The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-01-31
CHRISTIAN UNITY.
Prayers Multiplying for Union. Divine
sonship of Christ Its Basis. Both
Organic and Spiritual. How
Reach the Goal?

Organic and Spiritual. How
Reach the Goal?
With the beginning of February, the
millions throughout the world, who
belong to the Apostleship of Prayer
will begin to pray for the reunion of
the Eastern churches with Rome.
The Holy Father has blessed this in
tention for February and every day
during the next month the uncounted
multitudes of the League will offer
their prayers, works and sufferlngs
like clouds of incense, beseeching our
Heavenly Father to bring together
once more the hearts and minds of
His children in the East and the
West Last Sunday ended a week of
prayers for church unity in which
thousands stormed Heaven for the re-
union Of the Protestant sects with the
centre of ChristendOm and now begins
month of prayer and sacrifice for
the reunion of the schismatic churches.
The spirit of union hovers about the
hosts of Christianity. The watchword
of the Christian world today is Union
"a holy Communion.
The Protestant sects too are striv-
ing with commendable zeal for unity
though along lines quite different
from the reunion longed for in the
Catholic world. Their efforts tend to-
ward aggregation rather than organi-
zation. They would modify conflict
ing principles, minimize differences,
cut and fit and trim their doctrines
until systems can dove-tail together
and sects can be joined in matters
they may deem essential. But true
| Christian unity must be wider and
deeper and more intimate as is well
pointed out by the author of the
pamphlet, christian Unity and the
Means to Attain It.
Christian unity is not the unity OF
race or a nation, he writes. Neither Is
it, on the other hand, built on the basis
of our common humanity. If this had
been suitable basis for worldwide
unity in religion, the institutions Of
the Old Law would not have beer
restricted to one nation. A new basis
had to be created, and Christ created
it. For "as many as received Him
He gave them power to be made the
Sons of God, to them that believe il
His name: who was born, not of blood
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God" and there
fore, in their degree, like unto Him O.
whom st. John wrote: 1--WE saw Hi!
glory, the glory as it were of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth Elsewhere in Scripture
the gift of divine sonship impaired
to Christians is variously spoken o
as grace" glory" life ''regenera
ton" 'the new man." "partakers o
the divine nature" 1t is a new lif
which manifests itself in the activitie
of faith, hope, and charity. 1t is no
simply a new way if life that can b.
learned, but a new life super-added b.
gift to the natural life of man. B.
this gift the Church is, in the strict
est sense, a brotherhood. All son
of God are brothers of Jesus Christ
| we are UlOI0 1OA1SOO I'll
to another by this bond of brother
hood than we are by our common de
scent from Adam. The latter can b
the basis of a worldwide politics
unity or world power only when nave
and military force overawes, and eve
: then the expansion is limited, and tn
imperial power must often content /
self with the externals of loyalty. BIZ
> our brotherhood in Christ is the basi
; of a worldwide body polite, a spiri
: ual empire, which secures unity
= faith, worship and discipline, withol
the aid of one gun on sea or land.
Union Organic as we'll as Spiritual
r st. Paul says: Let the peace
e Christ dwell in your hearts, wherei
e also you are called in one body
That is, one body, one organizatio
is the divinely appointed means
peace. The unity with which Chri
IS repeatedly compares the unity of H
t, Church is that between Him and Il
/ Father. that they may be one as v
n also are" Now, the unity of Il
II Father and Son is unity OF substan
s as well as of mind and spirit, and Il
E. corresponding unity of the Chur'
n must be organic as we'll as mental al
i spiritual Hence our Lord speaks
y the Apostles as to corporation ha
n ing a. perpetual succession: II a
with you even to the end OF t
D. world" 1.-The Holy Ghost will abb
e. with you forever" You will sit
Il twelve thrones judging the twel
to tribes of Israel" This last senten
&c was addressed to the Apostles VIII
IS Judas was still one of the twel7
IN though it could not apply to him p
ne sonally. 1t included him only as o
in of the corporation. St. Peter so !
ne derstood it, for his first act of auth
,e. ity was to move in the appointing
n | - IN TYrdQS fArfC