Five Ways – Jun 23

June 2023 Five Ways Newsletter

First, during this month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I was delighted to see that the Apostleship of Prayer, inspired by the Jesuits following the ministry of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and St. Claude de la Colombiere, added the ecumenical intention to the Morning Offering after Vatican II.  

The revised Morning Offering prayer now reads:  O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.  Amen.  

Note the joining of evangelization (the salvation of souls) and ecumenism (the reunion of all Christians). 

Secondly, I was a little skeptical to read in the April Reflection of the Gregorian University Foundation, p. 5, that Fr. Philipp Renczes, S.J., the dean of theology at the Greg, recently presented the newly launched program in “Comparative Theology of Christian Traditions and Ecumenical Studies,” as a response to “reading the signs of the times” and to the new “ecumenical spring” that has blossomed under the Francis pontificate. 

“We’re trying to figure out what the church will look like in 10 or 20 years, and ecumenical relations become more and more relevant to this.” 

Thirdly, the reflection below from the former Oblate General Councilor for Canada-US, Warren Brown, and the former Superior General, Louie Lougen, shows both the importance and difficulty of this. 

Many thanks to those who commented on the May 11 Five Ways E-letter. 

In Christ’s love, 

Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.