260 PART THREE: CONCLUSIONS tradition and a concrete faith community, especially when this is not the Roman Catholic Church, with which all members of the communities engage in a sacramental bond by partaking of the Eucharist. I suggest that it could be very beneficial for the ecumenical process to encourage and enable the processes taking place in Taizé and Bose to resonate inmore places. By redefining priorities between Baptismal and denominational identities and blurring the lines between traditions, they enable organic growth, as mentioned above. Such places can act as nodes in the network of churches that exist thanks to ecumenical dialogues and, for example, in the World Council of Churches. Sacramental sharing, in particular Eucharistic sharing, is crucial to this dynamic, as the monastics indicate. It forms both the source and the end of their life together and nourishes the communities, enabling them to take on this role. By negotiating obedience towards canonical regulations and instructions together with faithfulness towards one’s church of origin, the monastics engage in a sense of double belonging that prevents them from getting detached from the churches. This practice reflects the same commitment as interchurch couples, who, addressing their desire to share the Eucharist, claim: “Such sharing would not observe the norm that confines Eucharistic sharing of communion to ecclesial communion, but it would not jeopardize membership of their own church, nor be regarded as a denial of the faith of that church.”549 In addition, the communities thus avoid the risk of becoming yet another alternative to the existing churches. This risk is real, especially in Taizé. The community hosts many youths who find themselves in the margins of faith communities or well beyond the confines of churches. For the community, it is important to remain rooted in the churches. Therefore, Taizé calls upon them to commit to a local faith community. Bose similarly struggles to accommodate all who want to spend time in the community and join the monastics in the celebration of the Eucharist, while avoiding becoming a permanent alternative to parishes. However, the small sample of this research shows that for the non-Catholic monastics themselves it is also a struggle to remain in communion with their church of origin. They are connected through cherishing the treasures of their tradition, through spiritual belonging, and sometimes through administrative belonging. Yet, it seems difficult for them to substantiate and sustain this 549 Association of Interchurch Families, “Interchurch Families and Christian Unity: Rome 2003.”
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