By Fr. Roy Cimagala
I am happy to know that our bishops have declared 2020 as the Year of Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue and Indigenous People. It’s part of the preparation for the 5th centennial of the Christianization of our country that will take place in 2021.
It’s definitely a way of reaching out to the other Christian groups with the view of achieving a more coherent unity in accord with Christ’s desire that we all may be one as Christ and the Father are one (ut unum sint), that we all may be perfected in unity (consummati in unum). (cfr. Jn 17,21.23) It’s also a way of reaching out to those who haven’t yet heard about Christ.
This thing about reaching out to form one unity, one family of God amid the diversity of our circumstances, is at the heart of Christ’s message and mission. Christ is God become man to redeem all of us from our sin and our alienation from God.
Christ’s desire is for all men to be saved, though we also have to do our part in this divine initiative. It’s up to us to correspond to his desire for which he also has given us all the means. Christ with his promise of our redemption is all there for the taking.
In this business of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, one basic and indispensable element for things to take off is that of friendliness and openness. While we have our own ideas, our own doctrine, our own ways, we should just try our best to be as accommodating to the others without compromising the essential, which in the end, is to love everyone the way Christ has loved us all. (cfr. Jn 13,34)
Let’s remember how Christ has loved us —he didn’t only preach about what is right and wrong, what is good and evil, what is moral and immoral; he didn’t only perform miracles and do many other wonderful deeds. He offered his life for our sins, offering forgiveness to everyone even if they haven’t yet asked for forgiveness (“Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” Lk 23,34)
We need to be truly like Christ to reach out to everyone despite differences and conflicts among ourselves. We need to reach out to everyone regardless of the sharpness and intensity of our differences and conflicts. Like Christ, let’s take the initiative to reach out and to become, as St. Paul once said, “all things to all men.” (1 Cor 9,22)
In this regard, let’s make the effort to know the others as best that we can. We have to overcome our tendency to congregate and fraternize only with those who are like us, who think, speak, and act like us. We need to know others well, especially those who are different from us or even those who are in conflict with us.
It’s for this reason we should learn more and more about others, noting what things we have in common and what things we differ in. To be sure, we will have more things in common than things where we differ. Let us focus more on the common things and try to sort out our differences slowly, peacefully, and charitably.
Let’s hope that the year 2020 will see progress in this area of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and reaching out to indigenous people. It is hoped that some people take the initiative to continually nourish this pastoral thrust by offering relevant information and data, organizing seminars and other platforms for possible dialogues and outreach, coming up with appropriate functioning structures, etc.
Let’s strive to approach that ideal described once in the Acts of the Apostles—that we be “of one heart and one soul” (cor unum et anima una). (4,32)
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
