Five Ways – Jan 23

January 10, 2023 Five Ways Newsletter

First, as we prepare to observe the 115th annual Week of
Prayer for Christian Unity, from Jan. 18-25, please make sure
that your parish has the materials prepared by a joint
committee from the Vatican and the World Council of
Churches. These may be obtained on the website of the
Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious
Institute: www.geii.org. Also included are homily notes for
the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 16.

Secondly, I recommend a marvelous book on St. Teresa of
Calcutta, by her lawyer Jim Towey, To Love and Be Loved, A
Personal Portrait of Mother Teresa. Several things struck me
forcibly: she absorbed evangelism, ecumenism and respect
for other religions, especially Hinduism. She and her
Missionaries of Charity walk the very thin line between
witnessing to Jesus and honoring the good in other
religions. She also rejected abortion but worked with
abortion promoter Hilary Clinton to found a center in
Washington, DC, for abandoned babies.

Finally, when we observed the feast of St. Peter Canisius, on
Dec. 21, his statement in Wikipedia offers us great advice on
dealing with opponents. “If you treat them right, the Germans
will give you everything. Many err in matters of faith, but
without arrogance. They err in the German way, mostly
honest, a bit simple-minded, but very open for everything
Lutheran. An honest explanation of the faith would be much
more effective than a polemical attack against reformers.

The Wiki author notes “He rejected attacks against John
Calvin and Melanchthon: ‘With words like these, we don’t
cure patients, we make them incurable’.”

The Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism insists that we search
together with Eastern Orthodox and Protestants for the
talents which each Christian Church embodies. We offer
what we have that is missing in them, and we accept from
them what they have that we need. All this for the sake of
better evangelizing non-Christians and strengthening
Christians.

Many thanks to those who commented on the Dec. 11 Five
Ways e-letter.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.