On the Feast of Corpus Christi: Seeking unity within the Church

Bickering that erroneously sets life against ecology is the work of sin and Satan and can only be countered in Christ

“For all thy church, O Lord, we intercede; Make Thou our sad divisions soon to cease; Draw us the nearer each to each, we plead, By drawing all to thee, O prince of peace; Thus may we all one bread, one body be, Through this blest Sacrament of Unity.” Lord, Who at Thy First Eucharist

My parish sung this hymn last night during First Friday devotions. The lyrics struck me as I stood before the Blessed Sacrament with thoughts divided. Part of me sought to worship God; another worried about bickering within the Church over climate change, ecology, and the pope’s eco-encyclical, now just days away.

This bickering is, as always, the tempting fruit of human sin and demonic influence. The cause is that some fear that the Church’s growing engagement of ecology will lead (or has already led) to an embrace of the practices of abortion and artificial birth control, among others.

Fueling the bickering are ideological worldviews, especially within the United States, that erroneously place ecology within the spheres of secular atheism or paganism. Another fuel source is that the progressive Left does in fact seek a pragmatic alliance with the Church on ecological issue but not others. Further complicating all this is the unfortunate tendency for those sitting in either camp to resist embracing those across the aisle, which we who receive Holy Communion should do naturally.

A traditionalist Catholic emailed me a few years back. She worried about genetically modified organisms and other agricultural issues, like the use of dangerous pesticides. This women, a member of Opus Dei, could have been mistaken for a Greenpeace activist. Sadly, she didn’t feel quite accepted in either of her worlds. Some of her traditionalist friends questioned her allegiance to the Church whenever she raised ecological issues, and some of the ecologists that she had reached out to challenged her stance against abortion and her appreciation of the Latin Mass.

I think of this women today as I read about (and am engaged in) debates about issues of life within the Church.

I also think of voices like those at Lifesite.com who are worried over Church officials rubbing elbows with people who may be pro-abortion. Forgive me for saying this, but I understand this concern, even if it is likely unfounded. But then, there are those who have invested lots of time and energy on the front lines of ecology that are not well known on the front lines against a culture of death in all its other forms—like abortion and artificial contraception.

That said, I know the value of dialoguing with those who are pro-abortion. I was once in that camp. But because a priest took the time to speak with me (which meant we were in the same room), I learned not only to appreciate the Church’s position on life, but to accept it and defend it. (Later, this was confirmed when my grandmother told me in her last months that in the 1920s she was urged by her mother-in-law to abort my mother. This is something I've blogged about.)

“Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person. ... It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other. Herein lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today: one which demeans the person, disrupts the environment, and damages society.” Benedict XVI

My point is that Catholic ecologists engaged in the public square must not hide their support for the Church’s teachings on abortion, artificial contraction, and marriage—among other issues. In fact, we should make it known.

And those on the front lines of supporting the Church on issues of abortion, artificial contraction, and marriage—among other issues—must allow their hearts and minds to be open to the connection between human dignity and the environment. After all, the environment is the life-support system of the human race.

As Benedict XVI said, “Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person. ... It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other. Herein lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today: one which demeans the person, disrupts the environment, and damages society.” (Caritas in Veritate, 51)

And so on this feast of Corpus Christi, we all ought to pray to God that He may send forth His Spirit to bring unity within the Church. And that He may forever banish our enemy, who seeks only to divide and conquer using as his weapons that which we share, which in this case is our desire to defend life.

In closing, it does well to consider and pray the words of the hymn Lord, Who at Thy First Eucharist:

Lord who at thy first Eucharist did'st pray,
That all Thy church might be forever one,
Grant us at every Eucharist to say
With longing heart and soul, "Thy will be done."
Oh, may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest sacrament of unity.

For all thy church, O Lord, we intercede;
Make Thou our sad divisions soon to cease;
Draw us the nearer each to each, we plead,
By drawing all to thee, O prince of peace;
Thus may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest Sacrament of Unity.

We pray thee, too, for wanderers from thy fold,
Oh, bring them back, good shepherd of the sheep,
Back to the faith which saints believed of old,
Back to the church which still that faith doth keep;
Soon may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest sacrament of unity.

So, Lord, at length when sacraments shall cease,
May we be one with all thy church above,
One with Thy saints in one unbroken peace,
One with Thy saints in one unbounded love;
More blessed still, in peace and love to be
One with the trinity in unity.

Photo: Flicker/jojo nicdao

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About the Blog

Catholic Ecology posts my regular column in the Rhode Island Catholic, as well as scientific and theological commentary about the latest eco-news, both within and outside of the Catholic Church. What is contained herein is but one person's attempt to teach and defend the Church's teachings - ecological and otherwise. As such, I offer all contents of this blog for approval of the bishops of the Church. It is my hope that nothing herein will lead anyone astray from truth.