Ascension Sunday and Ut Unam Sint

In 1995, I had finished my graduate studies at Franciscan University and was teaching at a renovated Cistercian monastery in Gaming, Austria. That same year on May 25, Pope John Paul II issued the encyclical Ut Unum Sint (That they may be one). Today marks the 25th anniversary of the encyclical. Pope Francis calls for a renewed interest in the Church’s commitment to unity among Christians. Ut Unum Sint was issued on the Solemnity of the Ascension under the “sign of the Holy Spirit, the creator of unity in diversity.” In 1996, I began working and teaching at North Central University, a small Christian College in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. During the twenty years I spent there, I discovered that what unites Christians is stronger than what divides us and that there already exists a certain yet imperfect unity among us.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-05/pope-renews-ecumenical-commitment-on-anniversary-of-ut-unum-sint.html?fbclid=IwAR1ksGQL8vu8Ytns9fLxxnidPtaYC2bryyVOR8qQlduPZsY_so5RP4gEXm4

Temple Mount Remains Shutdown

As Ramadan 2020 continues until May 23, the Temple Mount remains closed, though workers are still allowed at the location.  However, the WAQF warned that they would reopen the location if the Israeli government moved to allow Jews to the site. 

Second Attempt of Sanhedrin to Observe Passover a No-Go

Last month a small group of Jewish believers, led by Rabbi Hillel Weiss who is the spokesperson for the newly formed Sanhedrin, had hoped to offer the Passover lamb on the Temple Mount.  However, they were denied in large part because of the coronavirus.  This month they were afforded the opportunity to celebrate the rite based on the possibility of a second Passover (Num 9:10-11).  Nonetheless, their plans did not materialize.  The first attempt would have taken place on the 14^th of Nisan (April 8, 2020).  The second would have happened on the 14^th of Iyar (May 8, 2020).