Father's Wednesday, 5/27/2020 Message

For the past few weeks, especially in the Gospels for Sunday Mass, we have been privileged to be present with Jesus as He prayed in the Upper Room to His Father. This continues once again in today’s Gospel.  With this prayer for unity coming from the heart and lips of Jesus, I would like to provide some excerpts from an Encyclical from Pope St. John Paul II, called “Ut Unum Sint.”  It means “That All May be One,” and its title comes from its "incipit" or first few words. These words are taken from the prayer of Jesus "at the hour of his Passion Gospel according to John. The document deals with the Catholic Church's relations with the Orthodox Church and other Christian ecclesial communities. It reiterates that unity of these two churches is essential, as well as further dialogue and unity with the Protestant churches. This document shows that the Catholic Church is officially moved to unity. Pope John Paul II felt personally felt Jesus’ ardent desire and made it his own.  “To believe in Christ,” John Paul writes, “means to desire unity”. It is an act of obedience that broadens the horizons of the heart and mind. The Encyclical indicates the need for a “manner and method of expounding the Catholic faith” that is not “a hindrance to dialogue with our brothers and sisters”, acknowledging that there is “a hierarchy in the truths” in Catholic teaching.  Dialogue, he says, “does not extend exclusively to matters of doctrine but, engages the whole person” because “it is also a dialogue of love”. It is from the love that “the desire for unity is born”. It shows the living character of Tradition, which – as Dei Verbum says – traces its origins from the Apostles and progresses in the Church under the assistance of the Holy Spirit. And it is thanks to the Spirit that the understanding of the faith grows.  In this journey, “the better sacrifice” to offer to God “is peace, brotherly concord and a people made one in the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”.  In paragraph 79, five subjects are noted to be "in need of fuller study before a true consensus of faith can be achieved": The relationship between Sacred Scripture, as the highest authority in matters of faith, and Sacred Tradition, as indispensable to the interpretation of the Word of God; The Eucharist, as the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, an offering of praise to the Father, the sacrificial memorial and Real Presence of Christ and the sanctifying outpouring of the Holy Spirit; Ordination, as a Sacrament, to the threefold ministry of the episcopate, presbyterate and diaconate; The Magisterium of the Church, entrusted to the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him, understood as a responsibility and an authority exercised in the name of Christ for teaching and safeguarding the faith; The Virgin Mary, as Mother of God and Icon of the Church, the spiritual Mother who intercedes for Christ's disciples and for all humanity.”  Let us pray in union with Jesus for a unity of Faith, that His Will is fulfilled. 

God bless you. 
Fr. Robert