Unity of Mind and Heart

Visitors to Christ the Redeemer Church often notice the two cornerstones on either side of the entrance. Frequently, while attending weddings, funerals, or other occasions, they ask about the inscription on the stones. “That they all may be one” is traced in the stones along with the dates for the construction of the original and recent churches, 1980 and 2000.

I explain to them that the words are from John’s Gospel, where in Chapter 17 we read them as part of the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus himself. If they are still engaged in the conversation after receiving more information than they needed, I discourse further about the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and how the words are on the Great Seal of the community.

In an expanding circle, I try to move our visitors to the understanding that not only is this the mission of the Atonement Friars, but of the whole Church. All of this goes together in how “Christ the Redeemer” was the name chosen by the founding parishioners along with the Friars to describe the life and mission of parish. The parish was to be a Catholic parish with a universal embrace and welcome for the human family.

Unity as a Lifestyle
Throughout the world, between January 18th and 25th, various Christian faith communities will pray during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. They will pray for that unity which Christ desired for his Church, when he prayed intensely before his impending death. That prayer in John’s Gospel and on our cornerstones ask that all be one as Jesus and the Father are one. While this prayer time invites greater fervor and intensity in the quest for Christian unity, as a local community we are blessed to know and experience unity as a way of life. Our lifestyle of seeking out Christ in all people and often discovering him in the diversity of people and faith expression should impel us to greater hope and continued efforts in the cause of unity. Unity is not just for eight days in January, but is how we live and accept one another.

At the center of unity at Christ the Redeemer is the Eucharistic Table, where the community gathers each Sunday. The Word of God challenges us as believers to a unity of mind and heart. This unity in Christ impels us further as we encounter him in communion. In one sense,

that communion is imperfect in its expression.

Many in our community are excluded from the invitation to communion. Some are by their own choice. Others by institutional and denominational division are separated from us and we from them. The division at this moment urges us to greater prayer and mission in the gathering of all people before the Father.

Shared Mission
In the early days of the ecumenical movement, believers found that “doctrine divides while mission unites.” While not negating the importance of faith articulation and clarity of belief, often our practical experience is that by working together in mission and service we discover the Lord active among us.

Mission and service in its local parish expression bears witness to the same reality. Our life together and our service to others gather us in our diversity. Charity and the works of justice bring us together on behalf of all God’s people.

Our various outreach groups witness to the ecumenical dimension of our mission in the world. LINK, for example, has a long history of working with nearly twenty communities of faith in the feeding and care of the poor in our communities. ESL, English as a Second Language, is yet another example where a diverse and universal touch is given. In that program, we first think of our Catholic Latino population, but in those classes you would find Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims in a common learning endeavor.

Ritual as Celebration
Our lived experience is lifted up in various celebrations and preparation for them. Catholics and people of other faith expressions are welcomed in marriage often. At a recent wedding, a visiting Presbyterian minister describes his experience here at CTR as “John the Twenty-third-esque”! Baptisms bring Christians of various denominations together. It is not uncommon at a funeral for an admission of never having attended a Catholic service.

As we pray for the unity which Christ desires, we can be thankful for the blessings of life at Christ the Redeemer. The words at the church entrance are words of invitation and also words of lived blessings among us.

CDH