202 PART TWO: AN EMPIRICAL ACCOUNT Therefore, the monastics do not believe their particular practice to be a model for all. Since they do not regard their practice as a final solution for the problem of Christian division, and because it merely is an intermediate step in their own process, the practice cannot be regarded as a universal solution for all contexts. However, the monastics do consider it to be a significant sign of hope amidst divisions. Most of all, it is a beacon for the churches pointing towards the future: it shows that it is possible for Christians from different denominations to live out reconciliation. Taizé and Bose show that the Eucharist can be both a means and a goal as it is the source and consequence of their common life. The reluctance to present their practice as a model might be, at least partially, a church political statement. Both communities have established a delicate equilibrium with the churches involved. As Brother BF indicated, they do not regard their own charisma as a provocative prophecy, or at least not anymore. The monasteries would not want to jeopardize the solution to their own situation and the ecumenical progress they embody by presenting their practice as a model in the sense of a canonical precedent. However, they do understand it as a sign indicating future possibilities. Taking it one step further, I think that the best way to interpret the significance of the examples set by Bose and Taizé is expressed in the above by Brother TC, who speaks of “places where we search.”460 One could think of contexts that resemble characteristics of Taizé and Bose, which could benefit from a similar arrangement, not only to settle the pressing problem of their experience of separation at the heart of Christian worship, but also to become more profound signs that, through anticipation, help realize full visible unity. The next chapter investigates in more detail how Eucharistic sharing affects the relationship between the monastics and the Roman Catholic Church on the one hand, and, in cases of other churches, their tradition of origin on the other hand. 460 TC-1,28b.
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