THE P RTAL
January 2015
Page 6
This Holy Desire
In the next part of a new series of articles Antonia Lynn
takes a closer look at Anglicanorum Cœtibus
W
e saw
last month that the desire for unity which has prompted some of us to join the Ordinariate
is the work of the Holy Spirit: as we move to the second paragraph, Pope Benedict quotes both Lumen
Gentium and Unitatis Redintegratio, reminding us that unity is the work of the Holy Trinity - in other words
at the very heart of the God of communality and love himself.
disunity as Christians
However, we soon come across some
uncomfortable words: our disunity as Christians
and our disharmony as human beings (Christ’s
saving work is for ‘every creature’) ‘scandalise the
world’, ‘damage’ Christ’s cause and ‘contradict’ his
will.
There is a serious challenge here for us all. For
those who have left church, friends, flock and even
home and security ut unum sint, the scandal and
damage have been very real and very costly. In
humility and honesty we can say that the damage
was not at our instigation but imposed on us by
those with other visions of what Church means.
As I suggested last time, we have been wearied by
constantly having to fight our corner. The danger is,
though, that the need always to be ready to counter
the next attack can become an ingrained habit of
antagonism and one which, despite ourselves, we
may find we have brought with us into the Catholic
Church. There will be many swords for us to beat into
ploughshares, and it will be hard work.
troubling behaviour
and smug superiority
It is seldom pleasant to hear what is being said about
oneself, but it can sometimes be a useful warning. For
example, if we (and I am deliberately using the first
person here) became used in our former lives to seeing
heresy and schism round every corner - and sadly
we were usually right - will that still be our default
position in the Catholic Church, though we know her
to be a quite different entity?
Furthermore, how do we treat the communities from
which we have parted? Here is a comment I heard, to
my shame, from someone who made the decision to
stay behind, ‘I find the behaviour of those who left
deeply troubling and the smug superiority that I often
encounter from those who claim to want unity rather
puzzling.’ Asserting that those words do not apply to
me will only make me the more guilty!
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let our prayers, words and actions
work for their healing
Do we bless - benedicere, ‘speak well of ’ - those we
have left behind, or do we still criticise and gloat?
‘Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse
them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those
who weep.’ (Romans 12:14-15).
The scandal of disunity continues even though we
are safe on the Rock. Put bluntly, we can either rub salt
in the wounds of the Body of Christ, or let our prayers,
words and actions work for their healing. ‘Precisely
for this reason,’ Benedict tells us, ‘before shedding his
blood for the salvation of the world, the Lord Jesus
prayed to the Father for the unity of his disciples.’
Speaking to Christian leaders in 2013, Pope Francis
urged, ‘Let us all be intimately united to our Saviour’s
prayer at the Last Supper, to his invocation: ut unum
sint. We call on the merciful Father to be able fully to
live the faith that we received as a gift on the day of
our Baptism, and to be able to give it free, joyful and
courageous testimony.’
Freedom, joy and courage: have we found these gifts
of God in the Catholic Church? Can others see them
in us?