Going ecumenical

AM happy to know that our bishops have declared Year 2020

as the Year of Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue and Indigenous

People. It’s part of the preparation for the 5th centennial of the

Christianization of our country that will take place in 2021.

  

            It is definitely a way of reaching out to the other

Christian groups with the view of achieving a more coherent unity in

accord to Christ’s desire that we all may be one as Christ and the

Father are one (ut unum sint), that we all may be perfected in unity

(consummati in unum). (cfr. Jn 17,21.23) It is also a way of reaching

out to those who have not yet heard about Christ.

  

            This thing about reaching out to form one unity, one

family of God amid the diversity of our circumstances, is at the heart

of Christ’s message and mission. Christ is God who became man to

redeem all of us from our sin and our alienation from God.

  

            Christ’s desire is for all men to be saved, though we also

have to do our part in this divine initiative. It’s actually now up to

us to correspond to his desire for which he also has given us all the

means. Christ with his promise of our redemption is all there for the

taking.

  

            In this business of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue,

one basic and indispensable element for things to take off is that of

friendliness and openness. While we have our own ideas, our own

doctrine, our own ways, we should just try our best to be as

accommodating to the others without compromising the essential, which

in the end, is to love everyone the way Christ has loved us all. (cfr.

Jn 13,34)

  

            Let’s remember how Christ has loved us—he did not only

preach about what is right and wrong, what is good and evil, what is

moral and immoral; he did not only perform miracles and do many other

wonderful deeds. He went all the way by offering his life for our

sins, offering forgiveness to everyone even if we have not yet asked

for forgiveness (“Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they

do.” Lk 23,34)

  

            We need to be truly like Christ to be able to reach out to

everyone despite differences and conflicts among ourselves. We need to

reach out to everyone regardless of the sharpness and intensity of our

differences and conflicts. Like Christ, let us take the initiative to

reach out and to become, as St. Paul once said, “all things to all

men.” (1 Cor 9,22)

  

            In this regard, let us make the effort to know the others

as best that we can. We have to overcome our tendency to congregate

and fraternize only with those who are like us, who think, speak and

act like us, etc. We need to know the others well, especially those

who are different from us or are even in conflict with us.

   

            It’s for this reason that we should learn more and more

about the others, noting what things we have in common and what things

we differ in. To be sure, we will have more things in common than

things where we differ. Let us focus more on the common things and try

to sort out our differences slowly, peacefully and charitably.

  

            Let’s hope that the Year 2020 will see progress in this

area of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and reaching out to

indigenous people. It is hoped that some people take the initiative to

continually nourish this pastoral thrust by offering relevant

information and data, organizing seminars and other platforms for

possible dialogues and outreach, coming up with appropriate

functioning structures, etc.

  

            Let’s strive to approach that ideal described once in the

Acts of the Apostles—that we be “of one heart and one soul” (cor unum

et anima una). (4,32)