An irrevocable commitment to Christian unity

Father Emile “Buddy” NOEL, Guest Column

At the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church committed herself irrevocably to following the path of the ecumenical venture, thus heeding the Spirit of the Lord, who teaches people to interpret carefully the “signs of the times” (Pope St. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, “Ut Unum Sint,” 1995).

More than a century ago, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was established by Father Paul Wattson, an Episcopal priest from Maryland, who was ordained in 1886. In 1898, he collaborated with an Episcopal sister, Lurana White, to found the Franciscan Order of the Atonement, taking vows as a religious brother at Garrison, New York. Their spiritual odyssey led them and their whole order into the Catholic Church in 1909, and one of the chief aims of their community was promotion of prayer for Christian unity.

The proposal of the Week of Prayer received the approval first of Pope St. Pius X, and then Pope Benedict XV, who formally promulgated it as the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, beginning Jan. 18, the commemoration of the Confession of St. Peter and ending Jan. 25, the Conversion of St. Paul.

It was on the Feast of St. Paul’s Conversion in 1959 that Pope St. John XXIII called for the convocation of the Second Vatican Council. In the Decree on Ecumenism, “Unitatis Redintegratio,” promulgated at the Council in 1964, it is stated at the very beginning of the document that, the “restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council.”

And, as stated above, Pope St. John Paul II committed the Church irrevocably to perseverance in the work of ecumenism. Each year, Christians of all denominations join with the Catholic Church and the Holy Father to pray for an end to the divisions of the past and to reunite our communities, as we respond to Jesus’ request in St. John’s Gospel, “May they all be one” (Jn 17:21).

The theme of this year’s Week of Prayer is “They Showed Us Unusual Kindness” (Acts 27:18-28:10). May our prayers and concrete acts of love for all of God’s children of whatever tradition demonstrate our kindness and bring us closer to the hope of the Lord Jesus that we may be truly one someday soon.

If you would like more information on prayer resources, such as Prayers of the Faithful for the Week of Prayer, please consult the website for the Atonement Franciscans, at https://www.atonementfriars.org/2020-week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity  or https://gedii.org.

Father Buddy Noel, pastor of Our Lady of Prompt Succor Parish in Westwego, is ecumenical officer of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He is available to visit parishes or Catholic organizations to talk about the work of Christian unity in the archdiocese. He can be reached at 341-9522.