The Charismatic movement brought renewal to mainstream Protestant churches beginning in the 1960’s. My family was involved in the very beginning of this charismatic movement in New Zealand. My father, a Baptist elder, led a prayer meeting every Friday night in our home that was packed with people from across our city from all denominations. When Catholics too began being ‘filled with the Spirit’ and calling themselves Pentecostal Catholics, our horizons were being truly stretched beyond our denominational prejudices and our wildest dreams!
Source: Jeff Fountain - "The Hope Of Pentecost", Weekly Word eNewsletter, 5 June 2017, http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?e=0b86898e11&u=65605d9dbab0a19355284d8df&id=2f143ac9e0
Psalm 73
When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Source: Bible - Psalm 73 : 21–26
Fr. Tom Ryan
[Thomas] Ryan envisions a reunified church that expresses the best of every Christian tradition: “When God puts us back together again . . . this great Church will be marked by the dignity and repentance of the Anglicans, the order and sacraments of the Roman Catholics, the warm fellowship of the United Church, the Presbyterian desire for good preaching and the Lutheran respect for sound theology. There will be the Evangelical concern for individual salvation, the Congregational respect for the rights of the lay members, the Pentecostal reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit and the Quaker appreciation of silence. We will find there the Mennonite sense of community, the social action of the Salvation Army and the Reformed love of the Bible, all wrapped in Orthodox reverence before the mystery of God” (179). Ryan recognizes that the path to reunion is the path of penitence, so in each case we can hope for a renunciation of all that is contrary to the Lord and His gospel.
Source: Thomas Ryan - As quoted by Peter Leithart in "Christian Unity", First Things blog post reviewing Thomas Ryan's book, 14 Feb 2017, https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2017/02/christian-unity
"We're not the only ones ..."
It is precisely at this point that I have encouraging news. We are not the only ones from a different culture and age who have wanted to imitate the life of Christ. Others - myriads and myriads of them - have sought to imitate the way of Christ and to translate that way into their own settings and surroundings. We are helped immensely by looking at their efforts and learning their stories. Furthermore, it is a genuine act of humility to realize that we can learn from others who have gone before us. To be sure, they made mistakes, but even so they have much to teach us. In the midst of all their stumbling and fumbling they sought to imitate the way of Christ and to grow in Christlikeness. Their stories have been - and remain- a rich source of joy, inspiration, and instruction.
Source: Richard Foster - Streams of Living Water, p. 22
A Protestant Praises the Catholic Church
Some Protestant friends complain that I give Roman Catholics a pass. They argue that my call for unity requires a broader and more foundational repentance from Catholics than it does from Protestants. I'm quite aware of that, and my main rebuttal to that complaint is that Catholics have in fact shown a capacity for foundational repentance that is still dishearteningly rare in my little corner of Protestantism. Ryan gets this point just right, with an observation that is as true as it is stunning: “The transformation of the Catholic Church's view on Christian unity from before the [Second Vatican] Council to now has been one of the greatest examples of organizational conversion in the history of the world” (86).
Some Protestants still need to learn this lesson: Go and do likewise.
Source: Thomas Ryan, CSP - As quoted by Peter Leithart in "Christian Unity", First Things blog post reviewing Thomas Ryan's book, 14 Feb 2017, https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2017/02/christian-unity
Intercession = Escape from Reality?
The great intercessors of the Bible all approached God with a genuine sense of shame and embarrassment. They did not come into God's presence in order to cover up sin but to agree with His assessment of it, to face with stark honesty the wickedness of the culture around them. The prophet Jeremiah is a good example of this, as he stated:
"... For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me, declares the Lord. Everyone take heed to his neighbor, and do not trust any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanderers. Everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity." (Jeremiah 9:3-5)
Intercession is not an escape from reality. Our communication with God must be rooted in the truth - the eternal truth of His holy standards and the awful truth about our society as God sees it. The intercessor experiences the broken heart of God through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The intercessor also identifies with the sin of the people, because the intercessor has personally contributed to God's grief.
Source: John Dawson - What Every Christian Should Know About Reconciliation, p. 19
One Multitude, a Multitude of Languages
(9) After these things I looked and saw before me a large multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before God’s throne and the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their right hands. (10) And they shouted with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”
Source: John the Beloved - Revelation 7:9-10 (IEB)
Luther's 1st Thesis
Next Monday we pick up the thread again in Augsburg, where Luther was first summoned to give account to Cardinal Cajetan. We visit St Anne’s Church where Luther stayed, and where more recently, in 1999, the dialogue between the Vatican and the Lutheran Church produced the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ).
This declaration revealed a major change of heart on behalf of the Catholic Church. On the basis of this declaration, Pope Benedict XIV, who–as Cardinal Ratzinger–was personally involved in the dialogue with the Lutherans, declared in St Peter’s Square in 2006 that Luther had been right about the doctrine of justification.
Which interestingly brings us back to Luther’s first thesis: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matthew 4:17), he intended the entire life of believers to be repentance.”
At stake for Luther was the meaning of repentance. Did the Latin phrase Poenitentiam agite mean ‘to do penance’ as an external penitential action, or ‘to repent’ as an inner heart change? Repentance, he concluded, meant a change of heart, a lifestyle of heart-change.
This insight, prompted by reading Erasmus’ Latin translation newly published in 1516, triggered a 500-year argument which at last has been resolved through both sides adopting a change-of-heart attitude.
Other significant differences still remain, involving the ordination of women and the sacraments. But if we would all take our cue from Luther’s first thesis, adopting a lifestyle of heart-change, this commemoration year could be one of great mutual discovery.
Source: Jeff Fountain - "The Thunderclap from Wittenberg", Weekly Word eNewsletter, 3 July 2017, https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15d07442002018f4
2017
With respect to 2017, [Catholics and Lutherans] should renew their effort with gratitude for what has already been accomplished, with patience and perseverance since the road may be longer than expected, with eagerness that does not allow for being satisfied with the present situation, with love for one another even in times of disagreement and conflict, with faith in the Holy Spirit, with hope that the Spirit will fulfill Jesus' prayer to the Father, and with earnest prayer that this may happen.
Source: Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity - Conflict to Communion: Report of the Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, p. 88
Be a Public Defender ... not a Prosecutor
It was a hard moment - followed by a great healing light - when the Lord made me face up to my judgmental attitude, the one that was blocking any effective ministry by me among those I thought to be wrong in their ways.
"You're not forgiving," He stated flatly. "You're a public prosecutor, judging everybody in sight. But I want you to be a public defender - not a public prosecutor."
Source: David du Plessis - From "A Man Called Mr. Pentecost", as told to Bob Slosser, Ch. 18, p. 163
Nehemiah, part 2
On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.
Source: Nehemiah - Nehemiah 9:1-3 (NIV)
"Resistance is a sign that the body is alive"
Francis was aware that a number of cardinals and curial officials present as he spoke are engaged in such resistance, including Cardinals Burke and Sarah, but he declared “the absence of reaction is a sign of death!” whereas resistance “is a sign that the body is alive.”
Consequently, he said, “the good resistances—and even the less good ones—are necessary and merit to be listened to, received and encouraged to express themselves.”
Source: Pope Francis - "Pope Francis Speaks about the Reform of the Roman Curia and the Resistance to it", by Gerard O'Donnell, America - The National Catholic Review, 22 Dec 2016, http://www.americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/pope-francis-speaks-about-reform-roman-curia-and-resistance-it
The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral ... from the 1880s
[The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral is the ]statement of the four Anglican essentials for a reunited Christian Church. It concerns the scriptures, creeds, sacraments, and the historic episcopate. It was approved by the House of Bishops at the 1886 General Convention in Chicago, and subsequently approved with modifications by the bishops of the Anglican Communion at the Lambeth Conference of 1888.
...
The four points of the Quadrilateral were listed by the Chicago statement as "inherent parts" of the sacred deposit of Christian faith and order "committed by Christ and his Apostles to the Church unto the end of the world, and therefore incapable of compromise or surrender. . . ." The Chicago statement lists the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. With respect to baptism and the eucharist, the Chicago statement calls for administration of these sacraments "with unfailing use of Christ's words of institution and of the elements ordained by Him." The Chicago version expressed the fourth part of the Quadrilateral in terms of "The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the unity of His Church." Although the Quadrilateral was not enacted by the House of Deputies at the 1886 General Convention, it was incorporated in a general plan referred for study and action by the newly created Joint Commission on Christian Reunion.
...
At the 1895 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, the Commission on Christian Unity was continued with the goal of seeking Christian unity on the basis of the "principles enunciated throughout the Declaration of the house of Bishops made at Chicago in 1886, and as reaffirmed by the Lambeth Conference of 1888." Thus for the first time the entire General Convention of the Episcopal Church affirmed the Quadrilateral in its Lambeth form. The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral has continued to serve as the primary Anglican working document and reference point for ecumenical Christian reunion. The Chicago and Lambeth versions of the Quadrilateral are included in the historical documents of the 1979 BCP (pp. 876-878).
Source: Episcopalchurch.org - "Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral", glossary entry for episcopalchurch.org
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/chicago-lambeth-quadrilateral
Nehemiah
16 “But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands. 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, 18 even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies.
19 “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. 21 For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.
Source: Nehemiah - Nehemiah 9:16-21 (NIV)
The Archdiocese of Atlanta
Beginning in 1908, Christians have observed an annual time to pray for the ultimate gift of full unity. The observance began in New York with Episcopalians and Catholics and has since developed into a worldwide octave of Prayer for Christian Unity. The octave concludes with the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on Jan. 25. This year, I shared in the ecumenical prayer service at Emory University on Jan. 24 and joined my voice with those Christians of other denominations asking the Lord to heal our divisions and in His grace and time to unite us more perfectly in Christ Jesus.
I hope that many such opportunities for ecumenical prayer and fellowship will connect the communities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta with our Christian neighbors and friends. We have recently made great progress in learning how to care for one another with greater mutual respect and affection.
Source: Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory - The Georgia Bulletin, "The love of Christ compels us to reconcile", 26 Jan 2017, https://georgiabulletin.org/commentary/2017/01/love-christ-compels-us-reconcile/ (ALSO IN SPANISH at https://georgiabulletin.org/commentary/2017/01/el-amor-de-cristo-nos-apremia-reconciliarnos/?lang=es)
40 Days for Life
"There were many beautiful Holy Spirit moments at our kickoff," the Atlanta leader said, "but something that really delighted my heart was seeing Protestant and Catholic, black and white coming together in prayer to seek God's heart and pray for our community. Already this shows the healing power of God that He longs to pour out everywhere!"
Source: Shawn D. Carney - Quoting the Atlanta leader of 40 Days for Life in "Day 3: The Lord's Call for Unity" eNewsletter, https://yh125.infusionsoft.com/app/hostedEmail/92618968/0dae2e849b01799c
One Report of the Situation in Germany
The churches in Germany have not yet overcome all their differences, but they have learned to work together. During the rule of the National Socialists there were Christians who collaborated with the government. Others, however, offered resistance and were even imprisoned or sent to a concentration camp. The common experience of living and suffering under the dictatorship of the Nazis brought Christians of different traditions closer together. Today, German churches do a much better job of cooperating in order to fulfill the mission of the Church and witness to the Gospel in word and deed. Because the Roman Catholic Church and the EKD each have many members, they also make up a large part of the ecumenical cooperation that takes place in Germany.
Source: Council of Churches in Germany (ACK) - "The Ecumenical Situation in Germany", http://geii.org/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity/prayer_worship/ecumenical_situation_in_Germany.html
Paul 2 Timothy
(11) But you Timothy, a devoted man of God, run away from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
Source: The Apostle Paul - 1 Timothy 6:11
Hainburg, Austria
This year, 2020, marks a significant anniversary in the history of Hainburg, in fact for the whole country of Austria. In the year 1420, an expulsion of the Jewish people began in some communities such as Hainburg; the expulsion ended very tragically on March 12, 1421, with the remaining Jews who had refused baptism were burned at the stake in the present day third district of Vienna. The rich were put into prison, many were forcefully baptized, and those who refused were put onto small rafts and sent down the Danube river towards present day Bratislava. These were very dark days.
To remember this anniversary two small events took place. In July a small group from the TJCII Come and See Course gathered in Hainburg to pray and remember the events of 1420. We prayed that this history would not be forgotten. We realized that the old synagogue next to the Mysterium Christi house (that is about 700 years old) was probably last used as a synagogue 600 years ago. Yet, the building still stands and has surely seen much history. We want to hold it in remembrance. May it be as the stump from Isaiah 11:1!
The second event took place on the afternoon of September 27, right before the eve of Yom Kippur. A small group gathered in the Hainburg parish of Sts. Phillip and James to remember the events, pray together, and ask forgiveness for these events of the past.
Source: Sr. Mary Paul Friemel - Hainburg Report, December 2020 No. 18
Defining Ourselves as "Against"
The Catholic and Lutheran confessions have in the course of history defined themselves against one another and suffered the one-sidedness that has persisted until today when they grapple with certain problems, such as that of authority. Since the problems originated from the conflict with each other, they can only be solved or at least addressed through common efforts to deepen and strengthen their communion. Catholics and Lutherans need each other's experience, encouragement and critique.
Source: Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity - Conflict to Communion: Report of the Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, p. 87