On a trip to Turkey to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Pope Leo XIV said:
We must draw from this shared apostolic faith in order to recover the unity that existed in the early centuries between the Church of Rome and the ancient Oriental Churches. We must also take inspiration from the experience of the early Church in order to restore full communion, a communion which does not imply absorption or domination, but rather an exchange of the gifts received by our Churches from the Holy Spirit for the glory of God the Father and the edification of the body of Christ.
Leo's resolve to work diligently, deliberately and fervently toward reunification and reconciliation of the Christian Churches is captivating my heart. I am so hopeful that new steps will be taken and that his ambitions goals will be achieved. He wants the oriental and Roman Churches to celebrate the same date of Easter. He wants total accord between them.
I concur with his sentiment that communion does not involve either "absorption" or "domination," but rather "an exchange of gifts." This is how I see communion among any groups of persons. If there is absorption, it inhibits communion. If there is domination, it inhibits communion. Rather, when we have genuine communion, we receive the "otherness" of the other persons and enjoy the gift that they are and that they have to share. God gives us gifts, and God makes us gifts.
May we, too, make ourselves gifts to others, and may we not settle for anything less than divine communion in our lives.
