The Portal Archive March 2012 | Page 17

THE P
RTAL

Father Peter ’ s Page

March 2012 Page 17

When theory becomes a reality ..

In a world which demands Instant News , Instant Comment and Instant Judgement , the knowledge that the Catholic Church thinks and decides matters over centuries must only confirm the view of many that she is a ‘ Sign of Contradiction ’.
Scholars of early Church history constantly remind us that the Arian Crisis , which seemed almost at one point to have captured the Church , took over 580 years to be resolved .
By such a perspective , it makes the break of the Church of England from Rome ( if you date it from the Act of Supremacy of 1534 ) seem still to be within its early days of possible reconciliation !
much labour and long gestation
Yet although the desire for Unity must always be seen as an Urgent one , and there must be a justifiable frustration when it is not being achieved immediately , such feelings must be balanced by a recognition that great events are not achieved without much labour and long gestation .
Such an attitude is often forgotten by certain voices in the media who try to claim that the work and progress of The Ordinariate is too slow or ineffectual . Perhaps they could be forgiven for forgetting that barely 14 months ago the concept and reality of The Ordinariate was not even known , let alone discussed or contemplated .
ecumenical endeavour
Yet within a year something for which people have prayed and worked for nearly four centuries has come to fruition and is transforming the landscape of ecumenical endeavour .
Although its ‘ name ’ and certain aspects of its organisation took everyone by surprise , the fact of its existence and achievement cannot be doubted . As
you read this , it is being replicated in America and soon , one anticipates , in Australia .
It is easy to exaggerate certain ‘ difficulties ’: the delay in the creation of a national headquarters and / or central church ; the time it takes Rome to endorse a specific liturgy ; the creation of ‘ independent ’ decisionmaking bodies and / or the creation of a structure which certain people feel is desirable .
historic reality
Attempts at Unity in Church history have often been beset by national politics or destructive personalities , e . g . the Uniate Churches . But all these secondary questions must not be allowed – especially by ourselves – to disguise the historic reality of what has happened within our lifetime and its phenomenal potential for the future .
Using a ‘ flying ’ analogy , ( something which is close to my heart !), it is clear that within just over a year The Ordinariate has ‘ taken off ’. Both in the UK and America , it is now clearly ‘ In the climb ’. Whilst it has not yet reached ‘ the cruise ’, when I speak at meetings and some cynic tries to claim that things are ‘ not as successful ’ and he / she claims they should be , I remind them of a story told about John Wesley .
He was once challenged as to whether he actually believed in Infant Baptism . “ Believe it ?” he retorted , “ I ’ ve actually seen it !” As we face together some of the growth-pains of a God-given movement let us never forget how wondrous is its reality !
Father Peter