remain united in love through the gift of
the Holy Spirit. The Spirit unites the Church
in faith , hope and charity, as stated in Eph. 4:4-5 "...one body and one
spirit ....one Lord, one faith , one baptism."
The witnesses of martyrs; not
only Catholics but of other Christian dominations is a testimony that we are
all in the same direction and a motivation for us to strive in unity with all
Christian churches. If we are following the examples of these gallant martyrs
how can we then remain divided.
At the level of theology there
seems to be some achievements which gives hope, but further concrete efforts
needs to be made in this direction. It should start from the hearts of all,
that we open up our hearts towards the faithful of other denominations,
reconcile the painful past and move forward together. Though we differ in
certain practices we share the same purpose: the realization of God's kingdom.
What we only need to do as pilgrims on a journey is to support one another in
our weaknesses so as to reach our final destination, the salvation of all
souls.
The efforts in unifying the
different churches seem to be yielding some fruits, yet discouraging. That is,
in the Catholic dialogue with the orthodox churches there is a lot of hope but
with the protestants churches, things seem to be getting even worse especially
with the proliferation of churches. The main cause of this minimal achievement
is the belief by each church of having
the truth. However we have to acknowledge our incapacity to discover the full
truth of revelation. This awareness will open our doors to others, geared
towards unification. we have to give a listening ear to one another, so as to
come together and the Holy Spirit will teach us to understand and live truly
the unity and oneness of Christ.
It is therefore, the duty of all
Christians to respect to respect one another's faith, socialized with them,
share their joys and sorrows, and through this full communion will certainly be
achieved.
SOURCES:1. Vatican council II
vol. 1 The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents.
2. Encyclical of Pope John Paul
II on ecumenism
3. Lecture notes on Ecclesiology
by Fr kocholikal
4. Homily of His Holiness
Benedict XVI and Message of the Bishops of Africa to the People of God.
****
A REFLECTION ON 1 PETER: THE NEW COVENANTED PEOPLE OF GOD.
The authorship of first peter is
not known but its purpose was to encourage the Christian communities in Asia
minor to endure hardship in Jesus' name
. The Christians were a minority in this region and could give up in the wake
of rejection and persecution . As a minority, Christians were suspected of
being a secret society. also they were being persecuted by the Romans for been
atheists and antisocial. Hence they are exhorted on the need to strengthened
their bond of unity so as to overcome
these challenges.
He first of all reminds them of
their identity in 2:9 "you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation" a comparison with Israel
delivered from the house of bondage. Thus the Christians should see themselves as the 'new covenanted
people'. The word church did not however appear in First Peter but it is
implicit in the phrase people of God.
Because the people in First Peter is described as God's chosen people parallel to (Ex 19:6) and (Is 43:20-21).
Christ has delivered them from
their former status and brought among the people of God which is the core of
their call. They are to translate this into a spiritual offering to God through
Christ, that is, to accept Christ as their saviour . To accept all the
sufferings , rejection , suspicion , accusations , persecutions just a Christ
did on the cross. They should consider themselves as the Israel in exile and
endure for the final delivery will soon come. Though the church is in exile now
, it is the People of God in 'pilgrimage to the promised land'.
In my experience, this tendency
can be construed in two ways (i) the individual experience as a Christian and
(ii) the minority Christian community. In the first instance, the individual
spiritual journey usually faces a lot of challenges from his peers or
community. Even among Christians and religious communities where individuals
who dedicate themselves to imitating Christ are often suffocated , ridiculed
and rejected. First Peter reminds them not to give up. There could also be a
negative aspect, in that, an individual because of his faith may see others as
sinners and impure people and hence reject the community. Secondly the minority
Christian believers also suffer persecutions like in First Peter in different
parts of our world and tend to bind them more together, giving them a strong
sense of unity with the hope of eschatological liberation. Such as the
Christians in Pakistan, Iraq, Libya, Sudan where Muslims dominate and Christianity
is a minority.
My experience Living in Karimoja
among the Karimojong in Northern Uganda as a missionary gave me such
experience. So many challenges face missionary work there; ranging from high
insecurity from cattle raiders, poor road network, poor sanity, a negative
attitude of the local people towards missionaries etc. Several priests and
religious have been murdered there. This feeling has resulted in solidarity and
a sense of belonging among the religious communities. Whom, though faced with
these challenges, are committed to their missionary calling in this region and
identify with one another, consoling and encouraging one another to recognized
Gods presence in the midst of all these challenges, with joyful hope that one
day the fruits of their labour will be abundant.
SOURCES: 1.Lecture notes on First
peter, 2. the Anchor Bible Dictionary vol. 5, David Noel Freedman eds.
3. The African Bible, 4. Personal
experience
****
REFLECTION
ON THE ECCLESIOLOGY OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL
We are the
Church and not that the Church is for us. It is not outside of us but within
us. Not an organization but an organism of the Holy Spirit and thus alive. This
awareness of the church as mystical body, liberates us, in that we recognize that we are
part of the mystical body with Christ as the nucleus. This gives us a sense of
belonging and a sense of responsibility.
like any living organism it undergoes changes yet remains essentially
the same(Guardini).
This
awareness brought joy and life because before this time the Church emphasized
her primacy against any modern
achievements. The only truth comes from the Church and the members are just
from without, like spectators in a game. But the truth came to light that, the
Church is actually the expressions of faith of the individual members, hence
each individual counts including the dead (communion of saints).
The Church
has undergone changes through the ages yet remains Christ's interventions in the history of
mankind, Jesus though crucified is alive in the Church. Christ inaugurates the
Church and the Church continues to perpetuate the life of Christ, for the Church
is but the presence of Christ. Like the disciples of Emmaus, the presence of
Christ burns in our hearts, and it is this experiences put together that
expresses the Church. Thus the church germinates from within and grows
outward, the one who experiences Christ
expresses it in prayer, the sacraments and the attitude of faith, hope and
love. This attitude draws others to communion with Christ and by so doing
builds the Church.
Accepting
Christ is becoming part of the mystical body of Christ the Church, and hence an
organ, which has to function for the completeness of the whole. this has to be
expressed in me in living the reality of the Church in daily life. Hence the Church
is a dynamic living reality and thus it should be facilitated to grow and
matures in the faith and not to be imprisoned in authoritative power.
Church as
the body of Christ is interwoven with the Eucharist, this is what St Paul and
the early Church fathers believed that through the Eucharist we receive the body of Christ as food. This
is the summit of Church's life. Christ's institution of the Eucharist results
in the Church, prefigured already at the last supper, service of God which is
service of the people. Thus the Church
is not only universal but local, for the presence of Christ is the Church,
which is true of the local Church (LG 26) , the spirit of collegiality is
imperative. This means self proclaimed churches lacks legitimacy as we only
encounter Christ through the sacraments, in unity with one another and with
Christ in the Church. The council recognized the universal priesthood of the
faithful hence the introduction of the term People of God. It is through
baptism that we are saved by Christ and called to witness (1 Peter 3:15).
In
conclusion, the council Fathers see the
church as a mystery, a sacrament, it is the whole people of God and not just
the hierarchy. Authority is for service and the Church is for the sake of the
kingdom and cannot be seen as the kingdom. It is a pilgrim Church searching for
the truth which is not only restricted in the Catholic Church, but can be found
in other ecclesial communities and religions. For my part, I have come to
recognized my place and role in the Church, that Christ lives in me by virtue
of my baptism and I have to live this life of Christ in me in a way that
propagates his presence in others. To be a priest is not to be in authority but
to serve others as Christ served me. Above all to recognise the role of the
faithful in the proclamation of God's kingdom.
sources: 1.
class notes taken from L'Observatore Romano, Weekly Edition in english, 23
january 2002, page 5.
2. Vatican
II vol. 1 The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, edited by Austin
Flannery, O.P.
3.
www.wiziq.com/../106759/vat-11- ecclesiology
Reflection On 'Africae
Munus' by Josephat Diyuo, date: 16-03-13
Africae Munus, calls on the ecclesiastical community in Africa
to focus on achieving reconciliation, justice and peace. The continent went through
many challenges, yet the Pope exhorts us not to remain wounded by these
atrocities but to move forward in faith and hope[1].
Christians are urged to exemplify the just life of Christ (nos 24-25), so as to
draw the world to justice. we are called to live the beatitudes (nos 26-27);
committed to fraternal service , love of truth (no. 28) and this will lead to
reconciliation, justice and peace.
There is therefore the need for authentic conversion and
partaking of the sacraments of penance, spirituality of communion,
inculturation of the gospel (nos 32-41). Also conscious efforts should be made
in protection of life , care of migrants,
displaced persons, refugees. also there should be good governance (nos 70-85),
ecumenical and interreligious dialogue with African Traditional Religion and Islam
(nos 92-94). He calls on the Church as family of God to contribute to communion
and peace in the Church and society. The Church's apostolate should demonstrate
the Church as Christ's presence; in the area of education, health care, communication
etc.
The church as family of God, has to revitalize her zeal for evangelization
to places where the gospel has not reach, which all Christians should be
involved, our daily lives should demonstrate the spirit of reconciliation,
justice and peace. The African clergy and consecrated men and women are invited
to value vocation as priest and religious
and to support the new
evangelization in the secularized nations, Africa has received enough from
other nations, it is time to give back(nos 100-120). The missionaries of Africa (most of whom came
from Europe and America) in my home diocese in Ghana is a perfect witness, now
the diocese has a lot of priests and religious who are called to help the
evangelization of the west. Lastly the church re-affirm her commitment to
evangelization and human development so as to ensure reconciliation, justice and
peace in the whole of Africa and the world at large.
I think this document is a wakeup call for us to recognize
the many blessings that are bestowed on Africa and forge ahead in our ministry
so that the light of Christ in the church family will shine in all dark corners
of Africa. It's our duty as students for the priesthood to reflect deeply on
our role as members of the Church family and put in our best that the gospel
values penetrate the heart of Africa, in order to bring about reconciliation,
justice and peace. Especially in areas like Karimoja in northern Uganda where
poverty, insecurity dominate.
SOURCES:1. Africae Munus
of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, 2. www.news.va/en/news/key-ideas-and-principal-themes-of-africae-munus.
[1] cf
Homily of his Holiness Benedict XVI and message of the bishops of Africa to the
people of God, 1.
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