I recently heard a homily about the early Church and how St. Paul and St. Peter had to reconcile their different concepts of their fledgling Christian religion.

The homilist pointed to three key issues to ponder, like these earliest leaders of the Church approached the key roadblocks in their newly formed community.

First, there had to be an environment of prayer. When approaching these issues of disagreement, the most important starting point had to be one of prayer. It could not be about personalities or competition, about producing winners and losers. It had to be a spirit of listening for God’s message in a situation. Prayer is about surrender, not success.

Next, there had to be a spirit of inclusion. Every person involved should feel that their opinion was being considered in the process. The recent synodal process of listening utilized in our universal Church is a wonderful example of this concept. Every member of the Church was invited to share their vision of the specific direction that God is calling our Catholic community as we move into the future together. The more people are included in designing a strategy in any project, the more ownership each person will feel in the overall plan.

Lastly, there must be a spirit of mercy. The goal can never be to “beat another over the head” with one’s personal opinion. All sharing should be done within this spirit of mercy to one another. It requires an openness to first listening, but continues with an understanding that each person’s ideas will be handled very gently.

At this point, one might reflect on these ideas when considering any recent exchange of ideas in his or her life.

Does this describe the approach that you have experienced in most of the personal interchanges in your own recent experience? Would there be a benefit in changing the approach to dialogue when interacting with others who have different viewpoints?
 

(Richard Etienne has a degree in theology from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad and resides in Newburgh, Ind.) †