Healing the Wounds of the Body of Christ Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM. cap (Fr. Cantalamessa has been the Papal preacher to Pope John Paul II's Pontifical household since 1980.) I would like to share some reflections on how I see the current state of unity and reconciliation among Christians and the contribution the Pentecostal and charismatic movements can bring to this. To liberate ourselves from the residue of the old disputes Our first task is to liberate ourselves from the residue of the old disputes. One of the things that burdens the ecumenical dialogue is the survival of certain contrapositions which nowadays have lost their original importance but continue to survive as stereotypes and clichés. Let's take the example of the "faith versus works controversy". The moment you raise this issue a certain defensiveness springs to life in Catholics and Protestants alike, who feel the need to reaffirm the positions that their respective churches took in the past, as if the issue were still entirely in debate today. The Joint Declaration on the doctrine of Justification by the Roman Catholic Church and the World Federation of the Lutheran Churches shows how much closer together we are on this point in our real life and preaching than in the formularies. We are not saved because of our good works, but neither are we saved without them. Overcoming these tensions does not mean renouncing one's own identity. On certain occasions, I myself, as a Catholic, have appealed to my Protestant brothers and sisters to keep alive in the Church the theme of justification by faith, because all of us need to hear that constant challenge. To develop an ecumenism of faith However, the most substantial contribution which I believe the Pentecostal, Evangelical and Charismatic movement can make toward the cause of unity is to develop an ecumenism of faith. Two diverse ecumenism's are possible: the ecumenism of faith, on the one hand, and an ecumenism of unbelief, on the other. The ecumenism of faith encompasses all those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the ecumenism of unbelief encompasses those who are content with just "interpreting" these things, more interested as they are in hermeneutics than in faith. In this second case it is possible that everyone believes the same things, because no one believes in anything anymore. We make our contribution to an ecumenism of faith when we proclaim together that Jesus is Lord. Some people today believe that it is possible, and even necessary, to abandon the theme of the uniqueness of Christ for the sake of furthering the dialogue among the various religions. But proclaiming Jesus as Lord is precisely to proclaim his uniqueness. St. Paul writes, "Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth - as in fact there are many gods and many lords - yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist" (1 Cor 8:5-6). The apostle was writing these words at a time when the Christian faith was just appearing, small and new-born, in a world dominated by powerful and prestigious cults and religions. The courage it takes in today's world to believe that Jesus is the "only Lord" pales in comparison to the courage it took in Paul's day and age. But the "power of the Spirit" is given only to those who proclaim Jesus as Lord, in the strict sense of the word. In any case, this has been my experience. As a theologian, it was only after I decided to stake everything - literally everything, even on the intellectual level - on Jesus Christ the "only Lord," that I began to know what "the power of the Spirit" was. It was something I had actually touched with my own hands, so to speak. And I think it's that way for everyone. Having this "strong" faith in Jesus Christ doesn't impair the dialogue with the other religions; it favors it, making it a true "religious" dialogue in which faith is the most important thing and God is not subordinated to purely human interests, no matter how noble they may be. To avoid fundamentalism Our contribution to a believing ecumenism will be seriously compromised, however, if we do not avoid fundamentalism. A distinction is necessary here. There are two types of fundamentalism, one good and one bad. "Fundamentalism" is good if by the term you mean getting back to the basics of the faith. There is also a flawed fundamentalism which would more appropriately be termed "literalism," that is, taking the Scripture literally, materially, without giving the least bit of thought to its context, its literary genre, without any solid hermeneutical tools. In my opinion, when people do that, they ignore the Spirit, preferring to rely on the letter. But also in that case, "the letter kills" (2 Cor 3:6). It kills the power of the message. Educated people can't help but reject a message which, under the pretense of defending faith, blatantly goes against reason, and at times even common sense. Faith quickly becomes irrelevant, if not for the individual, then at least for society. True that God confounds worldly wisdom with foolishness, but not that type of foolishness! Ecumenical spirituality For some time now, I have personally felt called to develop an ecumenical spirituality, which complements and sustains ecumenical theology and practice. Ecumenical spirituality I see as an approach to the Word of God which is not solely or even primarily oriented towards proclamation or evangelization of others, but rather to one's own personal growth in the life of the Spirit, in other words, geared to one's own growth in holiness. A proclamation not rooted in real life has little chance of convincing anyone. Paul VI once rightly said, "People of today are more in need of witnesses than they are of teachers." An ecumenical spirituality would be characterized by its ability to weld today's charismatic impulse with the extensive Christian patrimony of the past; to revisit our Tradition - not just my own ecclesial tradition, but the tradition of the other Churches as well - in light of what the Spirit has accomplished in our day and age. I recently wrote a book entitled, The Song of the Spirit, conceived as a song to the Spirit "sung in three voices," the Catholic, the Orthodox, and the Protestant. The Balm of the Holy Spirit I'd like to conclude with a few "therapeutic" remarks, as we're talking about the healing of the Body of Christ. The experience of the new Pentecost and of charisms is a grace of healing for the entire Body of Christ, for which we must accept responsibility. The Holy Spirit is the great "remedy" which will heal the Body of Christ of its wounds. There's a Negro spiritual I like very much. The words are: "There is a balm in Gilead to heal the wounded souls". Gilead, or Galaad, is mentioned in the Old Testament as a place famous for its perfumes and ointments (see Jer 8:22). As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the real balm - of which the balm of Gilead is just a figure - is the Holy Spirit. In practice this balm "works" through mutual pardon and we owe gratitude to Pope John Paul II, who has given us courageous examples of asking for pardon among the Christian Churches. I said that the Holy Spirit is the great "remedy" for the wounds of the Church. Also our experience of charisms can contribute to create a new unity among Christians of diverse denominations. Listening to the apostle mentioning all those marvelous charisms and gifts - prophecy, teaching, miracles ..., (see 1 Cor 12-14) - one could feel frustrated, thinking that he or she doesn't possess any of those gifts. But listen, as St. Augustine said, "If you love unity, if you love the Church, what you possess is not a small thing, because whatever gift anyone else in the Body possesses, that gift belongs to you as well! Put aside all envy and whatever is mine will be yours; and if I put aside all envy, whatever is yours will also be mine (cf. Augustine, Commentary on John, 32, 8). Love for the Body of Christ multiplies charisms and gifts, and makes the gift of one individual the gift of all of us; it makes the genius of one Church, the genius of all the Churches. St. Francis of Assisi once said, "Blest is the servant who rejoices in the good God works through other people, as if God had done it through himself." I would add: Blest is the Christian today who is capable of rejoicing in the good God is doing through believers of other Churches as if God were doing through his own Church. First appeared in the ICCRS Newsletter. Copyright © 1999 International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services Top