During the sixteenth century, consciousness in the West was beginning to turn back on itself in an intensely heightened way. People had a sense of the individual self that resembled a pressure-cooker, often to the point of feeling completely alienated from God. Individuals worried excessively about their eternal destiny and desperately needed to find assurance and escape from the oppressive claustrophobia of the separate self. The development of Protestant mysticism was the result.
Union with God was practiced in the new context of ultra-individuality. There was a mystical side to Martin Luther, the Calvinist who turned toward Nature as a place to find God.
500 years later... a rapprochement.
"We acknowledge with appreciation the many events of common prayer and worship that Lutherans and Catholics have held together with their ecumenical partners in different parts of the world, as well as the theological encounters and the significant publications that have given substance to this year of Commemoration.
Looking forward, we commit ourselves to continue our journey together, guided by God’s Spirit, towards the greater unity according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ. With God’s help we intend to discern in a prayerful manner our understanding on Church, Eucharist and Ministry, seeking a substantial consensus so as to overcome remaining differences between us. With deep joy and gratitude we trust “that He who has begun a good work in [us] will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
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