Æternal's Message,
"to believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the Church".
Two tasks must
always guide this effort: the dialogue of truth and the meeting in
fraternity. We must promise to forgive one another, placing the memories and wrongs of
the past in God's merciful hands.
Indeed, prayer and constant listening to the Lord are indispensable, for it is He who, with the power of His Spirit, converts hearts and makes possible practical progress on the path of ecumenism.
True ecumenical activity means openness, drawing closer, availability for dialogue, and a shared investigation of the truth in the full evangelical and Christian sense; but in no way does it or can it mean giving up or in any way diminishing the treasures of divine truth that the Church has constantly confessed and taught.
This does not at all mean losing certitude about one's own faith or weakening the principles of morality.
As the psalmist sings, it enables us to experience the joy of brothers who dwell in unity (Ps 133) and makes us even more aware of how serious is the sin of division, a scandal for us and for the world.
Therefore we cannot delay our steps towards the unity of the Churches. Every delay, in fact, not only risks lessening our fraternal joy, but makes us accomplices of the divisions that are growing more acute in various parts of the world. The more brotherhood is strengthened between the Churches, the more people will be encouraged to recognize one another as brothers and sisters.
The search for Christian unity will be carried on by a new generation of men and women committed to making a reality of the Lord’s prayer: "that all may be one" (John 17:18-20).
We ask that when you go forth today you reach out to someone in need and bring them back to Christ by sharing how much He loves all of us. Do your very best to bring them into a loving relationship with God.
May the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always.
- Æternal Ministries