THE P RTAL
December 2014
Page 6
This Holy Desire
In the next part of her series of articles Antonia Lynn
continues to unpack Anglicanorum Cœtibus
L
ast month
we recalled that Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Constitution declares the ‘holy desire’
of those Anglicans seeking unity with the Catholic Church to be nothing less than the movement of the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit has inspired us to ‘petition repeatedly and insistently’: quite how impassioned this
asking has been is shown in the Latin ut efflagitarent… (Yes, that comes from the same root as in flagrante).
This is the Spirit of Pentecost, bringing the promise of unity to a world in conflict and a divided Church, as
Benedict himself has insisted:
Dear friends, we must live according to the
Spirit of unity and truth, and this is why we must
pray for the Spirit to enlighten and guide us to
overcome the temptation to follow our own truths,
and to welcome the truth of Christ transmitted in
the Church.
‘Unity can exist only as a gift of God’s Spirit, which
will give us a new heart and a new tongue, a new ability
to communicate. This is what happened at Pentecost.
[The Spirit] came to rest upon the head of each of them
and ignited in them a divine fire, a fire of love, capable
of transforming things. Their fear disappeared, their
hearts were filled with new strength, their tongues
were loosened and they began to speak freely… Dear
friends, we must live according to the Spirit of unity
and truth, and this is why we must pray for the Spirit
to enlighten and guide us to overcome the temptation
to follow our own truths, and to welcome the trut ق