ESBVM

Pontificium Consilium Ad Christianorum Unitatem Fovendam

30 June 2007

2095/2007/h

Rev Father William M McLoughlin, osm
Honorary General Secretary
The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dear Members of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary

I write to extend to you my cordial greetings as you celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Ecumenical Society. This is a time to give thanks for the ecumenical efforts of the past decades, and in particular, for the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You have helped to bring about an important transition, such that Mary is seen less and less as a source of division, and increasingly as one who we jointly understand to be the Mother of God, one who received the Eternal Word of God in her heart and in her body, one whose fiat is the supreme instance of a believer’s embrace of God’s will, a “free and unqualified consent in utter self-giving and trust”.

As one of the patrons of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is my profound hope that the Society will continue to be a source of encouragement to Christians, and that it will make a significant contribution in this important area of ecumenical work. In this work, I believe you can trust that Mary herself is attentive to your efforts, as she yearns for the unity of those who are baptised into her Son, those who desire to be her Son’s disciples.

In singing the Magnificat together, may we join her in praising God. In praying to Mary, may we see her always in relation to Christ and to the Church, forever pointing us to the unique saving role of her Son. In asking her assistance as we strive to further our relations through dialogue, prayer and common witness, may we acknowledge her as ‘mother of the faithful’, who prays for and desires our unity, that we may be one in her Son, and in the Father, and in the Spirit who gives life to us all.

God’s blessings be ever with you all.

Yours sincerely,
Walter Cardinal Kasper
President