Diocesan Bulletin for Christian Unity Archdiocese of Southwark

Oct 2010 No. 88 T 80 pence O G IN THIS ISSUE

E Sharing Faith Together T A Day Filled with Joy The Place of the BVM H Spiritual Ecumenism E R IN CHRIST Together in Christ, Diocesan Bulletin for Christian Unity, Archdiocese Southwark, Vol 28, No 88, October 2010

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2 Sharing Faith Together Today Robin Orton

4 A Day Filled With Joy, Hope, and Peace Maureen Liddy

6 Mission of the Place of The BVM Desmond Miller

11 Spiritual Ecumenism C. Chessun This June marked the centennial of Edinburgh 1910 and ecumenical groups and societies will be remembering this historic moment for the rest of this year. At that time there was a history of conflict and animosity between the churches. In Edinburgh a Missionary Conference was convened bringing together 1200 church leaders and missionaries from mostly Protestant churches from around the world to pray and study for the future needs of the world in Mission and fellowship. This remarkable occasion brought a new vision of unity in mission. For Edinburgh 2010 there will be events world-wide representing many more nationalities and Christian communities including Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Pentecostal churches. Robin Orton records the Churches Together in South London's own celebration for Edinburgh 2010. Maureen Liddy, a Parish Unity Contact in SW London, tells us her impressions of the twenty-fifth annual Multi-faith Pilgrimage for Peace in London. The seventeenth International Congress of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary was held at Garstang in July. Its theme was Mission and the Place of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Desmond Miller invites anyone interested in Unity to consider becoming a member of the Society. Last time we brought Receptive Ecumenism by Bishop Paul Hendricks. At the same meeting Bishop talked on Spiritual Ecumenism, which is reproduced in full. We welcome your articles on Christian Unity to share with others. If you have experienced an ecumenical event or special occasion please share it with us.

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1 SHARING FAITH TOGETHER TODAY CHURCHES TOGETHER IN SOUTH LONDON FORUM 25 MAY 2010

The aim of the forum was ‘to remember celebrate, and be inspired by the Edinburgh missionary conference of 1910’ – often regarded as the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement – on its centenary. Its theme was home mission today, particularly in South London. It was led by Bishop Christopher Chessun, Anglican Bishop of Woolwich, chair of CTSL, and John Richardson, the CTSL ecumenical officer. Jim Currin (a Church Army captain and secretary of the CTE group for evangelisation) gave the (excellent) keynote address, called Sharing faith the Jesus way. He suggested we should look at what Jesus said and did, and use that as a model for our own evangelistic activities. Jesus encountered people in their ordinary everyday environment, listened to the issues they brought to him and responded to them (in different ways, depending on their circumstances). Some theologians have questioned whether Jesus himself had a ‘mission’. He brought people the ‘Gospel’, but ‘Gos- pel’ can be understood in many different ways. Must ‘conversion’ always be the object of evangelisation? The theme of breaking down what might be artificial barriers between ‘preaching the Gospel’ and serving people ‘where they are’ was, I thought, reflected in the other six presentations, which were accounts of specific ecumenical initiatives concerned with present- ing the faith to non-Christians, particularly in south London. The points which struck me particularly were: Ÿ ‘Don’t work for unity, assume it’ (Phil Stokes of Southwark for Jesus, a loose network of mainly evangelical and Pentecostal churches in Southwark) Ÿ Two speakers mentioned Street Pastors as a good way of reaching young people ‘where they were’.

2 Ÿ A challenge to the idea of categorising churches as ‘black-led’ and ‘other’. Christians are Christians, whatever their ethnic background. Every congregation should be open to and reflect the different cultures of its members. (Israel Olofinjana, minister of a ‘mainstream’ Baptist church in Crofton Park). Ÿ Celebrations next year of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the Authorised Version may provide a peg for Bible-based evangelism (, Canon Missioner, Anglican Diocese of Southwark). Walk Thru the Bible seminars warmly commended (Hayley Teague, The Jeremiah Project, Mitcham). Ÿ The visit to England last year of the relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux had ecumenical support and spoke to many unchurched people. The Pope’s visit this September may provide similar opportunities for ecumenical mission, e.g. video links to the London prayer vigil on 18 September. (Clare Ward, home mission advisor, Catholic Bishop’s Conference) The AGM of CTSL was also held on this occasion. Bishop Paul Hendricks (Assistant Bishop, RC Diocese of Southwark) was elected chair, to succeed Bishop Christopher. The vice-chair is to be Apostle Bishop Dr Donnett Thomas; the expectation is that she will take over from Bishop Paul after his three years in office. She is of Jamaican origin, though brought up in London, and is founder and senior pastor of Power of the Living Word Ministries International based in Clapham Park. Robin Orton 26 May 2010

3 A day filled with joy, hope and peace The 25th Annual Multi-Faith pilgrimage for peace, organised by Westminster Interfaith, the diocesan Inter-Faith agency, took place on Saturday 5th June. Over 300 people took part, some staying for the whole day while others joined or left at various points. At the opening Mass in Westminster Cathedral, Archbishop Vincent Nichols spoke of ‘this great event, which has become a landmark of inter-religious relations in London’. He paid tribute to the work and inspiration of Cardinal Hume and the Directors of Westminster Interfaith, especially of Brother Daniel Faivre, who started the Pilgrimage in 1986. The five places of worship we visited were some distance apart so we travelled by foot, bus and train – which showed the great organisational skill of the leader and stewards! The procession was led by two Buddhist monks carrying a banner and beating a gong. After leaving the Cathedral, the group travelled to the West London Synagogue near Marble Arch to attend the Shabbat Service and a Bar Mitzvah. We were given a warm welcome by the Rabbi who gave a short presentation on the Movement for Reform Judaism, a history of the beautiful building and an explanation of the Service. We were able to follow the prayers and readings in the prayer books we were given which were written in Hebrew and English, starting from the back! It was very moving to hear the familiar psalms and readings which Jesus would have known and prayed. The Bar Mitzvah ceremony was really impressive especially when the young boy gave a presentation of his faith with great confidence and sincerity. We, Christians, were reminded of our Sacrament of Confirmation. There followed a service of blessing and thanksgiving for two babies recalling the presentation of Jesus in the Temple. The music and choir were beautiful throughout so, although the service lasted almost two hours it was not tiring. The dignity, reverence and prayerfulness of all were very striking. We were then served a very generous vegetarian lunch by the Sachkhand Nanak Dham Society who brought the food to the Synagogue for us. This Society, originating in India, follow Mahraz Darsham Das who taught that ‘God, man and creation are one’ and 4 urged his followers ‘to strive to unite mankind under the one common banner of love, peace, tolerance and understanding’. Our next stop was the Buddhist Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park which was built in 1984 as a focus for all people seeking world peace. The first Pagodas were built in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War. We continued our pilgrimage to the Fazl Mosque in Southfields which in 1924 was the first Ahmadiyya Muslim mosque built in Britain. We were welcomed in a spacious garden with delicious food, followed by a visit to the mosque, where the Imam spoke about the history, life and beliefs of the community. Before leaving we were invited to sign a book of condolence for the relatives of those recently killed in Pakistan. This was an act of solidarity with a community whose rule of life, written on the wall of the Mosque, is: Love for All, Hatred for None. Our last visit was to the Sikh Gurdwara, South London, where we experienced the renowned Sikh hospitality. In the Gurdwara, where the Holy Book is kept in a place of honour, we heard about the life and beliefs of the community whose way to God is through service to humanity. It was very appropriate that our pilgrimage ended at the grave of Brother Daniel Faivre, who worked with such enthusiasm and dedication for inter-faith dialogue until his death in 2007. The culminating, beautiful moment came when prayers and readings from the various sacred Scriptures were read beside his grave. It was a day filled with joy, hope and peace. One of the joys was the opportunity to build friendships along the way – To meet God in friend and stranger – as the new teaching document of the Catholic ’ Conference is entitled. As Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement has said: ‘Our way of understanding is not to discover every detail, but to encounter the soul of each people through just one representative’.

Maureen Liddy

5 Mission and the Place of the Blessed Virgin Mary

This was the theme of the seventeenth International Congress of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary held at Garstang 19 to 22 July 2010. The Society holds a Congress every other year with the aim of bringing together representatives of various church traditions to meet in a congenial atmosphere to make friends, to pray together and to promote serious study of the role of Mary in the Church. Contrary to all expectation Mary has proved to be a focus for unity. The papers presented at the congresses have been collected and published providing a most important resource for academic study. The meetings are often held in colleges in university towns with somewhat Spartan accommodation, but this year the Congress met at the Garstang Country Hotel a few miles north of Preston. Set in lush green country side overlooking a golf course, the hotel was very comfortable, the food excellent and the service outstanding. The following papers were presented: Revisiting the Edinburgh Missionary Conference [1910] – Dr David Chapman (Methodist); The Bible at the core of the Marian ecumenical dialogue – Dr Virginia Kimball (Greek Orthodox, USA); Re-enchantment of the Liturgy – Bishop Andrew Burnham of Ebbsfleet (Anglican); Reconciling her quarrelsome children – an account of the visit of the miraculous icon of the Theotokos of Pochaiv to Canada in 2009 – Fr John Jillions (Russian Orthodox, Canada); ‘The rosarie, psalter, or croune of our Ladie’ in 16th cent England – Dr Jan Rhodes (Roman Catholic); Popular religiosity as an instance of Catholicity and its bearing on the place of the Blessed Virgin Mary in ecumenical exchange – Fr Christopher O’Donnell, O. Carm. (Catholic). There was one further presentation by three members of the choir of St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Kent, entitled, An overview of a small corner of Marian Liturgy, Mark Bateson, a librarian, described a mediaeval breviary (much damaged by a fire in the 16th century) in the Canterbury Cathedral archives; Chris Smith, a lawyer, gave an account of his research into a Marian Vespers from the Hereford Breviary linking it with one in the Canterbury breviary; and Helen Nattrass, a civil engineer and musicologist, told how she set about

6 interpreting and editing the music. The choir of eight with Ben Saul as conductor led us in this, the First Vespers of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary derived from the Hereford Breviary (AD c. 1250) and the Worcester Antiphoner at Ladyewell, the Marian shrine at Fernyhalgh. It is probable that this was the first performance of this Vespers since 1547. Although the academic work is central to the purpose of the Society the social and spiritual programmes are very important. Each day morning and evening prayer was taken from an ecumenical version specially written for the use of the Society. During the course of the Congress a conventual Eucharistic liturgy was celebrated each day according to a different tradition. On this occasion we went first to the Preston Methodist Church at Fulwood where the Rev. Christopher Humble led the service. This church has recently been refurbished and has a very impressive hall and meeting area attached. The following day the Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated at the Cathedral Church of St Peter, Lancaster, where Bishop Ambrose Griffith, OSB presided as the local ordinary, Bishop Michael Campbell, had a previous engagement. The St Thomas of Canterbury Choir led the singing and Ben Saul ended the Mass with a spine tingling rendering of the Allegro assai vivace from the Sonata for Organ by Mendelssohn. St Peter’s Church was completed in 1859; built in the Gothic style on a hill over looking Lancaster, it has a 240 foot spire; the three manual pipe organ was installed in 1888. When the diocese of Lancaster was created in 1924, St Peter’s was the obvious choice as Cathedral. From Lancaster we went to Ladyewell where after tea and a brief introduction to the Shrine given by Fr Tom Hoole, the Shrine Director, we gathered in the Martyr’s Chapel for the Marian Vespers. Fernyhalgh designates that locality – the name is of Anglo-Saxon origin meaning ‘ancient shrine’. Roman coins have been found there dating back to the 4th century, and the Well may have been used for baptisms in Anglo-Saxon times. Legend has it that circa AD 1100 the Irish Merchant, Fergus Maguire, in danger of shipwreck on the Irish Sea promised God that if he and his crew were saved he would perform a work of piety. Washed up on the Lancashire coast, Fergus heard a voice urging him to find an ancient shrine (fernyhalgh) with a well spring and a crab apple tree where he was to build a chapel in thanksgiving. In his search he came to Priest’s Town (Preston) where 7 he overheard a milkmaid saying that she had found her strayed cow at Femyhalgh. She agreed to show him the way and to his delight found the well spring and crab apple tree. An image of Our Lady was placed at the well and a chapel was built. The earliest documentary evidence for Divine Services to be held at Ladyewell is dated 1349. Sadly, the chapel was destroyed, it’s revenues, furniture and bell confiscated in 1547. Ladyewell House was built to serve as a Mass centre in 1685. Since 1987 the Shrine has again become a popular place of pilgrimage. Canon Benedict Ruscillo on his retirement as a parish priest and Catherine Stirzacker went to Ladyewell at the request of Bishop John Brewer to revive devotion to Our Lady and the Martyrs. To accomodate the increasing number of pilgrims, the ‘Martyrs Chapel’ was built in the grounds together with another enclosed area for quiet reflection, the Stella Maris chapel, placed within sight of the Well with its beautiful statue of the Maddona and Child. Ladyewell House is home to the relics of the Lancaster Diocese. There is an altar (1560) on which three of our martyrs, St Edmund Campion, St Edmund Arrowsmith and Blessed John Woodcock, celebrated the Mass. A notable recent acquisition is a relic of St Thomas à Becket. The following day we were invited to Blackburn Anglican Cathedral (built 1826 and raised to cathedral status 1926) where Bishop Nicholas Reade, a member of the Society, was the main celebrant. The Cathedral is light and airy as the windows are plain glass. There is a modern statue of the Madonna and Child by Josefina de Vasconcellos and an interesting artefact, an example of a ‘pax’ – a square metal medallion with an image of the Virgin Mary which would have been reverenced and passed from one member of the congregation to the next at the kiss of peace. A reproduction of that image of Mary is found on the wall. Leaving Blackburn we were driven northwards to Stonyhurst College. The coach driver using his SatNav led us by a truly scenic route rather than by the main roads. There we were entertained to tea and given a short tour of the Library with its important manuscripts, vestments and relics, the Refectory, the College Chapel (St Peter’s) and the Sodality Chapel. The College was founded by Fr Robert Parsons S.J. in 1593 at St Omer for the sons of English Catholic recusant families. With the French Revolution the school moved to

8 Stonyhurst in 1794. Its alumni include three saints, twelve beati, twenty-two martyrs, seven recipients of the Victoria Cross, and many men of note in public life. The visit ended with the ESBVM Marian Vespers in the Sodality Chapel – a beautiful small chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption where the college students hold their Sodality meetings. The Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary was formed at the Roman College of the Society of Jesus in 1563 and was officially recognized by Pope Gregory XIII in 1584. It has been a means of spiritual development for many people including canonized saints. An Evening of Marian Music given by the Choir of St Thomas of Canterbury and Friends was memorable for the quality of the singing of both choir and soloists. Helen Nattrass entertained us on the virginal. Ben Saul, the Choir Master, is well known in this Archdiocese as the Conductor of the Girls Choir at Southwark Cathedral till he moved to Canterbury. A remarkably talented group of people. The ESBVM has accomplished a great deal since its foundation in 1967 by Martin Gillett. It continues to play an important role and its Newsletter goes out to some 700 people. In addition to the international Congresses there are local branch meetings. The London Branch meets at the Church of St Magnus Martyr by London Bridge on the first Wednesday of the month at 11.30 am at which there is usually a short talk, a time of prayer and a shared lunch. The Canterbury Branch based at St Thomas of Canterbury Church has had some very interesting meetings. However there is a need for new and younger talent to continue this great endeavour. We appeal to those who read this account to seriously consider joining this prestigious Society.

Desmond Miller

ESBVM, 11 Belmont Rd. Wallington, SM6 8TE. TEL: 020 8647 5992 See: www.esbvm.org.uk

9 Lancaster Cathedral Ladyewell Shrine

Blackburn Cathedral By Josefenia de Vasconcellos

Sodality Chapel, Stonyhurst Image from the ‘PAX’ 10 SPIRITUAL ECUMENISM The expanded text of a talk given by Bishop Christopher Chessun, Chairman of Churches Together in South London at a Council Meeting, 31 October 2009 held at St Andrew’s, Waterloo. In May of this year I visited the basilica of St Paul without the walls while participating in one of the Romesse courses at the Anglican Centre in Rome. We were welcomed by the Abbot, Dom Edmund Power OSB, and attended vespers. In preparing this talk I discovered that the Abbot confessed that when he first heard the term ‘spiritual ecumenism’ he thought it was a phrase used ‘because of a lack of concrete progress in unity’ – as if it had been recognised that ‘it’s not possible to have real unity, so let’s have a spiritual unity.’ However, the Abbot said that he had come to understand that ‘there is a deep significance to spiritual ecumenism’ which he takes to mean, ‘what we can do is to seek Christ together, to seek the will of God together through prayer, sacrifice and service.’ Abbot Edmund Power believes that ‘this is primary, but more important ... no union is possible if all who believe in Christ are not profoundly rooted in his life. ... This is the essential point of unity, the spiritual element. It means to highlight this and advance together to find concrete, pragmatic, daily ways of living together.’ The term spiritual ecumenism was first used by Paul Couturier (1881– 1953), ordained in the Society of St Irenaeus in 1906, a company of mission and teaching priests, who was to have a major impact on the ecumenical movement and in the 1930s transformed the Octave of Christian Unity, bringing to birth in 1934 the modern Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Spiritual Ecumenism Couturier was deeply struck that Jesus’ prayer on the night before he died was not simply for his disciples’ unity, but that they might be one as the Father and the Son are one, so that the world might believe. He realised that the unity of Christians was therefore a reality in heaven, in God himself, and that overcoming the worldly Church’s divisions through penitence and charity would offer a renewed faith to the whole world. So merely human efforts, methods and timetables, would not in the end prevail: what was needed was a ‘Spiritual Ecumenism’, that

11 prays for the unity of Christians ‘according to his will, according to his means’. Spiritual Emulation The power of prayer, and its potential for overcoming separation and the wounds of centuries, lay at the heart of all groups of Christian believers, and so he came to see that, as people grow in sanctity in their different traditions, they grow closer to Christ. If Christians could then be aware of each others’ history, spirituality, traditions of faith and worship, their hurts and their glories, they could thus grow closer to each other. ... If Christians could imitate each other – not just go to each others’ services, but embrace each others’ spirituality and traditions for their own – the path to holiness in one Church could be adopted and enhance the path to holiness in the others too. This ‘emu- lation’ has been described as ‘vying with one another’ to advance on the path to holiness and to Christ – not mutual admiration, not unfriend- ly rivalry. but a ‘race that is set before us’ in which we spur each other on beyond our own small worlds to fresh understanding, to new awareness of Christ and his Church, to a closer bond with him and his people. In the last fifty years we have seen the Abbé’s prayer that Christians could all pray the Lord’s Prayer together realised. Catholics have adopted many great Protestant and Anglican hymns and chorales. Anglicans and other non-Roman Catholics have taken to heart the Retreat movement, and also embraced the importance for the Ortho- dox of Icons. The Orthodox have become increasingly influential members of the World Council of Churches, and all now share in a renewed common love of the Scriptures. These are fruits of spiritual emulation. Two visits to England in 1937 and 1938 completed the Abbé’s initiation into ecumenism with his discovery of , not least through his encounter with the Anglican religious communities and episcopal, sacramental life in a Church of the Reformation. Anglicans, he hoped, would have a special role in realising the ideals of emulation and the ‘Invisible Monastery’ from their own experience as a Church with many different, even divergent, traditions in a country with many separated Churches, including his own Roman Catholic community. The scheme for the Week of Prayer which he devised, held all these contacts and friendships together, in a prayer that all Christians, all

12 humanity, should be sanctified and converge in Christ along paths of charity and mounting expectation with the consummation and revelation of Christ's truth in the unity for which he prays. In Ut Unum Sint (1995), the first-ever encyclical devoted wholly to ecumenism, Pope John Paul II insisted on the priority of spiritual ecumenism, based on interior conversion. This theme runs throughout the encyclical. In the very first paragraph, the Pope speaks of the importance of the Cross for unity: At the Roman Coliseum on Good Friday 1994 ... I stated that believers in Christ, united in following in the footsteps of the martyrs, cannot remain divided. If they wish truly and effectively to oppose the world’s tendency to reduce to powerlessness the Mystery of Redemption, they must profess together the same truth about the Cross. (para.1) John Paul II saw clearly that ecumenism is intrinsic to the authentic renewal of the Church. ‘In the teaching of the Second Vatican Council there is a clear connection between renewal, conversion and reform.’ (para.16). One of the longest sections in Ut Unum Sint is devoted to common prayer for unity (paras. 21–27). Spiritual Ecumenism lies at the heart of the Encyclical: Love gives rise to the desire for unity. (21) Love is the great undercurrent which gives life and adds vigour to the movement towards unity. (21) This love finds its most complete expression in common prayer. (21) In the fellowship of prayer Christ is truly present; he prays ‘in us’, ‘with us’ and ‘for us’. (22) Fellowship in prayer leads people to look at the Church and Christianity in a new way. (23) Prayer, the community at prayer, enables us always to discover anew the evangelical truth of the words: ‘You have one Father’ (Mt 23:9) (26) On his first visit outside Italy following his election in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI returning to his homeland for World Youth Day in Cologne focused on the significance of spiritual ecumenism in an

13 address to ecumenical representatives two days before the main youth gathering: Unity in multiplicity and multiplicity in unity ... full unity and full catholicity go together. As a necessary condition for the achievement of this coexistence, the commitment to unity must be constantly purified and renewed; it must constantly grow and mature. To this end, dialogue has its own contribution to make. More than an exchange of thoughts, it is an exchange of gifts (cf. Ut Unum Sint, 28), in which the Churches and the ecclesial Communities can make available their own riches (cf. Lumen Gentium, 8, 15; Unitatis Redintegratio, 3, 14ff; Ut Unum Sint, 10-14). As a result of this commitment, the journey can move forward step by step along the path to full unity, when at last we will all ‘attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13). It is obvious that, in the end, this dialogue can develop only in a context of sincere and committed spirituality. We cannot ‘bring about’ unity by our powers alone. We can only obtain unity as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, spiritual ecumenism – prayer, conversion and the sanctification of life – constitute the heart of the ecumenical movement (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio, 8; Ut Unum Sint, 15ff., 21, etc.). It could be said that the best form of ecumenism consists in living in accordance with the Gospel. I see good reason for optimism in the fact that today a kind of ‘network’ of spiritual links is developing between Catholics and Christians from the different Churches and ecclesial Communities: each individual commits himself to prayer, to the examination of his own life, to the purification of memory, to the openness of charity. The father of spiritual ecumenism, Paul Couturier, spoke in this regard of an ‘invisi- ble cloister’ which unites within its walls those souls inflamed with love for Christ and his Church. I am convinced that if more and more people unite themselves to the Lord’s prayer ‘that all may be one’ (John 17:21), then this prayer, made in the name of Jesus, will not go unheard (cf. John 14:13; 15:7, 16, etc.) With the help that comes from on high, we will also find practical solutions to the different questions which remain open, and in the end our desire for unity will come to fulfilment, whenever and

14 however the Lord wills. I invite all of you to join me in following this path. Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Council for Promoting Christian Unity, in the various dialogues between the Roman Catholic Church and other Churches, has again and again stressed the significance of spiritual ecumenism. In March 2003 he suggested to a high ranking Lutheran delegation in Rome that Lutherans and Catholics need a ‘spiritual ecumenism’ to ‘live into’ their historic joint declaration of 1999 which declared essential agreement on the doctrine of justification which divided the Church in the 16th century. It is a recurring theme of his, as any Google search will reveal. On 17 May 2003 in an address at St Alban’s Abbey entitled A Vision of Christian Unity for the Next Generation, he began by defining the present moment as one of ecumenical ‘crisis’, understood as ‘a situation where things are hanging in the balance, where they are on a knife edge’. His challenge was ‘to avoid two dangers: an ecumenism which is only an academic affair for professional theologians and an ecumenical activism defined primarily by an endless series of meetings, conferences and symposia’. Instead, he pointed to what he believed to be a healthier ecumenism – a ‘spiritual ecumenism’ and an ‘ecumeni- cal spirituality’. In the presence of the at Lourdes in 2008, Cardinal Kasper issued a similar challenge: What is true regarding every one of us is true also for the whole community of believers, for the Church. The Church is not only a socially constructed body, not merely the result of human willingness to live, to work and to be together. If the Church were to have survived only from her human potentialities, she would have collapsed long ago. No, the Church exists and lives because she, represented by Mary, is the kecharismene, the favoured, the elected, convoked, blessed and filled with grace by the Lord. As Church we are God’s people and his temple. Therefore, we cannot ‘make’, organise or manipulate the unity of the Church. The full unity for which we look and pray is – as is all salvation history – God’s work, God’s gift and God’s grace. The 15 very heart and core of ecumenism is therefore spiritual ecumenism, which makes ours the prayer of our Lord on the eve of his passion: ‘That all may be one’. The great master of spiritual ecumenism, the French Abbé Paul Couturier, formulated the goal of the ecumenical movement not as a unity understood as our project but a unity when, where and how God wants it to be. Ecumenism is not a matter of our projects. It is God’s project. We are not the masters of this process. But we know that whoever prays in the name of Christ can be sure that their prayer will be granted. To make ours the prayer of Christ for the unity of his disciples holds the promise that unity will come – when, where and how God’s sovereign providence has disposed. Most recently Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor in a stimulating reflection on ecumenical perspectives, ARCIC – Dead in the water or money in the Bank spoke from his great wealth of experience: Above all else, ecumenical work is a spiritual task which is at the heart of ecumenism. It means prayer, especially common, ecumenical prayer for the unity of Christians, for personal conversion and individual reunion; for repentance and the striving for personal sanctification. ... So spiritual ecumenism is crucially important but must never be a mere slogan, one understood in a merely emotional sense as an escape or a substitute for an objective confession of faith. It should be understood as the way Christians, imbued and filled with the Holy Spirit of God, conduct themselves before God. It includes faith, the exercise of piety and the way we live our lives. It signifies a lifestyle guided by the Holy Spirit. It no longer starts with what divides Christians, but what we have in common. It starts with the common Christian experience and today, more than in the past, with the common Christian challenges in a more or less secularised and multi-cultural world. Ecumenical spirituality means listening and opening ourselves to the demands of the Spirit who speaks through different forms of piety. It means a readiness to re-think and convert but also to bear the ‘otherness’ of the other which requires tolerance, patience, respect and, not least, good will and love which does not gloat but rejoices in the truth. From my own experience I can say that ecumenical dialogue only succeeds where all this works, to some extent. In order to succeed, trust must be built, friendships established. It is out of this 16 that we begin to understand the different positions that have been reached. I therefore would want to express three key matters that are extremely important in the spiritual ecumenism which is neces- sary today. First of all, an ecumenical spirituality must be shaped by the Bible and therefore cannot be inwardly or purely Church defined. Ecumenical spirituality looks beyond itself because Jesus prayed that all may be one so that the world may believe. So this spirituality enables the Church to bear common witness to the world and more and more convincing Christian witness in the world. Secondly, Jesus Christ is present not only through Word but through Sacrament and therefore ecumenical spirituality would be a sacramental spirituality. It is based on our common baptism which we already share as members of one body in Christ and therefore live in a profound spiritual communion. Renewal of baptismal vows and liturgical commemoration of baptism is there- fore a basic element of ecumenical spirituality. Baptism, of course, directs us, gives us an impulse towards Eucharistic sharing because in the one Eucharistic bread we become one ecclesial body. It is therefore a deep pain for all who are engaged in the ecumenical movement that normally they cannot share at the Lord’s Table. However, one should understand that the suffering of so many Christians must be a further impulse for all who are responsible for promoting Christian unity. One of the great gains of the ARCIC dialogue was the real rapprochement in doctrinal issues on the Eucharist and an exchange of Eucharistic experiences and liturgical forms which has taken place. This is no small thing, given the harsh things that were said in history concerning the Mass which the reformers called an idolatry. It has been a cause of great joy for me, as well as some sorrow, to share in spiritual communion when I have attended a Eucharistic celebration in another church or community not in full communion with our own Church. There are, of course, as we know, particular situations of spiritual urgency and authentic deep desire when we are able to welcome some fellow-Christians to the Holy Eucharist. Finally, like Jesus, we can and may in the Spirit say, Abba, Father, to God because an ecumenical spirituality is a spirituality of prayer. Such prayer always gathers people together, in the same way as 17 Mary and the other disciples prayed for the coming of the Spirit which unite all peoples in one language and at that time could pray for a renewed Pentecost. We, too, must pray now that all may be one as Jesus himself lives and lived by prayer. And this not only personally, but communally, ecclesially. The Spirit is given to all believers and to the Church as a whole. Praxis: Cardinal Walter Kasper in his Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism offers ‘practical suggestions aimed at implementing and strengthening that spiritual ecumenism which is at the heart of all efforts to bring divided Christians together again in unity.’ Quoting the Decree of the Second Vatican Council on Ecumenism – Unitatis Redintegrato: This change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name ‘spiritual ecumenism’. The methodology of the Handbook is to look at each of the main areas of ecumenical witness and then make practical suggestions. For instance in the section on ‘Parishes and local Communities’ there are three lists: 1. Wherever Christians live or work together, they can be en- couraged: · to meet in their neighbourhoods to deepen everyday relations of friendship, particularly among families; · to foster relations of cooperation and shared commitment in the workplace, and to jointly address work-related or social issues; · to express the values of their own traditions, keeping faithful to them without denigrating others or engaging in polemics; · to avoid attitudes, gestures or actions that may hurt the feelings of Christians belonging to other traditions;

18 · to be generous or open in day-to-day relations with other Christians, trying to overcome inappropriate expressions of present divisions. 2. Together, local communities and their leaders can: · forward information to each other about major events, particu- lar celebrations, specific programmes; · communicate information among themselves; · exchange delegations or messages on particular occasions; · set up or support a local Council of Churches; · facilitate and support ministerial associations or regular meet- ings between local pastoral ministers. 3. Christian communities can develop common initiatives: · in catechesis and continuing formation; · in pastoral care of particular groups of people, such as those who are in hospitals, prisons, the armed forces and universities; · in mission to those who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in evangelisation of those whose faith is challenged by contemporary secular society; · in promoting the dignity of the human person; · in the application of Gospel principles to social and cultural life; · in the use of every possible means to relieve those suffering from famine and natural disasters, illiteracy and poverty, lack of housing and the unequal distribution of wealth; · in producing or promoting joint programmes on radio, television, internet and other media; · in engaging together in inter-religious dialogue, especially given its increasing importance in many parts of the world.

19 It is a very helpful guide indeed. My observation is that as Cardinal Kasper’s Handbook suggests there is much fruit to be seen at local level in terms of spiritual ecumenism which itself is a sign of ecumenical convergence among the churches, although I realise that much of the theological reflection on spiritual ecumenism is located in Roman Catholic source material (some key documents quoted above). We each have our own stories to share. For me, I have been helped by the example of others and the opportunity to experience the fruits of spiritual ecumenism in a number of exciting ways:

· The friendship between +Derek Warlock and +David Shepherd in Liverpool and their book, Better Together was a powerful example of spiritual ecumenism in the last quarter of the 20th century. · Cardinal Hume speaking at Wesley’s Chapel during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 1990 said: Our pilgrimage towards unity must always be accompanied by friendship and supported by prayer. · The Monastic Community of Jerusalem in Paris and elsewhere with a strong vision of reaching out to embrace and give deep support to those busily engaged with urban living through prayer, contemplation and lives centred on Christ said: Our mission is to share our common life. · Taizé: the ecumenical community in Burgundy, founded by Brother Roger Schutz (1915–2005), which attracts increasingly large numbers of young people each year who are encouraged to share common life at Taizé and participate in a pilgrimage of trust on earth. Towards the end of his life, as he grew more frail, Brother Roger’s last ministry was to remain in Church after Evening Prayer silently blessing all who came to him. In August 2009 the Archbishop of Canterbury visited the Community, his visit coinciding with that of the who was 20 accompanying a large group of young people from the Northern Dioceses, all of which reflected the fruits of spiritual ecumenism and strong hope for further progress in the journey of deepening unity in Christ. Bishop Christopher Chessun

END NOTES 1 Father Edmund Power, Benedictine Abbot of St Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, when interviewed during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 2008. 2 Sections on Spiritual Ecumenism and Spiritual Emulation from Paul Couturier and Spiritual Ecumenism 3 Pope Benedict XVI's address, delivered in German, to representatives of different Christian denominations with whom he met in the Archbishop’s Palace in Cologne, ahead of World Youth Day two days later. 4 Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, during the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, September 2008 5 Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor’s lecture on Ecumenism ARCIC – dead in the water or money in the bank? Worth Abbey 29 October 2009 6 Cardinal Walter Kasper, Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism. New City Press 2007 (ISBN – 13 978-1-56548-263-0)

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