Vigils Reading

A reading from the Encyclical “Ut Unum Sint” by

POPE ST JOHN PAUL II

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Passing from the obligations of the Christian conscience to the actual

practice of the ecumenical journey toward unity, the second Vatican Council

emphasizes above all the need for interior conversion. The second Vatican

Council indicated as a dimension of renewal the ecumenical task of uniting

divided Christians, “There can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a

change of heart”.

The Council calls for personal conversion as well as for communal

conversion. The desire of every Christian Community for unity goes hand in

hand with its fidelity to the Gospel. Each one therefore ought to be more

radically converted to the Gospel and, without ever losing sight of God’s plan,

change his or her way of looking at things. Thanks to ecumenism, our

contemplation of the “mighty works of God” has been enriched by new horizons,

for which the Triune God calls us to give thanks: the knowledge that the spirit is

at work in other Christian Communities, the discovery of examples of holiness,

the experience of the immense riches present in the communion of saints, and

contact with unexpected dimensions of Christian commitment.

In a corresponding way, there is an increased sense of the need for

repentance: an awareness of certain exclusions which seriously harm fraternal

charity, of certain refusals to forgive, of a certain pride, of an unevangelical

insistence on condemning the “other side”, of a disdain born of an unhealthy

presumption.

Thus the entire life of Christians is marked by a concern for ecumenism;

and they are called to let themselves be shaped, as it were, by that concern. By

engaging in frank dialogue, Communities help one another to look at

themselves together in the light of the Apostolic Tradition. This leads them to

ask themselves whether they truly express in an adequate way all that the Holy

Spirit has transmitted through the apostles. The unity willed by God can be

attained only by the adherence of all to the content of revealed faith in its

entirety. In matters of faith, compromise is in contradiction with God, who is

Truth.

In the Body of Christ, “the way and the truth and the life”, who could

consider legitimate a reconciliation brought about at the expense of truth? Even

so, doctrine needs to be presented in a way that makes it understandable to

those for whom God himself intends it. Because by its nature the content of faith

is meant for all humanity, it must be translated into all cultures. Indeed, the

element which determines communion in truth is the meaning of truth. The

expression of truth can take different forms. The renewal of these forms of

expression becomes necessary for the sake of transmitting to the people of today

the Gospel message in its unchanging meaning.

All this is extremely important and of fundamental significance for

ecumenical activity. Thus it is absolutely clear that ecumenism. The movement

promoting Christian unity, is not just some sort of “appendix” which is added to

the Church’s traditional activity. Rather, ecumenism is an organic part of her

life and work, and consequently must pervade all that she is and does; it must be

like the fruit borne by a healthy and flourishing tree which grows to its full

stature.