In response to Ransom’s earlier post regarding the possibility of unity between the East and West, WRY wrote:

At the risk of sounding silly, I sometimes wonder if a “miracle” will in fact be imposed on us, and I sometimes imagine its vague outlines to be like this: The Orthodox, confronted with full-fledged western individualism, find themselves increasingly unable to “hold things together” and begin longing for a central authority to maintain tradition …. while the Catholics, for their part, long for the spirit of Orthodoxy to help them rid their church of the secular spirit that too often invades it. By sharing our strengths with each other, we then “grow” into a unity beyond our divisions.

Aside from how this might play into a “miracle,” as you say, towards our reunification, I think that we can acknowledge that the issues of secularization and individualism are ravaging forces that are already showing the potential to do much damage to both Churches.  The Orthodox are indeed worried about the devastating effects that parts of Western individualist culture will have on its faithful, and it seems obvious the toll that “the secular spirit” is taking on many Roman Catholic parishes.

I think that, at least in regards to these two issues, both ancient churches would do well to join forces and fight together.  Just how that would happen or what it would look like I don’t know.

Our two little girls, aged 1 and 3, receive Holy Communion every Sunday. For them, going forward is an intense social experience wherein they, as their mommy and daddy tell them, “taste Jesus”. This does not seem to baffle them in the least. What is happening to them physically and spiritually I leave at the edges of wonder, though I would say they’re more in communion with those around us and with our Lord himself than my dusty little soul is. Their purity in this has not been obtained thru an understanding of doctrine - they simply trust what we say and do.

Now when we take them to a different (non Orthodox) church and we are offered Holy Communion (happens often when we visit family), we decline and suffer the obvious elephant in the room. That they do not receive the ‘bread and wine’ is because of me and my wife’s understanding of doctrinal differences and somewhat because of that particular pastor / church’s understanding of those doctrinal differences. My point is that it would seem their experience of the Blessed Meal is directly related to my particular understanding of doctrine. I know we will teach them many things about the faith in word and deed, but I guess I’ve assumed that a personal understanding of the Eucharist is immaterial to It’s material.

This has been tumbling around in my head as I think about the unity of the church, specifically as it relates to my mostly Protestant family, but also in response to some of the dialog here in the last few days. Any thoughts? I’d love to get this mental laundry dried and folded…

Since things seem to be pretty serious around here…

My friend John from Grand Rapids happens to be Catholic and has a page on Live Journal.? While I am sure most of it isn’t of any direct interest to you, his most recent post features a nice “Q & A” that clears up any confusion we may have about the Catholic Church.?