Fokke Wouda

CHAPTER 9: IMPLICATIONS I 251 practice including the pain and struggle that it involves; that they acknowledge the existential unity already realized in Baptism; that they have a durable and substantial form of common life at the basis of their spirituality; and that they are able to anticipate future full communion through joint effort to arrive at that goal. These contexts may include other ecumenical monastic communities, joint faith communities of different denominations on a parochial level, emerging (youth) movements, academic communities that meet regularly at conferences on ecumenical topics, married couples belonging to different confessions, and so on. 9.3 CULTIVATION OF TRUST AND THE MAXIMIZATION OF RECOGNITION Implication Taizé and Bose cultivate trust in the Triune God, the Easter mystery, the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, and their fellow monastics in order to take a ‘leap of faith’ towards unity. Their practice of Eucharistic hospitality, together with the sacrifices made to enable it, express this trust. As a logical consequence of this trust, theology should not only ask whether it is possible to share the Eucharist but, perhaps more adequately, also if it is actually possible or desirable not to do so. In addition, the fundamental paradigm of the cultivation of trust enables a maximization of recognition of other traditions. Observations Trust is a proper Leitmotiv in the interviews. Not only do the monastics mention or reflect on it explicitly but it seems inherently present throughout the interviews. The interviewees express trust in God, in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, in the church (in the non-denominational sense), in the communities they inhabit, in their fellow brothers and sisters, in their guests, and in the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. Focusing on the Eucharist, trust enables the monastics to recognize and acknowledge elements of the Eucharist to be present in many different ecclesiastical contexts, even when they feel uncomfortable with the realities they encounter. They seem to prefer the principle of ‘the benefit of the doubt’ over ‘better safe than sorry.’ This implies great hesitancy to discard, let alone reject, any manifestation of Eucharist in other traditions. Indeed, the monastics do not differentiate strongly between Eucharistic liturgies presided by Catholic clergy versus ministers from other traditions. That being said, they feel most at home with liturgies permeated by the insights of the liturgical movement.

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