Impressions of "Together 2023" - In the same faith

Even though I knew briefly about the history of the Church, the schisms, the ecumenical movement and the Interfaith Dialogue Pastoral Committee, it was only today that I personally "heard and saw" a meaningful event, and left many impressions on me.

According to 1997 statistics, the number of Christians, that is, people who believe in Christ, worldwide is nearly 2 billion people. Of these, more than 1 billion belong to the Roman Catholic Church, and nearly 1 billion belong to sister Churches such as Orthodox (about 15 Churches), Protestant (hundreds) and Anglican. Serious schism occurred with the Eastern Orthodox brothers in 1054, and with the Protestant and Anglican brothers in the 16th century.

Through the great schisms, not only were they separated from each other, but there were times when these children of the same heavenly Father became enemies and killed each other. They both worship the same Heavenly Father, recognize Jesus as the Savior, and proclaim the same Gospel, but sometimes oppose each other. Proclaiming the same Creed, but in different temples. Both are sanctified by the same Baptism, but are in opposition to other, differently from them.

The ecumenical movement was born under the influence of the Holy Spirit, an effort that has been developing for more than half a century among Christians of the Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican Churches.

“TOGETHER, Singing Chants to Celebrate the Birth of the Savior 2023,” has the full participation of the above brother Churches. Today I heard prayers that I have never heard before, prayers that contained sympathy, love and forwarding to the unity.

The message comes from a disabled writer who overcame herself with strong faith, the testimony of a young drug addict who, thanks to prays to God and his resilient will, overcame difficulties and challenges to become a mature person who is very stable in life. Then, comes the testimony of a couple who had to choose between faith and empirical science, between a risk to the fetus she was carrying and a decision to protect life. They believed, prayed and decided to keep the fetus. And then God gave them a daughter like an angel, in response to their faithfulness.

Those people came to God by different paths, in different ways and therefore, also participated in different communities with different rituals.

However, because we believe in the same Father in heaven and the same Teacher on earth, even though the words of prayer are different, the intention is the same. Together we sing MERRY, THE LORD IS BORN TO BE THE EARTHLY HUMAN, the songs are a bit strange in sound, but the content sounds very familiar. The more we get together, the happier we'll be.

To conclude sharing about this ecumenical meeting during the Christmas season, I would like to quote the last sentence of the prayer of Father Paul Couturier:
O Lord, perfect God,
Please enlighten us on the path that leads to unity
in obedience to God's love and truth. Amen.

Saigon, Christmas Season 2023
Joseph Le Thanh Liem