Last Sunday was the eleventh anniversary of the announcement by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative.

And this Sunday is the fourth anniversary of the death of Monsignor Philip Murnion, his close collaborator in conceiving and implementing the Initiative.

Those whose lives were enriched by these two fine priests remember them with gratitude.

I think these reflections by Hans Urs von Balthasar in his book, My Work in Retrospect, are apposite:

All charisms of Christians are inextricably interwoven; everyone owes himself not only to God but to the whole Church; everyone is borne by invisible prayers and sacrifices, has been nourished by countless gifts of love, is continually strengthened and preserved by the affection of others. Who is able to say thanks? To repay the immeasurable realm of deceased and surviving individuals with the homage they deserve for the graces they have mediated?

Only in the light of God will one really know what he has to be thankful for.

For information on the Catholic Common Ground Initiative and its annual Bernardin Conference and Murnion Lecture, see: www.nplc.org/commonground.htm